Staff, Students, and Projects

The PAHL group undertakes research at various stages of the bench-to-bedside spectrum, with the mechanistic (‘bench’) work being used to provide foundational ideas and testing of ‘bedside’ programs and evaluations. In relation to our study of mechanisms, we study psychological factors that make us happy, healthy, and productive - things like our responses to stress, how we develop emotional attachments with others, what makes exercise enjoyable (vs tedious), how our habits develop and how they help or hinder us, how people view stress, why we make the food and drink choices we make, the best ways to communicate with and motivate each other, and the things that make us resilient in the face of challenges.

In this theme, we also work on identifying the health challenges that exist in the home, workplace, school, and community at large, and we begin to look for possible solutions. We put those solutions into practice and test their effectiveness in our health promotion (‘bedside’) theme. That is, in our health promotion theme, we undertake research with the aim to directly improve an aspect of people's lives. We play a role in implementing and evaluating programs and trials designed to help people lose weight, make healthier dietary choices, feel better about themselves, increase their own and others physical activity levels, reduce their risk of disease, be more resilient, receive better health treatment, deal better with stress at home and work, and lead a healthier lifestyle in general.

2026 PAHL Faculty/Partner Members  (Alphabetical Order)

2026 PAHL Research Students (Alphabetical Order)

PAHL's research mission is supported by a tremendous group of research students. As well as housing dozens of Honours research students each year, we have a fantastic team of Masters and PhD students (see below).