Health Check Issue 19 2008 (PDF 283k) - Griffith University

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www.griffith.edu.au/health 5
Head of School
measures up
Professor Peter Milburn started his
career as a physical education teacher
and still loves the process of teaching
and learning, understanding how people
learn new skills, enabling people to
participate safely, and finding creative
ways to meet those needs.
His new role as head of the School of
Physiotherapy and Exercise Science
gives him the opportunity to further
pursue that passion and extend the
School’s reputation as a provider
of high-quality undergraduate and
postgraduate programs.
Professor Milburn said the strength
in Griffith’s exercise science program
underpinned the School’s overall success.
“Exercise science is an entirely
appropriate starting point for careers in
physiotherapy and Griffith is recognised
for its unique double-degree program
that builds on the synergies between
the two disciplines.”
“I see the opportunities here are
to further define alternate career
pathways for exercise scientists and
enhance their employability in areas
such as sport, health and education,”
he said.
Professor Milburn helped establish
human movement studies at the
University of Wollongong and also
supervised the transition of the
Bachelor of Physiotherapy program
from New Zealand’s Otago Polytechnic
to the University of Otago.
As well teaching at Griffith, he said he
looks forward to playing a mentoring
role for the many new and early career
researchers in the School.
His own areas of research are
based on biomechanical analyses of
musculoskeletal stress during activities
such as sport and at work.
”I’m particularly interested in the
development and application
Professor Peter Milburn
of new technologies such as
stereophotogrammetry which allows
us to take accurate three dimensional
measurements of the shape of the back
and spine.”
Some of his current projects include
documenting the change in shape of
the spine as it compresses and bends
during the course of the day, during
high intensity activity such as rugby
scrums or pace bowling, and in specific
conditions such as pregnancy.
He is also interested in developing
targeted exercise programs for
overweight children who already suffer
from extra loading on their knee and hip
joints and typically experience pain or
discomfort with physical activity.
International
researchers flexing their
collective muscle
A Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) to develop collaborative research
initiatives in exercise physiology and
other areas has been signed by the
University of Copenhagen Muscle
Research Centre and Griffith Health.
The MoU initially supports a research
partnership between Griffith’s muscle
physiologist Dr Luke Haseler and
internationally recognised exercise
physiologist Professor Bengt Saltin,
founder of the Copenhagen Muscle
Research Centre.
The two researchers have teamed up
to further investigate how muscles use
oxygen. Their findings will contribute
valuable information to help combat
heart and lung diseases such as chronic
heart failure and chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease.
Professor Saltin’s extensive experience
in the field and Dr Haseler’s expertise in
magnetic resonance spectroscopy make
for an extremely effective partnership.
While magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) scanners are best known for
taking images of the brain, Dr Haseler
has designed a system for scanning
lower limbs and obtaining real-time
information on muscle function including
the matching of oxygen delivery to
metabolic demand.
“Only a handful of places in the world
can do these metabolic measurements,”
he said.
“Hopefully we will be able to tease
out whether the problem in people
with these conditions is due to poor
blood flow and oxygen delivery to the
muscle or a problem within the muscles
themselves.”
The research will also provide evidence
about the effectiveness of exercise
training in managing these conditions.
The MoU builds on a 2006 Exchange
Agreement for student and staff
exchange between the two institutions,
and mutual strengths in medicine, oral
health, public health and biomedical
sciences.