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Further profile information

Danny is a Winthrop Professor based in the School of Human Sciences (Sport and Exercise Science). A recent NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, he is a cardiovascular exercise physiologist specialising in the prevention of chronic disease. His research encompasses the lifespan; from exercise training in the prevention of the development of atherosclerosis in obese children and adolescents, to research on the best combination of exercise and medications in the management of patients with coronary disease, stroke, hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes and heart failure patients awaiting transplantation.

Danny has established a Cardiovascular Research Group at UWA, with a busy, dedicated laboratory and a diverse team of postdoctoral and graduate students and staff from Australia, South East Asia, Europe and North and South America. Utilising transdisciplinary research partnerships between science, engineering and medicine, his group aims to invent ways to detect incipient chronic disease at the earliest possible stage, to identify and optimise lifestyle interventions to prevent clinical manifestation of chronic diseases in humans, and to develop personalised, targeted and evidence-based interventions to optimise disease prevention. 

Many of the studies conducted by the Cardiovascular Research Group benefit from specific technologies invented and developed by Danny and his research team, including the development of software to perform detailed analysis of blood flow effects on the arterial wall. Novel application of optical computed tomography to examine microvascular function in health and disease has also been a recent focus.

• 40+ invited keynote presentations at national and international conferences including the World Congress of Cardiology, American College of Sports Medicine, Physiological Society (London), Sports Medicine Australia, Paediatric Work Physiology (P.O. Astrand lecure), IOC Pre-Olympic Congresses, Exercise and Sports Science Australia, European Congress of Sports Science
• Editor for Experimental Physiology
• Editorial advisor for Clinical Science (London)
• Chair of the Scientific Committee, Pre Olympic Conference, Glasgow, 2012
• Member (and Fellow) of the Scientific Committee of the European College of Sports Science (ECSS)
• Member National Heart Foundation Australia Physical Activity Committee (2013-2021)
• Invited member of the inaugural Australian Association of Exercise and Sports Science (AAESS) committee responsible for establishing guidelines, skills and competencies for Exercise Physiologists
• Funded by Research England to extend Australian Accredited Exercise Physiologist model to the NHS.
• Chair of Conference Organising committee, ESSA 2014, Scientific Comittee 2013
• NHMRC advisory group assessing outcomes from the NHMRC grants
• Assessed >25 nationally competitive NHMRC or Heart Foundation grants since 2000, as well as British HF and MRC grants
• PhD examiner for University of Witswatersrand, Victoria University of Technology, Monash University, University of Queensland, University of Sydney. External examiner (viva) for Radboud University, University of Bumingham and Brunel University, London
• External reviewer on tenure and promotion applications for the University of Oregon, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, McMaster University, University of Wisconsin, University of Tasmania, Griffith University, Brunel University, University of British Columbia, QUT, UC Wales and Queens University (including to Professorial level)
• International collaborative links between UWA and the Mayo Clinic, the University of Oregon, the University of Queens, Brunel University, Radboud University (Netherlands), Liverpool John Moores University, Kobe University, University of Queensland, Baker IDI, University of the Sunshine Coast
• Established International Summer School for Ultrasound in Cardiovascular Science and Medicine (conducted in UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada)
• 200+ peer reviewed national and international conference abstracts

Impacts of exercise, physical activity and lifestyle factors on cardiovascular health across the lifespan.

• 76 competitive grants, totalling approx $14.9million
• Approx $10million Cat 1 grant funding, 34 grants awarded
• 19 Industry grants including Nestle, Ares-Serono, Research England, Dept Defence
• Continuous nationally competitive funding since 1998

• 1991 British Council Overseas Fellowship, St George’s Hospital London (with Drs Vallance and Collier) Department of Clinical Pharmacology
• 1996 - Established Australia's first research intensive Clinical Exercise Physiology service in the Cardiac Transplant Unit, RPH.
• 1998/9 Visiting Scientist, Mayo Clinic (with Prof Mike Joyner)
• 2002 Appointed Visiting Specialist in Exercise Physiology and Rehabilitation (RPH) Cardiac Transplant Unit
• Editor for Experimental Physiology (London); Editorial advisor Clinical Science (London)
• Scientific Committee member and Fellow of European College of Sports Science (ECSS)
• Scientific Committee and Chair of Young Investigators Award Committee, IOC International Convention on Science 2012
• Inaugural Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA) committee member responsible for establishing skills and competencies for Exercise Physiologists
• Inaugural Chair of ESSA Cardiovascular Specialist Group 2012
• NHMRC advisory group member assessing outcomes from NHMRC grants
• Successive GRP panel member
• 2006 appointed Professor of Cardiovascular Physiology in the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences (RISES), Liverpool John Moores University. RISES achieved a 5* rating in the 2001 RAE and the highest grades in the 2007 and 2014 Research Assessments. My research outputs were submitted at 4* level in 2007 and 2014 (ie highest International standing)
• 2009 Appointed Winthrop Professor at The University of Western Australia

• >90 thesis students supervised at UWA and in the UK
• My students have received the Robert Street Prize for best PhD thesis at UWA and best publication in Clinical Medicine and Dentistry; 7 PhD students have been awarded Dean's listing, 2/3 of my Honours students received First Class
• 7 mentees are now Profs, 13 Snr/Lecturers, 5 earned esteemed postdocs (Harvard, Copenhagen, Dallas, Oxford, Deakin)
• My team has received >40 conference prizes including World Congress Cardiology, European Congress of Sports Sciences, Sports Medicine Australia, American Heart Association, World Congress of Paediatric Physiology, Exercise and Sports Sciences Australia, IOC Pre-Olympic Conference, Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, American College of Sports Medicine
• Developed self-paced computer-aided teaching resources
• Vocational courses for allied health professionals
• SPOT analyses with average grades of 4.6 and 4.3, respectively at UWA
• Nominated for teaching awards at UWA

• Impact of exercise and physical activity on vascular health and atherosclerotic disease
• Imaging techniques for the assessment of vascular function in health and disease: Ultrasound, optical computed tomography, echocardiography
• Understanding differences in the magnitude of response to exercise between individuals
• Exercise and exercise training effects on functional capacity and cardiovascular health in subjects with obesity, diabetes, coronary disease and stroke
• Nurture versus nature in the response to exercise and exercise training
• Exercise in the heat: effects on cardiovascular function and health in healthy participants and those with cardiovascular disease
• Impact of blood flow through arteries and attendant shear stress forces on functional changes in large and small arteries and arterial remodelling
• Inactivity effects on the vasculature in spinal cord injury and other models of acute and chronic inactivity
• Impact of sex hormones (such as tesosterone) on cardiac and vascular function
• Effects of exercise and exercise training on cerebrovascular function in patients with cognitive impairment and dementia