Swansea University - University of Canberra Partnership

18th February 2026:

• Emotion in Extended Reality: Designing Representative Environments to Support Skill Transfer in High-Performance Sport: Kieran Hayes  (Swansea University)
• Investigating Complex Conditional Relationships Between the Indoor Thermal Environment and Sleep During Summertime Heat Stress in Australia: A Feasibility Study: Meg Rankin (University of Canberra)
• Update on Swansea University’s National Institute for Sport and Health (NISH) – Heidi Rehwald  (Swansea University)

19th November 2025:

• Mental Health and Wellbeing in University Athletes and Knowledge Translation and Implementation of Research into Everyday Practice: Kurtis Pankow(Swansea University) 
• Running for Resilience: A Community-Led Physical Activity Initiative for Mental Health: Joanna Tweedie (University of Canberra)

17th September 2025: Swansea-Canberra Collaborative Research Projects 

• Establishing return-to-sport criteria following isolated meniscal repair: Chelsea Starbuck (Swansea University) and Crystal Kean (University of Canberra)
• Development and evaluation of a breast impact quantification system for use in women’s contact sport: Elisabeth Williams (Swansea University)
• Investigating the acute effects of adopting daylight time-restricted eating on circadian rhythm, heat tolerance and reno-inflammatory response to exercise: Tom Silcock (Swansea University)

7th May 2025: Summer Conference Presentations

• Sweet Relief: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Dark Chocolate for Menstrual and Hormonal Contraceptive Cycle Symptoms Management in Female Athletes: Sara Chica-Latorre (University of Canberra)
• Thermoregulatory responses to a simulated heat wave across the human lifespan: Dr Harry Brown (University of Canberra)

19th February 2025: Swansea-Canberra Collaborative Research Projects 

• The Dose-Response Effect of Varying Isometric Handgrip Exercise Training Frequency on Blood Pressure and Vascular Health: Dr Richard Metcalfe (Swansea University)
• A Comparison between Stable, Unstable and Variable Resistance Training Interventions: Dr Billy Mason (University of Canberra)
• Do Strength and Power Profiles Differ between Playing Level and Positional Group in Female Rugby League Athletes?: Riley Brassington (University of Canberra)

4th September 2024: Reflections on the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and an introduction to the National Network for Innovation in Sport and Health

• Evaluation of predictive models for Olympic swimming performance – Paris 2024, David Pyne (Emeritus Professor, University of Canberra)
• Co-designing Female Talent Development Research in Olympic Pathways with Australian Sailing, Molly Highfield (PhD candidate, University of Canberra)
• An introduction to the National Network for Innovation in Sport and Health (NNIISH), Richard Lancaster, Senior Communications, Relationships and Business Development Manager, Faculty of Medicine Health and Life Sciences, Swansea University

22nd May 2024: Swansea-Canberra Collaborative Research Projects 2021

• Promoting psychological literacy in youth sports settings: Embedding safe and effective practice: Prof Camilla Knight (Swansea University
• Development of a novel test of cognitive performance in team-sport athletes: A validity, reliability, and sensitivity approach: Dr Nick Ball (University of Canberra)
• The effect of post-exercise, lower-limb passive heating on endurance performance, in vivo vascular function, alongside well as ex-vivo and in-vitro markers of peripheral muscle and vascular adaptations: Prof Julien Periard (Univresity of Canberra)

21st February 2024: Women in Sport

• Junior Versus Senior Female Athletes’ Experiences of the Menstrual Cycle in Sports Performance, Dr Natalie Brown (Swansea University)
• Continuous Measurement of Interstitial Glycaemia in Professional Female UCI World Tour Cyclists undertaking a 9-day Cycle Training Camp, Ross Hamilton (Swansea University)
• Breaking the Silence: Sportswomen’s Menstrual Cycle Symptoms Experiences and Perceptions, Sara Chica Latorre (University of Canberra)
• Injury Incidence and Prevalence in Elite Short-Course Triathletes, Melanie Crunkhorn (University of Canberra, Queensland Academy of Sport)

15th November 2023: The Application of Advanced Data Analytics to Sport and Exercise Sciences

• Walking the Line of Data Complexity in Sport Performance, Georgia Scott (Swansea University)
• The Importance of Place Kicking in Women’s International Rugby Union, Sam Jones (Swansea University)
• Designing Athlete Monitoring Systems for Female Footballers with input from High Performance Staff and Athletes, Josh Waugh (University of Canberra)
• Creating Metrics to Evaluate the On-Field Performance of Rugby League Players to Inform Recruitment and Selection, Shaun Cameron (University of Canberra)

13th September 2023:

• Derby Doubles, Dipping, and Data: Sabbatical in Swansea: Dr Jocelyn Mara (University of Canberra)

14th June 2023: ECSS Papers and Posters:

• Age-Dependent Cerebral Blood Flow Responses to Acute Concurrent Physical and Cognitive Activity: Miss Vicki McCarthy (Canberra)
• The development and assessment of a novel combined physical and cognitive assessment: The Flanker-Y: Poster presentation by Dr Kate Pumpa (Canberra) & Dr Jocelyn Mara (Canberra)
• The effect of eight-days oral taurine supplementation on thermoregulation at fixed heat production in hot conditions of incremental humidity: Miss Jenny Peel (Swansea)
• Assessing real-world movement with consumer-grade wearable sensors: measuring segment orientations and movement quality: Mr. Alex Swain (Swansea)
• 'Probably just sexism': Gendered experiences of resource access in rugby: Miss Freja Petrie (Swansea)

19th April 2023: Swansea-Canberra Collaborative Teaching Projects 2022:

• Course-tailored Virtual Reality as a Teaching Aid for Anatomy: Dr Laura Mason (Swansea) & Dr Julie Cooke (Canberra)
• The impact of mental health literacy, stigma, and help seeking behaviours on the wellbeing of university students: A cross cultural analysis of UK and Australian undergraduates: Dr Denise Hill (Swansea) & Dr Andrew McKune (Canberra)

12th October 2022: Swansea-Canberra Collaborative Research Projects 2022: 

• Investigating the Impact of Lifetime Participation in Sport on Epigenetic Regulation of Immune Function: A Pilot Study: Dr Shane Heffernan (Swansea) and Dr Chloe Goldsmith (Canberra) 
• The Dose-Response Effect of Varying Isometric Handgrip Exercise Training Frequency on Blood Pressure and Vascular Health: Dr Richard Metcalfe (Swansea) and Dr Kellie Toohey

20th July 2022: Swansea-Canberra Collaborative Research Projects 2021: 

• Promoting psychological literacy in youth sports settings: Embedding safe and effective practice: Prof Camilla Knight (Swansea University & Dr Alex Lascu (University of Canberra)
• Development of a novel test of cognitive performance in team-sport athletes: A validity, reliability, and sensitivity approach: Prof Liam Kilduff (Swansea University) & Dr Nick Ball (University of Canberra)
• The effect of post-exercise, lower-limb passive heating on endurance performance, in vivo vascular function, alongside well as ex-vivo and in-vitro markers of peripheral muscle and vascular adaptations: Dr Mark Waldron (Swansea University) and Prof Julien Periard (Univresity of Canberra)

18th May 2022: Swansea-Canberra Teaching Collaborations: 

• Course-tailored Virtual Reality as a Teaching Aid for Anatomy: Dr Laura Mason (Swansea University & Dr Julie Cooke (University of Canberra)
• The impact of mental health literacy, stigma, and help seeking behaviours on the wellbeing of university students: A cross cultural analysis of UK and Australian undergraduates: Dr Denise Hill (Swansea University) & Dr Andrew McKune (University of Canberra)

16th March 2022: Sports Ethics and Integrity

• What makes a good ethical Investigation? Juia Cook (Swansea University)
• Precarious work in sport: The case of British Horseracing: Evie Ham (Swansea University)
• UC’s Sport Integrity Hub: a collaborative approach: Assistant Professor Catherine Ordway (University of Canberra)
• Inclusion as an internal value of sport: Damien Parry (University of Canberra) 

19th January 2022: Rugby Science

• Overview of Rugby Science Research within the A-STEM Research Centre: Dr Neil Bezodis & Professor Liam Kilduff, Swansea University
• Slow Ball! An Evaluation of the Potential Health Benefits of Walking Rugby in South Wales: Dr Rachel Churm, Swansea University
• The Application of Advanced Data Analytics in Professional Rugby Union: Dr Rowan Brown & Miss Georgia Scott, Swansea University
• Current Sports Nutrition Issues in Rugby: Associate Professor Kate Pumpa, University of Canberra
• The Journey of Head Impact Monitoring and Concussion Recognition in Rugby Union - Understanding the Past, Informing the Present and Exploring the Future: Byron Field, University of Canberra

16th November 2021: Recipients of our joint seedcorn grants presented details of their research projects:

• Promoting psychological literacy in youth sports settings: Embedding safe and effective practice: Professor Camilla Knight and Dr. Richard Keegan
• Development of a novel test of cognitive performance in team-sport athletes: A validity, reliability, and sensitivity approach: Dr. Nick Ball, Mr. Billy Mason, and Professor Liam Kilduff
• The effect of post-exercise, lower-limb passive heating on endurance performance, in vivo vascular function, and ex-vivo and in-vitro markers of skeletal muscle and vascular adaptation: Dr. Mark Waldron and Professor Julien Periard

Swansea and Canberra have jointly funded a number of Seedcorn Grants to foster and support the development of new collaborations in teaching and research:

• Investigating the Impact of Lifetime Participation in Sport on Epigenetic Regulation of Immune Function: A Pilot Study: Dr Shane Heffernan (Swansea) and Dr Chloe Goldsmith (Canberra) 
• The Dose-Response Effect of Varying Isometric Handgrip Exercise Training Frequency on Blood Pressure and Vascular Health: Dr Richard Metcalfe (Swansea) and Dr Kellie Toohey
• The Development of a Novel Test of Cognitive Performance in Team-Sport Athletes: Prof Liam Kilduff (Swansea) and Dr Nick Ball (Canberra)
• The Effect of Post-Exercise, Lower-Limb Passive Heating on Endurance Performance: Prof Julien Periard (Canberra) and Dr Mark Waldron (Swansea)
• Promoting Psychological Literacy in Youth Sports Settings: Prof Camilla Knight (Swansea) and Dr Richard Keegan (Canberra)
• Course-tailored Virtual Reality as a Teaching Aid for Anatomy: Dr Laura Mason (Swansea University & Dr Julie Cooke (University of Canberra)
• The impact of mental health literacy, stigma, and help seeking behaviours on the wellbeing of university students: A cross cultural analysis of UK and Australian undergraduates: Dr Denise Hill (Swansea University) & Dr Andrew McKune (University of Canberra)

• The Neuromuscular, Physiological, Endocrine and Perceptual Responses to Different Training Session Orders in International Female Netball Players (European Journal of Sport Science, 2021)
• The Physical Demands of Professional Soccer Goalkeepers throughout a Week-Long Competitive Microcycle and Transiently throughout Match-Play (Journal of Sports Sciences, 2020)
• Activity Accumulation and Cardiometabolic Risk in Youth: A Latent Profile Approach (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (2020)
• Performance Indicators during International Rugby Union Matches are Influenced by a Combination of Physiological and Contextual Variables (Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 2020)
• Cross-Sectional associations of Total Daily Volume and Activity Patterns across the Activity Spectrum with Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Children and Adolescents (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020)