Researcher biography

Associate Professor Shelley Keating is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) and an Associate Professor in Clinical Exercise Physiology at the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland. With a strong grounding in exercise metabolism and body composition, Shelley leads a program of research aimed at changing the way we prioritise, access and deliver lifestyle intervention for people with obesity, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), type 2 diabetes and liver cirrhosis. She leads a multidisciplinary research program advancing the integration of exercise into standard cardiometabolic and hepatology care pathways. Her program is co-designed with clinicians, health services, and people living with MASLD to develop sustainable, meaningful exercise solutions that can be embedded into routine hepatology care. A/Prof Keating is also a member of the Global NASH/MASH Council and the EASL Global Liver Advocacy Network, contributing to international advocacy and multidisciplinary collaboration in steatotic liver disease.

A/Prof Keating is the Director of the Exercise Physiology and Liver Disease Translation Group (EP-Liver), which is advanding liver health through exercise, implementation and partnership. The Exercise Physiology and Liver Disease Translation Group conducts clinical trials and implementation research to integrate exercise physiology into the prevention, assessment and management of steatotic liver disease and cirrhosis, with the goal of advancing liver health across the disease spectrum.

The Exercise Physiology and Liver Disease Translation Group (EP-Liver) has three core pillars:

Transforming Workforce: Builds workforce capacity and implementation frameworks that embed exercise physiology within multidiciplinary care for steatotic liver disease and cirrhosis.

Translating Evidence: Generates and translates clinical trial evidence on exercise as a therapeutic intervention for steatotic liver disease and cirrhosis into guidelines and models of care.

Amplifying Voices: Centres the perspectives of people living with steatotic liver disease and cirrhosis through co-design and engagement, ensuring models of care are equity-informed.