Our research in Biomechanics, Motor Control and Sports Medicine investigates important questions relevant to the fields of Biomechanics, Motor Control, Neuromechanics, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Visual Perception, Motor Learning, and Skill Acquisition, with the aims of improving human performance, reducing injuries or improving human health.

Biomechanics involves the use of the mechanical principles of physics and engineering to study human motion and the mechanical properties of biological tissues. Applications include, among others, the study of movement in sporting situations (sports biomechanics), in work environments (occupational biomechanics), in rehabilitation settings (clinical biomechanics) and where there are interactions between the nervous system and mechanical properties of the body (neuromechanics).

Motor Control seeks to understand how movements of the human body are controlled and executed, and how motor skills develop through the lifespan and are acquired through practice. The field employs approaches from neuroscience to cognitive science to examine skill acquisition, coordination and control in healthy people, but also how these processes are affected by factors such as injury, disability, disease, disuse and fatigue. 

Biomechanics and Motor Control share core fundamentals with complementary disciplines, including Human Neuroscience and Engineering, and have important applications in sport, industry and health. Accordingly, our researchers have strong and successful research links within The University of Queensland (e.g. Queensland Brain Institute; the NHMRC CCRE for Spinal Pain and Health; Speech Pathology; Physiotherapy, Engineering) and with other external partners (eg. Australian Institute of Sports, Cricket Australia, ASICS, Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Boeing Australia and Australia’s Minerals Industry).

Sports medicine is concerned with the prevention and treatment of injuries and disorders that are related to participation in sports. Our researchers have built successful research collaborations within the University of Queensland, notably in the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology and the Centre for Advanced Imaging, on research projects using Magnetic Resonance Imaging to enhance diagnostic tools in sport participants and athletes.

 

Current and previously funded research projects (led by HMNS)

Current  projects

Title

Investigators

Funding Body

Duration

Subcortical control of human reaching?

Tim CarrollARC Discovery Project2023-2026

A new perspective on how we learn motor skills: two adaptation classes? 

Tim Carroll

 

ARC Discovery Project2023-2026

The grand challenge of predicting human movement energetics

Glen LichtwarkARC Future Fellowships2020-2024

Does foot shape even matter? Rethinking the function of the human foot

Luke KellyARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award2020-2024

Structural and neural determinants of stress and strain in human muscle

Glen Lichtwark

Paul Hodges

ARC Discovery Project2020-2023

Previous projects

Guy Wallis

Stephan Riek

Robin Burgess-Limerick

Heinrich Bülthoff

Jason Armstrong

ARC Linkage Project2020-2023

The role of non-visual cues in regulating perception and skilled movement

Guy Wallis

Stephan Riek

Heinrich Bülthoff

ARC Discovery Project

2019-2022

A multi-system approach to understand painful midfoot osteoarthritis

Luke Kelly 

John Arnold

Tasha Stanton

Prof Hylton Menz

Arthritis Foundation of
Australia
2020-2021

The role of dopamine in age-related deficits in sensorimotor adaptation

Li-Ann Leow

Timothy Carroll

Eva-Maria Reuter

Penny Macdonald

Rob Adam

Stephan Riek 

Brain Foundation Research Gift2019-2021

Sensorimotor control of foot function: Adapting the mechanical

function of the foot to optimise balance and gait performance

Luke Kelly

 

NHMRC Early Career Fellowships

2016-2019

A common sub-cortical system for human eye and limb control?

Tim Carroll

Guy Wallis

Gerald Loeb

Aymar de Rugy

Brian Corneil 

ARC Discovery Project

2017-2019

Optimising the spring in your step to enhance footwear design

Luke Kelly

Dominic Farris

Glen Lichtwark

Andrew Cresswell

 

ARC Linkage Project

2017-2020

How to we learn, by carrot or by stick?

Li-Ann Leow

UQ Development Fellowship

2017-2020

How do past actions and rewards bias goal directed movement?

Tim Carroll

Li-Ann Leow

Eva-Maria Reuter

Tim Welsh

ARC Discovery Project

2018-2020

Understanding the patho-physiology of chronic heel pain in children

Jayishni Maharaj

Luke Kelly

Australian Podiatry

Education and

Research Foundation

2019

Is pain associated with mechanical joint load in the foot during walking in rheumatoid arthritis? A preliminary study.

Jayishni Maharaj

Arthritis Foundation of Australia

2019

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