Mechanisms & Interventions in Health & Disease

The Mechanisms and Interventions in Health and Disease research program seeks to enhance the understanding of health and disease in the following ways:

  • researching the fundamental mechanisms of cells, biological systems and disease processes
  • translating this knowledge into the development and implementation of interventions that maintain health, treat disease and inform policy and practice for enhanced health outcomes.

Program members use fundamental basic, applied, clinical and translational research approaches. The program has three main research focus areas with ten research groups, outlined here.

In total, the Mechanisms and Interventions in Health and Disease Program has more than 100 staff and higher-degree research students. 

Our research interests

Key areas of research expertise within the program include: 

  • biomechanics
  • cancer biology and metastasis
  • cardiovascular health and disease
  • drug design and development, immunotherapeutics and vaccine design
  • exercise science
  • genetics and epigenetics of exercise
  • immunology and regenerative medicine
  • molecular biology
  • muscle health and disease
  • nutrition in health and disease
  • structural biology (NMR, crystallography, molecular modelling)
  • therapeutic mechanisms and manual therapy
  • women’s health.

Focus areas

Our research addresses these areas in particular:

  • ageing
  • autoimmune diseases (multiple sclerosis, Type-1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel diseases)
  • cancer (breast, colon, ovarian, prostate, lung, leukemia) 
  • cardiovascular disease
  • enteric neuropathy 
  • hunger management 
  • lower back pain 
  • mental health
  • metabolic disorders (obesity, Type-2 diabetes, insulin resistance, stroke)
  • motor neuron disease
  • musculoskeletal disorders (muscular dystrophy, cachexia, sarcopenia, osteosarcopenia)
  • polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Our collaborations

Research group leaders

Cancer Biology & Metastasis
Professor John Price

Gait & Intelligent Technologies
Professor Rezaul Begg

Genetics & Epigenetics of Exercise
Associate Professor Nir Eynon

Immunology & Translational Research
Professor Vasso Apostolopoulos

Muscle Wasting & Metabolic Disease
Professor Alan Hayes

Nutrition & Metabolic Health
Professor Michael Mathai

Skeletal Muscle & Training
Professor David Bishop