Section: Overview
Overview
Key publications
Research funding
Supervising & teaching
Career

Key details

Areas of expertise

  • Exercise physiology
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Exercise rehabilitation
  • Nurtritional intervention
  • Inclusion and safeguarding in sport

Available to supervise research students

Available for media queries

About Mary Woessner

Dr Mary Woessner has received national and international recognition for her innovative research in the field of cardiovascular health. Mary's research focus on novel interventions to improve the physical wellbeing and quality of life in patients with cardiovascular disease. She has a specific interest in exploring non-pharmaceutical options for improving clinical care and outcomes. Her PhD was the largest clinical trial investigating the efficacy of nitrate supplementation on improving exercise capacity in heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction.

Mary has obtained over AUD$300,000 in research funding. This funding includes:

  • a competitive Victoria University International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (2015-2019)
  • CIB on a Category 1 Australian Heart Foundation Vanguard grant (2016)
  • SECOMB Conference and Travel Fund Grant (2018)
  • an International Collaborative grant from the Research Foundation-Flanders (2020-2025)
  • Victoria University Planetary Health Grant (2020).

Dr Woessner won the Victoria University Three Minute Thesis competition in 2016 and represented VU at the Asia-Pacific Finals that same year. Most recently, Mary was awarded a citation from Victoria University for Excellence in Graduate Research.

Mary has published 17 peer reviewed journal articles in total and was lead author on 9. She has published in the leading journals in her field including Circulation research (IF: 15.862) and Nitric Oxide (IF: 3.311).

Mary currently has two primary fields of research that she is advancing in the areas of clinical exercise rehabilitation and safeguarding in sport. Her ongoing efforts in the field of clinical exercise rehabilitation focus on exploring novel ways to approach exercise interventions to improve both physical and mental wellbeing and promote long term behavioural change. Her work in the safeguarding in sport field has resulted in a successful collaborative research grant which supported the establishment of the International Research Network On Violence and Integrity in Sport (IRNOVIS).

She is a member of the Chair in Security and Integrity in Sport at Laval University in Canada and has recently completed a large scale project exploring the magnitude of instances of violence against children in Australian community sport.

Qualifications

  • PhD Exercise Physiology, Victoria University 2019
  • MA Exercise Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2013
  • BS Sport and Exercise Science, Meredith College, 2011

Key publications

Year Citation
2023 Patten, R. K., Asilioglu, A., Levinger, I., Tacey, A., Pascoe, M., Tran, P., McKenna, M. J., Said, C. M., Coric, N., & De, Gori. (231201). Prevalence of diagnosable depression in patients awaiting orthopaedic specialist consultation: a cross-sectional analysis. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 24(1),

doi: 10.1186/s12891-023-06688-0

2023 Pankowiak, A., Woessner, M. N., Parent, S., Vertommen, T., Eime, R., Spaaij, R., Harvey, J., & Parker, A. G. (230201). Psychological, Physical, and Sexual Violence Against Children in Australian Community Sport: Frequency, Perpetrator, and Victim Characteristics. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(3-4), (4338-4365).

doi: 10.1177/08862605221114155

2023 Woessner, M. N., Pankowiak, A., Kavanagh, E., Parent, S., Vertommen, T., Eime, R., Spaaij, R., Harvey, J., & Parker, A. G. (230101). Telling adults about it: children s experience of disclosing interpersonal violence in community sport. Sport in Society,

doi: 10.1080/17430437.2023.2268555

2023 Healy, R. D., Smith, C., Woessner, M. N., & Levinger, I. (230101). Relationship between VO2peak, VO2 Recovery Kinetics, and Muscle Function in Older Adults. Gerontology, 69(11), (1278-1283).

doi: 10.1159/000533920

2023 Constandt, B., Vertommen, T., Cox, L., Kavanagh, E., Kumar, B. P., Pankowiak, A., Parent, S., & Woessner, M. (230101). Quid interpersonal violence in the sport integrity literature? A scoping review. Sport in Society,

doi: 10.1080/17430437.2023.2233433

2023 Patten, R. K., Bourke, M., McIlvenna, L. C., Moreno-Asso, A., Woessner, M. N., Stepto, N. K., & Parker, A. (230101). Longitudinal affective response to high-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity continuous training in overweight women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomised trial. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 64

doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2022.102325

2022 Piknova, B., Woessner, M. N., de, Zevallos., Kraus, W. E., VanBruggen, M. D., Schechter, A. N., & Allen, J. D. (221201). Human skeletal muscle nitrate and nitrite in individuals with peripheral arterial disease: Effect of inorganic nitrate supplementation and exercise. Physiological Reports, 10(23),

doi: 10.14814/phy2.15531

2022 Ortiz, de., Woessner, M. N., & Kelley, E. E. (221201). Skeletal muscle as a reservoir for nitrate and nitrite: The role of xanthine oxidase reductase (XOR). Nitric Oxide - Biology and Chemistry, 129 (102-109).

doi: 10.1016/j.niox.2022.10.004

2022 Smith, C., Hiam, D., Tacey, A., Lin, X., Woessner, M. N., Zarekookandeh, N., Garnham, A., Chubb, P., Lewis, J. R., & Sim, M. (221201). Higher bone remodeling biomarkers are related to a higher muscle function in older adults: Effects of acute exercise. Bone, 165

doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2022.116545

2022 Patten, R. K., Tacey, A., Bourke, M., Smith, C., Pascoe, M., Vogrin, S., Parker, A., McKenna, M. J., Tran, P., & De, Gori. (221201). The impact of waiting time for orthopaedic consultation on pain levels in individuals with osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 30(12), (1561-1574).

doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2022.07.007

Research funding for the past 5 years

Please note:

  • Funding is ordered by the year the project commenced and may continue over several years.
  • Funding amounts for contact research are not disclosed to maintain commercial confidentiality.
  • The order of investigators is not indicative of the role they played in the research project.

Improving Care for Patients on a Waiting List for Orthopaedic Specialist Public Health Services in Melbourne’s West (Waitlist Project)
From: Victorian Higher Education Strategic Investment Fund
Other investigators: Prof Itamar Levinger, Prof Michael Mckenna, Prof Vasso Apostolopoulos, Prof Rebecca Lane, Prof Alexandra Parker, Dr Michaela Pascoe
For period: 2021-2022
$2,025,812

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to the following organisations for their support and essential contributions to my research:

Supervision of research students at VU

Available to supervise research students

Available for media queries

Currently supervised research students at VU

No. of students Study level Role
3 PhD Associate supervisor

Currently supervised research students at VU

Students & level Role
PhD (3) Associate supervisor

Teaching activities & experience

Since 2015, Mary has lectured various units, with the majority of her teaching falling within the Masters of Clinical Exercise Rehabilitation Course at Victoria University.  Mary seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice by embedding the “real world” scenarios into all aspects of her teaching.

Key academic roles

Dates Role Department / Organisation
Jan 2021 - Present
Lecturer in Clinical Exercise Science
Victoria University
Dates Role & Department/Organisation
Jan 2021 -
Present
Lecturer in Clinical Exercise Science
Victoria University

Awards

Year Award
2020

Vice-Chancellor's Citation for Excellence in Research (Graduate Researcher) - Victoria University

2016

University Three Minute Thesis Winner - Victoria University

2016

Asia-Pacific Three Minute Thesis Finalist - University of Queensland

2013

Marvin E. Allen Excellence in Teaching Award - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2010

Academic Achievement Award - Meredith College

Show more awards

Keynote and invited speeches

Year Title/Description
2021

Effect of Nitrate Supplementation in Patients with HFrEF

Invited Symposium Speaker at American College of Sports Medicine National Conference

2018

The Effects of Nitrate Supplementation on Exercise Capacity in Heart Failure. HFpEF v HFrEF: An update from the literature

Invited Speaker at European College of Sport Science, Dublin, Ireland

2018

Exercise Considerations for Individuals with Cardiovascular Disease.

Invited Guest Speaker at Victoria Active Ageing Partnership Research and Practice Forum, Melbourne

Professional memberships

  • Accredited Professional, American College of Sports Medicine
  • Accredited Exercise Scientist, Exercise and Sport Science Australia