Rate My Professor Andrew Lavender

Dr Andrew Lavender is a researcher and educator in exercise and sport science, who served as Lecturer in the School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science within the Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University from 2012 to 2019. He currently holds a Visiting/Adjunct position in the Curtin School of Allied Health. Lavender obtained his Bachelor of Science in Sports Science from Edith Cowan University in 2000 and Master of Science in Sports Science in 2004 from the same university. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy from Yokohama City University in 2006, with research on exercise-induced muscle damage in older individuals compared with young participants. Additionally, he completed a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching at Curtin University in 2012 and a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Education Management at the University of Melbourne in 2018. Prior to his appointment at Curtin, Lavender worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Adelaide from 2006 to 2008 and as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Tokyo from 2009 to 2011.

Lavender's research interests include exercise-induced muscle damage, effects of sub-concussion on brain function in human and animal models, neuromuscular function, longevity and healthy ageing, and eccentric exercise training. He is an accredited Exercise Scientist with Exercise and Sports Science Australia. His key publications feature "Blood-brain barrier disruption and ventricular enlargement are the earliest econstructional changes in rats with repeated sub-concussive impacts over 2 weeks" (Scientific Reports, 2021), "Repeated long-term sub-concussion impacts induce motor dysfunction in rats: A potential rodent model" (Frontiers in Neurology, 2020), "The effect of sub-concussive impacts during a rugby tackling drill on brain function" (Brain Sciences, 2020), "Effect of ageing on H-reflex response to fatigue" (Experimental Brain Research, 2020), "Effect of paired associative stimulation on corticomotor excitability in chronic smokers" (Brain Sciences, 2019), "Effect of Plyometric Training on Speed and Change of Direction Ability in Elite Field Hockey Players" (Sports, 2018), and "Increased intracortical inhibition in elderly adults with anterior-posterior current flow: A TMS study" (Clinical Neurophysiology, 2016).