Rate My Professor Angela Spence

Dr. Angela Spence is a Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology at Curtin University within the Faculty of Health Sciences. A Curtin University alumna, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Health Science with First Class Honours and her Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Western Australia in 2013, with her doctoral research focused on cardiac and vascular adaptive responses to exercise training. Following her PhD, she completed a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Western Australia, contributing to the PREVENTIA Study on the impact of exercise training on cerebrovascular and cognitive function. Since 2014, Dr. Spence has served as a Senior Lecturer at Curtin University, lecturing across multiple exercise science units, supervising research students, and conducting research in the Curtin School of Allied Health.

Dr. Spence's research expertise centers on integrative exercise and cardiovascular physiology, employing novel imaging technologies such as MRI, echocardiography, and ultrasonography to evaluate physiological responses at rest, during exercise, and post-exercise. Her academic interests encompass the physiology of various exercise modalities, cardiovascular system functioning, exercise's role in chronic disease prevention and management, health and quality of life improvements, performance enhancement, and specific health outcomes for women across the lifespan. She holds accreditation with Exercise and Sport Science Australia (ESSA). Key publications include "A prospective randomized longitudinal study involving 6 months of endurance or resistance exercise. Conduit artery adaptation in humans" (Spence et al., Hypertension, 2012), "Exercise training and artery function in humans: nonresponse and ..." (Spence et al., 2013), "Twelve weeks of water-based circuit training exercise ..." (Scheer et al., Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 2021), and "The effects of water-based circuit exercise training on ..." (Scheer et al., American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 2023). Dr. Spence co-received the 2023 Australian Awards for University Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning for empowering Exercise and Sport Science students to enhance their professional identity and employability skills. She was a finalist in the 2024 Western Australian Young Tall Poppy Awards.