Kai Wheeler

Dr Kai Wheeler is a Senior Lecturer and Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Strategy in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences within the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Queensland. A proud Ngarabal person and Accredited Exercise Scientist with Exercise and Sport Science Australia, he earned a Bachelor of Applied Science and a Bachelor (Honours) of Applied Science from the University of Canberra, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of the Sunshine Coast, becoming the first Aboriginal person to receive a PhD from that institution. Wheeler currently serves as Program Convenor for the Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Sciences at UQ and chairs the ESSA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Strategy Working Group. His professional experience includes partnerships with elite sporting organizations such as the Wallabies, Brumbies Rugby, World Rugby, the Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra Raiders, Canberra Comets, Canberra Meteors, and GWS Giants, where he has co-designed training programs to optimize performance.

Wheeler's research focuses on implementation science through partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, embedding Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing into health and wellbeing initiatives, child development via inclusive sport and exercise systems, fundamental movement skills, trauma-informed physical activity, sport analytics, biomechanics, strength and conditioning, and strategic leadership. He leads projects funded by NHMRC, Cancer Australia, and others, addressing rheumatic heart disease prevention, maternal health, and Indigenous health research priorities. Wheeler has authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications, including the book Wearable Sensors in Sport: A Practical Guide to Usage and Implementation (Springer, 2019), and recent articles such as "Public First Nations sport history projects: the cross-disciplinary value of the principles of co-design" (Journal of Sport History, 2025) and "A population-based study of cause-specific mortality in First Nations Australians with cirrhosis" (The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, 2025). His scholarship has garnered over 680 citations with an h-index of 13. Among his honors are the 2022 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scientist Award from the Australian Academy of Science, the 2020 Accredited Exercise Scientist of the Year from ESSA, and multiple National Science Week awards. Wheeler was recognized in COSMOS magazine's top 52 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people changing the world.

Professional Email: kwheeler@uq.edu.au