Rate My Professor Kieron Rooney

Professor Kieron Rooney is Professor of Animal Research Ethics and Metabolic Biochemistry in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney, within the Sydney School of Health Sciences and Discipline of Exercise and Sport Science. He earned a BSc (Hons), PhD in Biochemistry in 2004, and Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies (Higher Education) in 2007 from the University of Sydney, and is a Registered Nutritionist. Rooney joined the university's Faculty of Health Sciences in 2003 as a Lecturer in the Biochemistry of Exercise, progressing to Senior Lecturer in 2012 and Associate Professor before his current professorial appointment. He has held leadership positions including Head of Discipline of Exercise and Sport Science (2020-2022), Co-Lead of the Charles Perkins Centre Bias in Research node (2020-present), and Co-Lead of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sport and Physical Activity Research and Teaching Network (SPARTAN; 2021-2026). Additionally, he served as Elected Faculty Representative on the Learning and Teaching Committee (2007-2009).

Rooney's research specializations encompass metabolic biochemistry, the influences of habitual diet and physical activity on health and performance, effects of sugar and non-nutritive sweeteners, low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets, exercise interventions for substance use disorders, mental health, chronic pain, and type 1 diabetes management, as well as animal research ethics. Key publications include the ARRIVE guidelines 2.0: Updated guidelines for reporting animal research (2020) and Reporting animal research: Explanation and elaboration for the ARRIVE guidelines 2.0 (2020), alongside works on physical activity and cognitive function (2016), maternal high-fat feeding and offspring glycaemia (2011), and obesity and hypoferraemia (2012). With 181 publications and over 20,000 citations, his contributions have substantial impact in exercise physiology, nutrition science, and research reporting standards. He has received NHMRC biennial awards (2021) and ARC Discovery Project funding. In teaching, Rooney coordinates units such as Biochemistry of Exercise and Advanced Exercise Physiology. He contributes to editorial boards, including Advanced Exercise and Health Science.