Rate My Professor Leon Straker

Leon Straker is John Curtin Distinguished Professor in the Curtin School of Allied Health, Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Physiotherapy from the Western Australian Institute of Technology, a Master of Science in Ergonomics from the University of London, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Occupational Medicine from the University of Sydney. Straker previously served as Professor of Physiotherapy and Director of Research and Higher Degree Programs in the School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science. He was Scientific Director of the Raine Study, a major multi-generational longitudinal cohort study examining behaviour and health trajectories including obesity, physical activity, sedentary behaviours, mental health, and musculoskeletal health. His career includes leading family-based multi-disciplinary interventions for overweight adolescents and analysing work productivity costs associated with spinal pain and mental ill-health in young people.

Straker's research specializations encompass the impact of technology use on children's physical wellbeing, including posture, muscle activity, and patterns of physical activity and sedentary behaviour during digital device interaction; occupational physical activity design, exemplified by the Goldilocks Principle advocating 'just right' activity levels for health benefits; and prevention of musculoskeletal disorders. He leads a research group on technology, activity, and health. Straker has secured continuous Category 1 research funding exceeding $56 million as Chief Investigator and published over 400 peer-reviewed journal articles, garnering more than 28,000 Google Scholar citations and 15,000 Scopus citations. Key publications include 'A comparison of posture and muscle activity during tablet computer, desktop computer and paper use by young children' (2008), 'Increased physical work loads in modern work – a necessity for better health and performance?' (2009), 'A socioeconomic related 'digital divide' exists in how, not if, young people use computers' (2017), and 'Designing physical activity at work to be 'just right' for improving health: the Goldilocks Principle' (2018). Awards include two National Health and Medical Research Council Senior Research Fellowships, Curtin University Faculty of Health Sciences Researcher of the Year, and the John Curtin Distinguished Professor title. He co-authored international guidelines on children's computer and electronic game use and serves on the Active Healthy Kids Australia Executive.