Rate My Professor Stephan Riek

Professor Stephan Riek is the Dean of Graduate Research and Researcher Development at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia, a role he commenced in July 2024. He earned his PhD in Neuromechanics from Simon Fraser University in Canada, undertaking his doctoral studies from September 1991 to January 1996. Before joining James Cook University, Professor Riek served as Dean of the Graduate Research School at the University of the Sunshine Coast from April 2020. Earlier, he was based at the Centre for Sensorimotor Performance in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences at The University of Queensland in Brisbane from January 2003. In his administrative capacities, he has contributed to university governance, including membership on James Cook University's Research Committee and Education Committee as listed in 2025 and 2026 documents.

Professor Riek's research focuses on neural control of movement, motor learning, exercise science, neuroscience, biomechanics, stroke rehabilitation, neurophysiology, sports science, and brain stimulation, with expertise in electromyography. He has produced 176 publications, garnering 6,409 citations on ResearchGate and demonstrating significant impact in his field. Key publications include 'Visual Spatial Attention Has Opposite Effects on Bidirectional Plasticity in the Human Motor Cortex' (2014), 'Corticospinal modulation induced by sounds depends on action preparedness' (2013), 'Ipsilateral corticospinal responses to ballistic training are similar for various intensities and timings of TMS' (2012), 'Primary motor cortex involvement in initial learning during visuomotor adaptation' (2012), 'Exercise intensity influences body composition: a 6-month comparison of high-intensity interval, moderate- and low-intensity training among healthy older adults' (2025), 'Long-Term Improvement in Hippocampal-Dependent Learning Ability in Healthy, Aged Individuals Following High Intensity Interval Training' (2024), 'Interaction of hand orientations during familiarization of a goal-directed aiming task' (2022), and 'Acoustic stimulation increases implicit adaptation in sensorimotor adaptation' (2021). At James Cook University, he leads the Graduate Research School, supporting programs such as PhD@Work, which enables working professionals to pursue doctoral research.