Associate Professor Dunstan is a VicHealth Public Health Research Fellow and is the Head of the Physical Activity laboratory in the Division of Metabolism and Obesity at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute.
He is a leading researcher on the role of physical activity in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes In the 10 years following his PhD award his physical activity research work has attracted considerable external funding from the NHMRC, VicHealth and the National Heart Foundation. In 2006 he was awarded a VicHealth Public Health Fellowship to further consolidate his physical activity research program into the role of sedentary behaviour in chronic disease. Another significant achievement has been his involvement as a co-investigator and the National Project Manager on the landmark diabetes prevalence study (Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study - AusDiab) from 1997-2000 involving 11,247 participants. This study is the largest national diabetes prevalence study undertaken in a developed country to have used an oral glucose tolerance test. In addition to having the responsibility for the planning and day to day management of this large project, Prof Dunstan led and coordinated a collaboration consisting of key researchers in the field of physical activity, sedentary behaviour and health to analyse the lifestyle data collected from this study.
He is the creator of the purposefully developed physical activity program titled ‘Lift for Life®', which has been designed to facilitate widespread uptake of the strength training in other facilities such as gyms and community health centres. In 2005, this innovation was funded by the Department of Health and Ageing to support the development and national implementation of the program over a 4 year period.
Associate Professor Dunstan has presented his research at numerous national and international meetings, including oral presentations at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes Scientific Conference, the International Diabetes Federation Scientific Congress and the American College of Sports Medicine Scientific Meeting. He has been an invited presenter at international and national scientific conferences including: American Diabetes Association (2001 & 2007), Australian Diabetes Society Scientific Conference(2001), the Joint New Zealand and Australian Nutrition Societies Conference (2007). He is also an invited presenter at the International Diabetes Federation Western Pacific Region Congress in Wellington NZ in March 2008. He is a regular reviewer for many prestigious international journals, including: Diabetes Care, Diabetes, International Journal of Obesity, Diabetologia, Obesity Research. He has also been a reviewer for funding applications for various agencies including: NHMRC, National Heart Foundation, Medical Research Council (UK), Diabetes Australia and the New Zealand HRC.
In 2007, he was awarded a prestigious young Tall Poppy Science award (Victoria) from the Australian Institute of Policy and Science which recognises the achievements of Australia's outstanding young scientific researchers.
Appointments/Accreditations
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Adjunct Professor - Vario Health Institute, Edith Cowan University
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Adjunct Associate Professor - School of Population Health, The University of Queensland
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Senior Academic Associate - Faculty of Health, Medicine, Nursing & Behavioural Sciences, School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences - Deakin University
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Honorary Lecturer - Faculty of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Preventative Medicine - Monash University
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Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) - Australian Association for Exercise and Sports Science (AAESS)
Selected Publications by David Dunstan
Dunstan DW, Zimmet PZ, Welborn TA, de Courten MP, Cameron A, Sicree RA, Dwyer T, Colagiuri S, Jolley D, Knuiman M, Atkins R, Shaw JE - On behalf of the AusDiab Steering Committee. The rising prevalence of diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance: the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study. Diabetes Care 25: 829-834 (2002).
Dunstan DW, Daly RM, Owen N, Jolley D, de Courten M, Shaw JE, Zimmet PZ - High-intensity resistance training improves glycemic control in older patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 25: 1729-1736 (2002).
Dunstan DW, Salmon J, Owen N, Armstrong T, Zimmet PZ, Welborn TA, Cameron AJ, Dwyer T, Jolley D, Shaw JE: AusDiab Steering Committee. Physical activity and television viewing in relation to risk of undiagnosed abnormal glucose metabolism in adults. Diabetes Care 2004 27: 2603-2609.
Dunstan DW, Daly RM, Owen N, Jolley D, Vulikh E, Shaw JE, Zimmet PZ Home-based resistance training is not sufficient to maintain improved glycemic control following supervised training in older individuals with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 2005 28: 3-9.
Dunstan DW, Salmon J, Owen N, Armstrong T, Zimmet PZ, Welborn TA, Cameron AJ, Dwyer T, Jolley D, Shaw JE. Associations of TV viewing and physical activity with the metabolic syndrome in Australian adults. Diabetologia 2005 48: 2254-2261.
Dunstan DW, Vulikh E, Owen N, Jolley D, Shaw JE, Zimmet PZ. Community center-based resistance training for the maintenance of glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 2006 29: 2586-2591
Dunstan DW, Salmon J, Healy GN, Shaw JE, Jolley D, Zimmet PZ, Owen N. Association of television viewing with fasting and 2-hr post-challenge plasma glucose levels in adults without diagnosed diabetes. Diabetes Care 2007 30:516-522.
Healy GN, Dunstan DW, Salmon J, Cerin E, Shaw JE, Zimmet PZ, Owen N. Objectively measured light-intensity physical activity is independently associated with 2-hr plasma glucose. Diabetes Care. 2007 30:1384-1389
Healy, GN, Wijndaele KL, Dunstan DW, Shaw JE, Salmon J, Zimmet PZ, Owen N. Objectively-measured sedentary time, physical activity and metabolic risk: the AusDiab study. Diabetes Care 2008 31: 369-371
Healy GN, Dunstan DW, Salmon J, Cerin E, Shaw JE, Zimmet PZ, Owen N. Breaks in sedentary time: beneficial associations with metabolic risk. Diabetes Care 2008 31: 661-666.
Hamilton MT, Healy GN, Dunstan DW, Zderic TW, Owen N. Too little exercise and too much sitting: inactivity physiology and the need for new recommendations on sedentary behaviour. Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports. 2: 292-298
Dunstan, DW & Daly RM. Exercise in Older Adults with Diabetes. In: Munshi MN & Lipsitz LA (eds) Geriatric Diabetes. Informa Healthcare, New York. 2007