Governance

The Director and Principal Investigators are assisted by an Advisory Board and the Research Management Committee in managing the Centre.

Advisory Board

The PRC in Physical Activity & Nutrition Advisory Board comprises independent external members from industry, government agencies and academia, in addition to ex-officio members from the University, and the PRC Director and Co-Directors. The Advisory Board meets every 6 months.

The Chair - Mr Phil Williams:

Phil Williams is the Business Manager of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, a position he has held since June 2003. In this role he is responsible for the marketing and fundraising operations of the Service to ensure donations from the community supplement monies from the contract held with Ambulance Service of NSW. His background includes 15 years experience with the not for profit organisations (National Heart Foundation and The Cancer Council NSW) and 15 years in the tertiary education sector.

DVC (Research)

Professor Mike Calford

PVC of the relevant Faculties

Professor John Germov, Faculty of Education & Arts; and
Professor Nick Talley, Faculty of Health

PRC Director

Professor Ron Plotnikoff, Faculty of Education & Arts

PRC Executive members

Professor Clare Collins, Faculty of Health
Professor Philip Morgan, Faculty of Education & Arts

Industry, business and/or community representatives

Dr Bernie Curran, Foundation Executive Officer, University of Newcastle Foundation
Dr Amanda Nagle, NSW Division of the Heart Foundation

Dr Max Smith, Senior Manager, Student Engagement & Program Evaluation, NSW Department of Education and Training Mr Michael Di Rienzo, Chief Executive of Hunter New England Local Health Network Professor Maree Gleeson, Director – Hunter Medical Research Institute

External research members

Professor Adrian Bauman, Sesquicentenary Professor of Public Health (Behavioural Epidemiology and Health Promotion), University of Sydney
Professor Sandra Capra, Professor, Centre for Allied Health Research, & Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Human Movement Studies, University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research
Professor Kylie Ball, Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University

PRC in Physical Activity & Nutrition Research Management Committee

The Research and Management Committee (RMC) will ensure the PRC achieves its vision and objectives within defined timelines. The Research and Management Committee will comprise:

  • The Director – PRC in Physical Activity & Nutrition – Professor Ron Plotnikoff;
  • The Co-Directors – Professor Clare Collins & Professor Philip Morgan;
  • The 6 listed Theme Leaders (which includes the Director, & Co-Directors) – Professor Robin Callister, Professor Manohar Garg, Associate Professor David Lubans;
  • a PDF (to be elected by the Theme Leaders);
  • a RHD student, (to be elected by the Theme Leaders); and
  • The Research Development Officer (Business Development Unit) – Mrs Belinda Peden.

The RMC oversees the PRC’s budget, advises on research directions, monitors the progress of each research theme, identify sources of project and infrastructure funding, monitor co-ordination and resourcing across research areas, develops processes for enhancing the quality of grant submissions (including peer-review and support processes to maximise submission quality), and develops processes for fostering new local, national and international collaborations in terms of research and knowledge translation/dissemination.

The RMC meets quarterly (4x/yr) and is guided by the Advisory Board who will promote and support the PRC.