Dr Dan Wadsworth | UniSC | University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Dr Dan Wadsworth joined the University of the Sunshine Coast in 2018, and is currently a Senior Lecturer in the School of Health. Dan held similar previous appointments at Massey University in New Zealand (2010-2018), and his teaching practice has led to being recognised as a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (2022) and publishing an award-winning textbook.

Dan is an emerging early-career academic with a research passion grounded in the provision of accessible and appropriate services to support healthy ageing and wellbeing, drawing on the accessibility of physical activity and considering the influence of exercise technologies, Government policy, and social connectedness from a physiological, functional, and psychosocial perspective. His research adopts a mixed methods approach to capture user perspectives and inform the considered design and evaluation of appropriate intervention strategies through a multi-disciplinary lens intersecting health, clinical practice, and creative industries. Dan’s work is conducted in partnership with local and national industry partners across health, aged care, and local government, with a strong focus on the health and wellbeing of rural and regional Australians and the value of community connection and engagement. Dan’s research in this space has informed health policy and service provision at both local and international level, and has been profiled by local and national media (ABC Radio, Channel 7 News, WIN News, and across 120 regional print mastheads). A Postdoctoral Fellow at the Manna Institute, with a focus on improving mental health outcomes of regional, rural, and remote communities, Dan currently leads and contributes to a suite of research projects focused on vulnerable populations and tertiary health education/future workforce development.

Passionate about mentorship and professional development, Dan is also Co-Lead of the UniSC Early and Mid-Career Academic (EMCA) Network, planning and delivering a suite of training, mentorship, and development opportunities and resources to >180 members, and engaging with University Executive and national policymakers. Dan is an active member of the UniSC Athena Swan Implementation Committee, directing gender equity policy and practice across the University, and serves on many other School- and University-wide committees and working groups.