My Expertise
- Balance and Fall Risk Assessment
- Cognitive-Motor Interactions
- Biomechanics of Ageing
- Sensor-based Health Monitoring
- Fall Prevention Strategies
- Public Health Impact
- Research Translation and Policy
Keywords
Biography
Kim van Schooten is a senior research fellow at NeuRA and conjoint associate professor at UNSW Medicine supported by the Human Frontier Science Program. She obtained her PhD in 2014 from the faculty of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (the Netherlands). She was a Mitacs & Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research postdoctoral fellow at the faculty of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University and the...view more
Kim van Schooten is a senior research fellow at NeuRA and conjoint associate professor at UNSW Medicine supported by the Human Frontier Science Program. She obtained her PhD in 2014 from the faculty of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (the Netherlands). She was a Mitacs & Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research postdoctoral fellow at the faculty of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University and the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, University of British Columbia (Canada).
Kim's research focuses on balance control and fall risk in seniors. She is particularly interested in the underlying mechanisms of balance impairments, and methodologies for ambulatory monitoring of mobility using wearable sensors. Through a combination of experimental and epidemiological studies, she studies how people maintain and recover balance during daily-life activities, to improve our understanding of why falls occur and to reveal targets for the prevention of mobility impairments and falls.
My Research Activities
My Research Supervision
Supervision keywords
Areas of supervision
I supervise research students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. My areas of supervision include:
- The effect of physical exercise on balance and fall risk in older people
- Understanding the relationship between cognitive decline and balance recovery
- The effect of depression and fear of falling on daily activity
- Gender inequality in physical activity and exercise adherence
- Development of novel wearable technologies to detect falls and fall risk
Currently supervising
I currently supervise several ILP, Honours, MSc, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, and I welcome students interested in the intersection of neuroscience, biomechanics, and public health.
My Engagement
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Memberships:
- International Society of Posture and Gait Research (ISPGR)
- Advisory roles on fall risk assessment committees
- Member of various health and research policy groups
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Community Engagement:
- Promoting fall prevention strategies through public outreach
- Collaborating with community-based organisations to improve mobility and health outcomes for older people
- Advocacy for integrating sensor technologies into everyday healthcare practices
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Media & Outreach:
- Active participation in public discussions on fall prevention and ageing
- Engaged with media to raise awareness about balance and fall risk among older people