Researcher

Dr Kirsty McDonald

Fields of Research (FoR)

Biomechanics, Biomedical Engineering, Medical Devices, Motor Control, Human Movement and Sports Science

Biography

With a strong foundation in the biomechanics and physiology of human movement, my research has three key pillars: (i) exploring what humans optimize in various locomotor environments and (ii) determining how they do it, whilst (iii) applying these insights to improve the quality of life of people with movement disabilities. I investigate the multi-factorial prioritization scheme of walking and running gaits in an attempt to broaden our...view more

With a strong foundation in the biomechanics and physiology of human movement, my research has three key pillars: (i) exploring what humans optimize in various locomotor environments and (ii) determining how they do it, whilst (iii) applying these insights to improve the quality of life of people with movement disabilities. I investigate the multi-factorial prioritization scheme of walking and running gaits in an attempt to broaden our understanding of how humans with and without movement disabilities balance competing locomotor objectives (e.g., minimizing energy cost, maximizing stability, minimizing their risk of musculoskeletal injury/fatigue). In addition, I explore the control targets involved in sensing and regulating these optimality criteria (e.g., does muscle level signaling drive energy cost minimization?). Finally, I explore the distinctive challenges associated with assistive technology use, questioning if we can improve the design of devices such as prostheses, orthoses, and exoskeletons to complement the principal criteria prioritized by the user.

My Grants

Year	Details
2021	UNSW Medicine + Health, School of Health Sciences, Networking Seed Grant Scheme. Exploring device use recommendations to optimize health outcomes for children who use lower limb prostheses. Co-Investigators: Broderick, C., van Doorn, N., Scott, T.

My Qualifications

2018	PhD, The University of Western Australia
2013	BSc(Hons), The University of Western Australia
2011	BSc, The University of Western Australia

My Research Activities

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Year	Details	Link
2021	Ziemnicki, D., Caputo, J., McDonald, K.A., Zelik, K.E. Development and Evaluation of a Prosthetic Ankle Emulator with an Artificial Soleus and Gastrocnemius. Journal of Medical Devices (ASME). Accepted
2021	McDonald, K.A., Teater, R.T., Cruz, J.P., Kerr, J.T., Bastas, G., Zelik, K.E. Adding a toe joint to a prosthesis: walking biomechanics, energetics, and preference of individuals with unilateral below-knee limb loss. Scientific Reports. 11; 1924. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-81565-1	Available Here
2020	Yandell, M., Ziemnicki, D., McDonald, K.A., Zelik, K.E. Characterizing the Comfort Limits of Forces Applied to the Shoulders, Thigh and Shank to Inform Exosuit Design. PLOS ONE. 15(2); e0228536. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228536	Available Here
2019	McDonald, K.A., Cusumano, J.P., Peeling, P., Rubenson, J. Multi-objective control in human walking: insight gained through simultaneous degradation of energetic and motor regulation systems. Journal of The Royal Society Interface. 16(158); 20190227. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2019.0227	Available Here
2019	McDonald, K.A., Honert, E.C., Cook, O.S., Zelik, K.E. Unholey shoes: experimental considerations when estimating ankle joint complex power during walking and running. Journal of Biomechanics. 92; 61-66. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2019.05.031	Available Here
2019	McDonald, K.A., Devaprakash, D., Rubenson, J. Is conservation of center of mass mechanics a priority in human walking? Journal of Experimental Biology. 222(9); jeb195172. doi: 10.1242/jeb.195172	Available Here
2019	Nicholas, J.C., McDonald, K.A., Peeling, P., Jackson, B., Dimmock, J.A., Alderson, J.A., Donnelly, C.J. Pole dancing for fitness: the physiological and metabolic demand of a 60-minute class. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 33(10); 2704-10. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002889	Available Here
2019	McDonald, K.A., Honert, E.C., Cook, O.S., Zelik, K.E. Ankle joint complex power during walking and running: effects of marker location, and shoe- vs. skin-mounted markers. Footwear Science. 11(Sup1); S51-S52. doi: 10.1080/19424280.2019.1606073	Available Here
2016	McDonald, K.A., Stearne, S.M., North, I., Alderson, J.A., Pires, N.J., Rubenson, J. The role of arch compression and metatarsophalangeal joint dynamics in modulating plantar fascia strain in running. PLoS ONE. 11(4); e0152602. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152602	Available Here
2016	Stearne, S.M., McDonald, K.A., Alderson, J.A., North, I., Oxnard, C.E., Rubenson, J. The foot’s arch and the energetics of human locomotion. Scientific Reports. 6; 19403. doi: 10.1038/srep19403	Available Here
2015	Caulfield, S., McDonald, K.A., Dawson, B., Stearne, S.M., Green, B.A., Rubenson, J., Clemmons, T.D., Peeling, P. A comparison of haemolytic responses in fore-foot and rear-foot striking distance runners. Journal of Sport Sciences. 34(15); 1485-1490. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2015.1119300	Available Here

Conference Abstracts

Year	Details
2021	Eveld, M.E., Wolfe, A.E., Cruz, J.P., Sifuentes, N.J., Ausec, B.N., Zelik, K.E., McDonald, K.A. Task-specific device use in paediatric prosthesis users. 12^th Australasian Biomechanics Congress, In Review
2021	McDonald, K.A., Teater, R.H., Zelik, K.E. Does a prosthetic toe joint affect mechanics or preference when persons with limb loss walk on uneven terrain? XXVIII Congress of the International Women in Biomechanics, Virtual
2021	Teater, R.T., McDonald, K.A., Zelik, K.E. Exploring Effects of Prosthetic Ankle and Toe Joint Range of Motion on Activities of Daily Living. XXVIII Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Virtual
2021	Ebrahimi, A., Kessler, S., Montgomery, J., Banks, C., McDonald, K., Daniels, K., Maharaj, J. What womxn want: Using the International Womxn in Biomechanics organization to help womxn in biomechanics thrive. XXVIII Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Virtual
2021	Ziemnicki, D.M., Caputo, J., McDonald, K.A., Zelik., K.E., Effects of an artificial gastrocnemius and powered ankle prosthesis on transtibial prosthesis user gait. 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics, Virtual
2020	Molitor, S., Zelik, K., McDonald, K. On the importance of applying appropriate joint angle normalization to multi-segment foot models. Biomedical Engineering Society Conference, Virtual
2020	Molitor, S., Zelik, K., McDonald, K. Comparison of joint mechanics of the dominant vs non-dominant lower limbs during locomotion. 44th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics, Virtual
2020	Teater, R.T., McDonald, K.A., Bastas, G., Zelik, K.E. Asymmetry, Instability and Functional Deficits in Transtibial Prosthesis Users During Squatting, Lifting and Sit-to-Stand. 44th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics, Virtual
2020	Ziemnicki, D.M., McDonald, K.A., Zelik., K.E. Combining an Artificial Gastrocnemius and Powered Ankle Prosthesis: Effects on Transtibial Prosthesis User Gait. 44th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics, Virtual
2020	McDonald, K.A., Cusumano, J.P., Hieronymi, A., Rubenson, J. Decoupling the metabolic and neuromuscular cost of human walking. Dynamic Walking 2020, Virtual
2019	McDonald, K.A., Teater, R.H., Cook, O.S., Bastas, G., Zelik, K.E. The Biomechanical and Met-toe-bolic Effects of Walking on a Passive Prosthetic Foot with an Added Toe Joint. XXVII Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Calgary, Canada
2019	Teater, R.H., McDonald, K.A., Cook, O.S., Bastas, G., Zelik, K.E. Addition of a Passive Toe Joint: Considerations for Passive and Powered Ankle-Foot Prosthesis Design. XXVII Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Calgary, Canada
2019	McDonald, K.A., Honert, E.C., Cook, O.S., Zelik, K.E. Ankle joint complex power during walking and running: effects of marker location, and shoe- vs. skin-mounted markers. XXVII Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Calgary, Canada
2019	McDonald, K.A., Hieronymi, A., Cusumano, J.P., Rubenson, J. Optimization in Human Walking: Decoupling Whole-Body Energetics and Local Muscle Effort. XXVII Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Calgary, Canada
2019	McDonald, K.A., Honert, E.C., Cook, O.S., Zelik, K.E. Ankle joint complex power during walking and running: effects of marker location, and shoe- vs. skin-mounted markers. 14th Biennial Footwear Biomechanics Symposium, Kananaskis, Canada
2018	Nicholas, J.C., McDonald, K.A., Peeling, P., Jackson, B., Dimmock, J.A., Alderson, J.A., Donnelly, C.J. The physiological and metabolic demand of a standardized 60-minute pole dancing class. 23rd Annual Congress of the European College for Sport Science, Dublin, Ireland
2016	McDonald, K.A., Peeling, P., Rubenson, J. Preferred walking speed selection in normal and perturbed gait environments. 40th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics, Raleigh, USA
2016	McDonald, K.A., Peeling, P., Rubenson, J. Preferred walking speed selection in normal and unstable gait environments. Biomechanics and Neural Control of Movement, Sterling, USA
2015	McDonald, K.A., Stearne, S.M., North, I., Alderson, J.A., Rubenson, J. The role of arch compression and metatarsophalangeal joint dynamics in modulating plantar fascia strain in running. XXV Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Glasgow, UK

My Research Supervision

Supervision keywords

Areas of supervision

PhD & Masters

The Locomotion Research Group is always on the lookout for applicants with a keen interest in locomotor biomechanics, optimality and/or assistive technology. Domestic and international candidates can apply for an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship through the University of New South Wales, with multiple rounds/start dates available each year. Please get in touch via email if you would like to discuss these opportunities further.

Undergraduate

Undergraduate students from the University of New South Wales who are interested in i) learning more about Honours/4th year research projects, or ii) volunteering as a research assistant, are encouraged to email Dr McDonald to discuss.

Currently supervising

Year	Student	Topic area	University	Supervisory Role
2021	Key Nahan, PhD student	Locomotor optimality	UNSW	Primary supervisor
2021	Dayeon (Cathy) Jung, Hons student	Reactive balance and falls prevention	UNSW	Primary supervisor
2021	Maoling Lim, Hons student	Reactive balance and falls prevention	UNSW	Co-supervisor
2021	Nicole Nanayakkara, Hons student	Reactive balance and falls prevention	UNSW	Co-supervisor