Mission statement: I aim to gain a better understanding of the physiological and health effects of nutrition and exercise in humans, from a molecular to a functional level. A specific focus is on athletes, physically active individuals, and late middle-aged and older adults. Inspired by the concept of ‘translational physiology’, my overall goal is to assess the efficacy of lifestyle-based interventions to promote, preserve, or restore physiological function and health.

Overall field: Applied physiology at the intersection of nutrition, exercise, and human health

Specific interests: Physiological effects of specific dietary components (such as antioxidants and dietary nitrate) and exercise on skeletal muscle, immune function, and cross-tissue interactions such as muscle-immune- and immune-vasculature interactions

Projects as Principal Investigator:

1. Effects of dietary nitrate on vascular function, blood pressure, the oral micro-biome, and biomarkers of systemic inflammation in hypertensive older adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study (FWF-Clinical Research Project, University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna, Austria – start: January 2021)

2. Impact of exercise on the cancer-inhibitory capacity of blood serum from young and older adults (Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellowship, Queensland University of Technology, Australia – completed)

3. Effects of nitrate-rich beetroot juice on blood pressure, inflammatory and vascular health-related blood markers in older adults (Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellowship, Queensland University of Technology, Australia – completed)

4. Skeletal muscle and blood neutrophil transcriptome responses to endurance exercise (FWF-Erwin Schrödinger Research Fellowship Abroad, Griffith University, Australia – completed)

Publication output (summary, updated on February 2nd, 2021)

• Twenty-three peer-reviewed scientific, publications including 19 publications in top-quartile (‘Q1’) journals in the respective subject category (the average 5-year Impact Factor (IF) of the journals in which these papers were published is 4.742 )

• Seven first-author and six senior-author publications in high-quality journals, including Exercise Immunology Review (journal 5-year IF = 6.703; Q1 in sport sciences), Journal of Applied Physiology (5-year IF = 3.461; Q1 in sport sciences), Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (5-year IF = 5.098, Q1 in sport sciences), Nutrients (5-year IF = 5.089; Q1 in nutrition & dietetics), and Nutrition Reviews (5-year IF = 7.617; Q1 in nutrition & dietetics)

• Current h-Index: 18, 871 received citations

• Presentations at more than 25 international and national scientific conferences

• Invited presentations including a (fully paid) keynote presentation on the ‘role of leukocytes in muscle-immune crosstalk during regeneration and adaptation in skeletal muscle’ at the 2015 International Society of Exercise and Immunology (ISEI)-Symposium

• Various public engagement activities, media coverage in newspapers (e.g., Die Presse, Der Standard, The New York Times), and radio interviews for programs of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)

Career history:

Jan. 2021 – present: Principal Investigator (Senior Postdoc) – Research Platform Active Ageing, University of Vienna, Austria

Jan. 2019 – present: Scientific Staff Member – Danube University Krems, Austria

2015 – present: Lecturer (‘Lehrbeauftragter’)– University of Vienna (habilitation as 'Privatdozent' in preparation)

May–Dec. 2018: (Senior) Postdoc – Research Platform Active Ageing, University of Vienna

2015–2018: Senior Research Fellow (Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellow) – School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia (from May 2018: Visiting Fellow)

2013–2014: Guest Professor (primary focus on teaching) and Independent Postdoctoral Researcher – Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna

2011–2012: Erwin Schrödinger-Research Fellow (funded by the FWF) – Griffith University, Australia

2010–2011: University Assistant – Dept. of Nutritional Sciences, University of Vienna

2009–2010: Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Dept. of Nutritional Sciences, University of Vienna

2006–2009: Scientific Assistant/Doctoral Student – Dept. of Nutritional Sciences, University of Vienna

Grants and awards

2020: Principal Investigator – FWF Clinical research project (KLIF) – Effects of dietary nitrate on vascular function, blood pressure, the oral microbiome, and biomarkers of systemic inflammation in hypertensive older adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study (project no. KLI 585, funded sum: EUR 371,170)

2016: Principal Investigator – Impact of exercise on the cancer-inhibitory capacity of blood serum from young and older adults – Mid-Career-Researcher Development Grant, funded by the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia (funded sum: EUR 6,600)

2015: Principal Investigator – Effects of nitrate-rich beetroot juice on blood pressure, inflammatory and vascular health-related blood markers in older adults – Research Support Grant funded by QUT, Australia (funded sum: EUR 13,200)

2014: Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellowship, QUT, Australia

2010: Co-applicant for the Research Platform Active Aging, funded by the University of Vienna, Austria (EUR 585,000; Platform Leader: Prof. K.-H. Wagner)

2010: Faculty of Life Science-Young Investigator Award, Univ. of Vienna (EUR 7,000)

2010: Principal Investigator – Skeletal muscle and blood neutrophil transcriptome responses to endurance exercise – FWF-Erwin Schrödinger-Fellowship Abroad including return phase (project no. J3066B09; funded sum: EUR 78,000)

2005: Co-applicant of the FWF stand-alone project Risk Assessment of Ironman Triathletes: Genome Stability, Oxidative, Muscular and Systemic Stress (project no. P18610, funded sum: EUR 205,000; Principal Investigator: Prof. K.-H. Wagner)