Dr Matthew Jones
- PhD (Physiology & Pharmacology), UNSW Sydney, Australia
- MSc (Research), UNSW Sydney, Australia
- BExPhys, UNSW Sydney, Australia
- Accredited Exercise Physiologist (2011 - present)
I am an Accredited Exercise Physiologist and Senior Lecturer in the School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Health. I was awarded my PhD from UNSW Sydney in 2017. My clinical, research and teaching expertise concern the role of exercise for the management of chronic pain and chronic fatigue.
Through my research, I aim to improve health outcomes and quality of life for people with low back pain, knee osteoarthritis, and medically-unexplained fatigue states. Underpinning my research is a commitment to Open Science principles to improve research transparency and openness.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
- 2023-2026: CAPACITY: A telehealth, effectiveness-implementation hybrid trial to increase physical activity in adults with chronic low back pain (MRF2023932, $1,384,136)
- 2023: A pilot randomised controlled trial to improve quality of life and reduce pain and dementia risk in people living with cognitive decline and osteoarthritis. (UNSW NMHA Seed Grant, $39,807)
- 2021: Identifying barriers and enablers to exercise adherence in people with chronic low back pain (School of Health Sciences Networking Seed Grant, $9,726).
- 2021: Creaky knees and exercise beliefs and participation: A mixed methods study (Arthritis Australia Project Grant, $15,000)
- 2018: An integrated model in improving frailty (SPHERE Age and Ageing CAG Seed Funding, $100,000)
- 2018: Investigating the association between fatigue and pain, and the factors that influence them, in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (Mason Foundation, $98,000)
- 2018: What are Exercise Physiologists saying? – Developing targeted pain neuroscience education to improve exercise outcomes for knee osteoarthritis (ESSA Tom Penrose Grant, $6,000)
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2023: School of Health Sciences HDR Supervisor of the Year
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2022: School of Health Sciences Award for Researcher of the Year
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2022: School of Health Sciences Award for Course of the Year
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2021: School of Health Sciences Award for Early Career Educator of the Year
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2021: School of Health Sciences Award for Early Career Researcher of the Year
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2020: Faculty of Medicine Education Award for Excellence in Innovation (Team - Exercise Physiology Practicum)
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2020: Faculty of Medicine Education Award for Excellence in Innovation (Team - UNSW Lifestyle Clinic Exercise Physiologists)
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2020: School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine New Research of the Year
I am an Accredited Exercise Physiologist and investigate the role of exercise for the management of chronic pain and chronic fatigue. Pain and fatigue are closely related sensations which, when persistent, have debilitating effects on health and quality of life. More specifically, my research focuses on the role of exercise for improving outcomes for people with low back pain, knee osteoarthritis and medically-unexplained fatigue states, as well as improving the way Exercise Physiologists manage people with these conditions.
Media
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Jones, MD (December 17, 2020). Specialised exercise could be key to reducing chronic back pain. ABC News Radio Live. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/radio/newsradio/specialised-exercise-could-be-key-to-reducing/12994818
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Jones, MD (August 13, 2014). How exercise helps us tolerate pain. The New York Times (Well – PhysEd). Retrieved from https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/how-exercise-helps-us-tolerate-pain
Memberships
- 2011 - present: Accredited Exercise Physiologist, Exercise and Sports Science Australia
- 2018 - present: Member, Osteoarthritis working group, SPHERE
- 2020 - present: Australian and New Zealand Musculoskeletal Clinical Trials Network
- 2019 - present: Transparent & Open Research Collaboration in Health (TORCH)
Practice
- 2017-2019: Accredited Exercise Physiologist, UNSW Fatigue Clinic
My Research Supervision
PhD candidates:
- Mr Harrison Hansford: The generalisability and transportability of musculoskeletal research
- Mr Yannick Gilanyi: Using process evaluations of treatment mechanisms and qualitative experiences to inform the implementation of a multi-modal intervention for CRPS
- Mr Andrew Natoli: CAPACITY: A telehealth, effectiveness-implementation hybrid trial to increase physical activity in adults with chronic low back pain
- Ms Emily Walker: CAPACITY: A telehealth, effectiveness-implementation hybrid trial to increase physical activity in adults with chronic low back pain
MSc candidates:
- Mr Alexander Kovats: My knees are creaky: have I got arthritis? An exercise and education intervention to support self-management of knee joint symptoms
- Mr Grant Holmes: Can females accurately predict proximity to failure during resistance training using repetitions in reserve?
Honours students:
- Ms Ivy Tran: Acceptability of exercise snacks for people with chronic low back pain
My Teaching
My clinical experience as an Exercise Physiologist has had a large impact on my teaching activities, which align closely with tasks that Exercise Physiologists would routinely perform in real-world clinical settings. This includes a strong emphasis on critical thinking and problem solving through student-centred learning modalities that require students to take a deeper approach to their learning. In recognition of the many different ways students learn, I use a variety of teaching styles and resources to support this. I also place considerable emphasis on fit for purpose assessment to better guide students' development regarding relevant clinical skills and competencies.
I am also a strong believer in students as 'scientist practitioners' - being able to critically appraise and use scientific evidence to inform their care delivery. Accordingly, I place strong emphasis on developing students' research skills as I believe this will make them a better clinician. Ultimately, my goal is to help students develop into competent and confident new graduate Exercise Physiologists who can adopt an evidence-based, person-centred approach in their care delivery.
Further information regarding my teaching can be found here