Researcher Profile

Dr Dan van den Hoek

Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences

Areas of expertise: psychosocial health; strength adaptation; sport performance; mental health; clinical exercise physiology

HDR Supervisor accreditation status: Provisional

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-8335-1620

Phone: +61 7 3861 6291

Email: daniel.vandenhoek@acu.edu.au

Location: ACU Brisbane Campus

Dr van den Hoek is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) with expertise in health behaviour change, weight loss and psycho-social health interventions. As a researcher, Dan has focused his recent work in the area of strength adaptations across the lifespan. Dan continues to work as an AEP and academic at the Australian Catholic University where he is also the Course Coordinator for the Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology.

Dan's experience as an allied health practitioner has led to his development of numerous sports for development programs nationally. In particular, the ACU Student Veterans Exercise Lifestyle Program has become a focal point of his service-learning and research programs. The Student Veterans Lifestyle Program provides clinical exercise physiology

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Select publications

• Filipe M Clemente, Yusuf Soylu, Ersan Arslan, Bulent Kilit, Joel Garret, Daniel Van den Hoek, Georgian Badicu, Ana Filipa Silva. Can high-intensity interval training and small-sided games be effective for improving physical fitness after detraining? A parallel study design in youth male soccer players (2022). PeerJ Life
• van den Hoek, D, Garret, J, Howells, R, Latella, C. Paralympians are stronger than you know: a comparison of para and nondisabled powerlifting bench press world records (2022). JSCR https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/9900/Paralympians_Are_Stronger_Than_You_Know__A.7.aspx
• Latella, C, Owen, P, Davies, T, Spathis, J, Mallard, A, van den Hoek, D. Long-term adaptations in the squat, bench press and deadlift: assessing strength gain in powerlifting athletes (2022). Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/9900/Paralympians_Are_Stronger_Than_You_Know__A.7.aspx
• Joel Garrett, Zeki Akyildiz, Cedric Leduc, Daniel van den Hoek, Filipe Manuel Clemente, Luca Paolo Ardigò. Peak running speed can be used to monitor neuromuscular fatigue from a standardized running test in team sport athletes (2021). Research in Sports Medicine https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15438627.2021.1966012
• Howells, R, Spathis, J, Pearson, J, Latella, C, Garrett, J, Owen, P, van den Hoek, D. Impacts of squat attempt weight selection and success on powerlifting performance (2021), Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness
• Latella, C, Teo, W-P, Spathis, J, van den Hoek D. Long-Term Strength Adaptation: A 15-Year Analysis of Powerlifting Athletes (2020), Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7448836/
• Clint T Miller, Steve F Fraser, Steve E Selig, Toni Rice, Mariee Grima, Daniel J van den Hoek, Carolina Ika Sari, Gavin W Lambert, John B Dixon. Fitness, strength and body composition during weight loss in women with clinically severe obesity: a randomised clinical trial (2020). Obesity Facts.
  https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/506643
• Pearson, J, Spathis, J, van den Hoek, D, Owen, P, Weakley, J, Latella, C. Effect of competition frequency on strength performance of powerlifting athletes (2020). Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2020/05000/Effect_of_Competition_Frequency_on_Strength.3.aspx
• Latella, C, van den Hoek D, Teo, W. Differences in strength performance between novice and elite athletes: Evidence from powerlifters (2018). Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2019/07001/Differences_in_Strength_Performance_Between_Novice.12.aspx
• Latella, C, van den Hoek D, Teo, W. Factors affecting powerlifting performance: an analysis of age- and weight-based determinants of relative strength (2018). International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/24748668.2018.1496393
• McIver S, and van den Hoek D. One false move: A singular account of multiple outcomes arising from drink-driving (2018). Health Promotion Journal of Australia. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/hpja.20
• van den Hoek DJ, Miller CT, Fraser SF, Selig SE, Dixon JB. Does exercise training augment diet induced weight loss improvements in quality of life for obese populations? A systematic review (2017). Quality of Life Research. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11136-017-1602-9
• Miller CT, Fraser SF, Selig SE, Rice T, Grima M, Straznicky NE, Lambert EA, van den Hoek DJ, Dixon JB. The functional and clinical outcomes of exercise training following a very low energy diet for severely obese women: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial (2016). Trials. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13063-016-1232-5
• Barnett A, van den Hoek D, Barnett D, Cerin E. Measuring moderate-intensity walking in older adults using the ActiGraph accelerometer (2016). BMC Geriatrics. https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-016-0380-5

Projects

• Health and wellbeing of Australian Defence Force veterans and their families (2020 – Current)
• The Strength Initiative: Inspiring lifelong participation in strength-based activities through practical interpretation and application of innovative research, and collaboration with industry and community. (2020 – Current)
• Remote and Regional Experience (RARE) Initiative; Inspiring aspirations for higher education amongst remote, regional, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school students. (2020 – Current; Higher Education Pathways Program Funding: $200,000)
• Neuromuscular fatigue monitoring: Measuring fatigue in team sport and individual athletes to inform training and recovery practices (2020 – Current)
• The EMPOWER study for women (2012 – 2018)
• Determining a moderate accelerometer cut-point for walking in older adults (2015-2017). (Deakin University seed funding $10,000)

Accolades and awards

• Deakin University Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology Excellence in Teaching (2016)
• ACU Vice-chancellors staff excellence award for community engagement (2019)
• ACU Faculty of Health Sciences Staff Values Award (Academic Staff) (2019)
• ACU Faculty of Health Sciences Staff Values Award (Outreach and Engagement Team) (2021)

Appointments and affiliations

• Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA). Accredited Exercise Scientist (AES), Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP)
• Higher Education Academy. Senior Fellow (SFHEA)

International journal review panel

• BMJ Open Sports Exercise and Medicine (2020 – Current)
• Journal of Quality of Life Research (2019 – Current)
• Research in Sports Medicine (2020 – Current)
• European Journal of Cancer Care (2021 – Current)
• Peer J Life (2022 – Current)
• Sports Science (2019 – Current)
• Sports Medicine (2020 – Current)

Public engagement

• van den Hoek, D. Lessons from para-powerlifters (podcast). Ockham’s Razor, ABC Radio National, March 31, 2022.
• van den Hoek, D. Why are para-powerlifters so strong? ABC Radio Brisbane, September 5th, 2021.
• van den Hoek, D. 10K Steps Banyo with Loretta Ryan. ABC Radio Brisbane, February 27th, 2020.
• Latella, C. van den Hoek, D. 3 reasons why Paralympic powerlifters shift seemingly impossible weights. The Conversation, Sep 3, 2021.