Back to
Dr Karen Birkenhead

Dr Karen Birkenhead

Lecturer

PhD in Human Movement (Graduated 2018, University of Sunshine Coast). Thesis: The relationships between lifetime physical activity and diet on telomere length in current ultra-endurance exercisers. Master of Sports Nutrition by Research (2014). Thesis: Nutrition knowledge, food choice motives and eating behaviours of triathletes. BScDietetics (1st Class Honours) (1995).

Medicine & Health
School of Population Health


I am a Senior Research Associate with Implementation to Impact (i2i) at USNW.  As a health services researcher and implementation scientist, I explore how to effectively translate evidence-based guidelines into routine care to improve healthcare delivery.

With a PhD in Human Movement (awarded 2018) and a Masters of Sports Nutrition by Research (2014), my research background is broad, spanning health services, population health, disease prevention, nutrition, and physical activity. Prior to my postgraduate studies, I worked as a Registered Dietitian in Canada for 14 years across various areas, including public health, sports nutrition, telehealth, and chronic disease management.

Using implementation science methods and tools, my research aims to build capacity among healthcare professionals—including GPs, allied health, and nursing staff—within various care settings. 
 
Phone
+61439091766
E-mail
k.birkenhead@unsw.edu.au
  • Journal articles | 2025
    Birkenhead K; Sullivan D; Watts GF; Sarkies MN, 2025, 'Implementation science and genetic testing for familial hypercholesterolemia', Current Opinion in Lipidology, 36, pp. 41 - 48, http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MOL.0000000000000967
    Journal articles | 2025
    Birkenhead KL; Sullivan D; Calder M; Spinks C; Fleming G; Trumble C; Hemmert C; Trent R; Srinivasan S; Martin K; Carr B; Hespe CM; Sarkies M, 2025, 'Process for mainstreaming genetic cascade testing into primary and tertiary health systems in familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), an autosomal dominant, fully penetrant disorder', Family Medicine and Community Health, 13, http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/fmch-2024-003258
    Journal articles | 2025
    Sarkies M; Sullivan D; Black A; Aylward P; Kostner K; Nicholls SJ; Horton A; Abhayaratna WP; Kangaharan N; Pang J; Bishop W; Elias L; Srinivasan S; Waddell-Smith KE; Della-Vedova J; Hespe C; Tiller J; Braithwaite J; Birkenhead K; Watts GF, 2025, 'Developing a national implementation strategy for enhancing the detection of familial hypercholesterolemia: An Australian experience', Journal of Clinical Lipidology, 19, pp. 582 - 594, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacl.2025.03.004
    Journal articles | 2024
    Birkenhead K; Sullivan D; Trumble C; Spinks C; Srinivasan S; Partington A; Elias L; Hespe CM; Fleming G; Li S; Calder M; Robertson E; Trent R; Sarkies MN, 2024, 'Implementation of a primary-tertiary shared care model to improve the detection of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH): a mixed methods pre-post implementation study protocol', BMJ Open, 14, http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-082699
    Journal articles | 2021
    Birkenhead K; Kuballa A; Lovell GP; Barr SI; Solomon C, 2021, 'The relationships of lifetime physical activity and diet with salivary cell telomere length in current ultra-endurance exercisers', Nutrition and Healthy Aging, 6, pp. 179 - 189, http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/NHA-200090
    Journal articles | 2020
    Birkenhead K; Barnett C; Solomon C, 2020, 'Using a Standard Respiratory Air Filtering Device during Moderate Intensity Exercise does not Affect Post Exercise Pulmonary Function', American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 8, pp. 69 - 75, http://dx.doi.org/10.12691/ajssm-8-2-5
    Journal articles | 2019
    Birkenhead KL; Barr SI; Lovell G; Solomon C, 2019, 'Changes in diet, and the relationship between diet and physical activity within and across the lifetime of current ultra-endurance exercisers.', J Sports Med Phys Fitness, 59, pp. 798 - 807, http://dx.doi.org/10.23736/S0022-4707.18.08882-5
    Journal articles | 2018
    Birkenhead K; Lovell G; I. Barr S; Solomon C, 2018, 'Changes in Physical Activity across the Lifetime of Current Ultra-Endurance Exercisers', Journal of Physical Activity Research, 3, pp. 11 - 19, http://dx.doi.org/10.12691/jpar-3-1-3
    Journal articles | 2017
    Kerhervé HA; McLean S; Birkenhead K; Parr D; Solomon C, 2017, 'Influence of exercise duration on cardiorespiratory responses, energy cost and tissue oxygenation within a 6 hour treadmill run.', PeerJ, 5, pp. e3694, http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3694
    Journal articles | 2015
    Birkenhead KL; Slater G, 2015, 'A Review of Factors Influencing Athletes' Food Choices.', Sports Med, 45, pp. 1511 - 1522, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0372-1

Affiliate with the University in the Sydney School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Health.

Editorial board member for Implementation Science Communications

 

My Research Supervision

I am currently co-supervising  an international PhD candidate on a project focused on Co-Design and Pilot Testing of a Patient-Centred Digital Toolkit for Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH). 

My Teaching

I have been presenter and facilitator for the 2-day Sydney Health Partners Implementation Science Master Class (2024 and 2025) and co-developed and delivered an Implementation Science Workshop to the Agency for Clinical Innovation (2023). 

I also taught undergraduate, university-level courses in nutrition and dietetics, food science, sports nutrition and exercise physiology for 5 years at the Universtiy of the Sunshine Coast. As a teacher I received highly scored and positive student evaluation and teaching scores (SETAC), including 4.2/5 for overall satisfaction of teaching in sports nutrition.