Biography

Dr. David Scott is an exercise scientist and completed a PhD on lifestyle factors associated with skeletal muscle mass and function in older people at the University of Tasmania in 2010. He was a Research Fellow at the Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science from 2012-15, and has since been employed at the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health as a Senior Research Fellow. He is the founder of the Sarcopenia, Obesity and Lifestyle Laboratory within the Bone and Muscle Research Group.

Dr. Scott has published over 130 journal articles and two book chapters, and regularly provides presentations at national and international conferences. He was awarded a NHMRC Career Development Fellowship in 2016 and also received a Victorian Young Tall Poppy Award and American Society of Bone and Mineral Research Rising Star Award in 2017. He currently supervises 6 PhD students and regularly supervises Masters and Honours students. He is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research and JBMR Plus, and has served as a Guest Editor on multiple journals.

In 2019, he was a successful applicant in the inaugural round of NHMRC Inestigator Grants (Emerging Leadership Level 2) for his research program titled "Optimising Exercise Interventions for Maintaining Physical Function, Bone and Muscle Health in Older Adults with Obesity and Osteoarthritis".

Research interests

Dr. Scott’s work as head of the Sarcopenia, Obesity and Lifestyle Laboratory focuses on age-related changes in skeletal muscle quality (sarcopenia) and adiposity (obesity), their effect on risk for falls, fracture and disability in older adults, and potential lifestyle interventions. He is a collaborator on a number of large cohort studies including the Tasmanian Older Adult Cohort, Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project and Healthy Ageing Initiative (Sweden). He also leads several clinical trials exploring the effects of exercise and nutrition interventions on improving body composition, physical function and bone health in older populations. He has a keen interest in objective assessments of physical activity and musculoskeletal imaging.

Community service

Dr. Scott has previously served on human research ethics committees and contributed to development of community well-being plans. He is a member of the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research, Australian Association of Gerontology, and Australian and New Zealand Society for Sarcopenia and Frailty Research (ANZSSFR). In 2017, he became Chair of the ANZSSFR Task Force on Diagnostic Criteria for Sarcopenia, and regularly provides education to clinical experts and community groups.

Industry and Patents

Dr Scott has provided advisory expertise international pharma companies including Pfizer.

He holds a current Australian Government IP Australia Innovation Patent (#2018101099: “A wearable device for quantification of plantar pressure and ground-reaction forces during osteogenic exercise and physical activity”.)

Optimising Exercise Interventions for Maintaining Physical Function, Bone and Muscle Health in Older Adults with Obesity and Osteoarthritis