Dr Leesa Grier ~ Associate Lecturer, Anatomy and Pathology

Leesa Grier, PhD is a Sport and Exercise Scientist and Anatomist with a passion for Interdisciplinary Health Professional Education. She is an Associate lecturer in Anatomy and Pathology in the College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University (December 2020), where she is subject coordinator for a number of allied health programs.

Leesa made her way to academia following years of professional experience in elite athlete coaching, educational management, talent development and skill acquisition. Her PhD (2016-2019), continued her First-Class Honours research in performance analysis and development and received a Dean's Award for Research Higher Degree Excellence (2020). She has presented her academic work through publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and via both national and international conference presentations.

During her time as an early career academic, Leesa has developed a personal track-record of excellence in learning and teaching innovation. She has completed a Graduate Certificate in Health Professional Education (2022), attained Associate Fellowship of Advance HE (AFHEA, 2022) and won competitive internal grant funding for the implementation and assessment of strategies to promote active learning and student engagement (CEE, Learning and Teaching Innovation Grant, 2023).

Leesa’s current research interests combine her academic and professional expertise in educational management, curriculum design, skill development and student wellbeing and are focused on educational pedagogy. This includes student engagement, TEL resources, and quality teaching practices in higher education.

Teaching

• BM1031: Anatomy and Physiology for Occupational Therapy 1 (Level 1; TSV)
• BM1032: Anatomy and Physiology for Occupational Therapy 2 (Level 1; TSV)
• BM1041: Anatomy and Physiology for Physiotherapy 1 (Level 1; TSV)
• BM1042: Anatomy and Physiology for Physiotherapy 2 (Level 1; TSV)
• BM1061: Anatomy and Physiology for Sport and Exercise Science 1 (Level 1; TSV)
• BM1062: Anatomy and Physiology for Sport and Exercise Science 2 (Level 1; TSV)
• MD1020: Introduction to Integrated Medical Studies Part 2 of 2 (Level 1; TSV)

Experience

• 2020 - Lecture B, James Cook University (Sports and Exercise Science, Townsville)
• 2017 to 2019 - Player Performance Manager, Queensland Rugby League (Rockhampton)
• 2017 to 2019 - Athlete Wellbeing and Education Manager, Queensland Rugby League (Rockhampton)
• 2014 to 2019 - Level 2 S&C Coach, Queensland Rugby League (Throughout Queensland)
• 2014 to 2016 - Project Management, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 2014 to 2016 - Peer mentor/tutor, National Rugby League (Townsville)
• 2012 to 2016 - Tutor - Medicine and Sports and Exercise Science, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 1984 to 2011 - Project management/Administration management, Various (across Australia)

Research Disciplines

• Sports science and exercise (4207)

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Pearce L, Leicht A, Gomez-Ruano M, Sinclair W and Woods C (2020) The type and variation of evasive manoeuvres during an attacking task differ across a rugby league development pathway. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 20 (6). pp. 1134-1142
• Pearce L, Sinclair W, Leicht A and Woods C (2019) Passing and tackling qualities discriminate developmental level in a rugby league talent pathway. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 19 (6). pp. 985-998
• Pearce L, Sinclair W, Leicht A and Woods C (2018) Physical, anthropometric and athletic movement qualities discriminate development level in a rugby league talent pathway. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 32 (11). pp. 3169-3176
• Woods C, Robertson S, Sinclair W, Till K, Pearce L and Leicht A (2018) A comparison of game-play characteristics between elite youth and senior Australian National Rugby League competitions. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 21 (6). pp. 626-630
• Pearce L, Woods C, Sinclair W and Leicht A (2017) Officiating role influences the physical match activity profiles of rugby league touch judges and referees. Journal of Human Kinetics, 58 (1). pp. 225-231

Other research outputs

• Pearce L, Woods C, Sinclair W and Leicht A (2015) Impact of role on internal demands in officials during sub-elite rugby league matches. Journal of Australian Strength and Conditioning, 23 (6). pp. 90-92

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.