Inaugural Professorial Lecture - Professor Melanie Bussey
Schedule
Wed, 26 Nov, 2025 at 07:30 am
UTC+13:00Location
Archway 1 Lecture Theatre | Dunedin, OT
Join us for Professor Melanie Bussey's Inaugural Professorial Lecture titled "Protecting Players, Preserving the Game: The Science of Head Impact and Resilience"**In person and online
About Professor Melanie Bussey's research:
Professor Melanie Bussey’s research lies within the field of injury mechanics, exploring how forces, motion, and neuromuscular control interact to influence performance and injury risk in complex human systems. Her work is grounded in the development and application of experimental and analytical methodologies — from motion capture and electromyography to wearable sensors and advanced modelling — that allow dynamic human movement to be studied with precision and ecological validity.
Over the past decade, her research has increasingly focused on the biomechanics of head impact and control. She investigates how neck strength, rate of force development, and neuromuscular coordination influence head acceleration events in contact sport, and how these mechanisms differ by sex, age, and playing experience.
Her recent work integrates wearable technology, neurophysiology, and applied sport science to not only measure real-world head impact exposure but to understand how cumulative loading patterns influence brain health and resilience. By linking on-field biomechanics to individual performance profiles, her research offers new insight into how athletes adapt to, tolerate, and recover from repetitive impacts.
In this lecture, she invites us to consider the science behind impact, the strategies for resilience, and the future of athlete safety in a world where performance and protection must go hand in hand.
More information can be found here, including a link to the live streaming site: https://www.otago.ac.nz/about/news/events/inaugural-professorial-lecture-professor-melanie-bussey
This lecture will be followed with light refreshments, tea, coffee & juice.
Where is it happening?
Archway 1 Lecture Theatre, Archway 2 Lecture Theatre, North Dunedin, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand, Dunedin
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