Dr Matthew Wallen’s research explores how lifestyle interventions, like exercise, nutrition, and psychological support improves the health and wellbeing of people living with and beyond cancer, as well as those requiring transplantation. Most research has focused on lifestyle interventions delivered after treatment. Instead, Dr Wallen is focused on optimising physical health and wellness before treatment initiation, termed ‘prehabilitation’.
His research is focused on three major themes:
1. Investigating lifestyle interventions to improve the health and wellbeing of people with cancer and those requiring transplantation, with an emphasis on ‘prehabilitation’
2. Using novel assessment methods identifying people at risk of treatment-related complications, and
3. Implementing new models of care.
He has already shown lifestyle interventions can be successfully delivered before treatment commences, and that a person’s level of ‘fitness’ before treatment can be predictive of clinical outcomes.
2024