{"id":13291,"date":"2025-08-28T11:23:55","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T15:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clario.com\/?post_type=articles&p=13291"},"modified":"2025-08-28T11:23:58","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T15:23:58","slug":"researcher-spotlight-cameron-kirk-ph-d","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/clario.com\/resources\/articles\/researcher-spotlight-cameron-kirk-ph-d\/","title":{"rendered":"Researcher spotlight: Cameron Kirk, Ph.D."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Precision Motion<\/h2>\n\n\n
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\n \"cameron\n <\/div>\n
\n \"cameron\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Cameron Kirk, Ph.D.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Newcastle University<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Opal\u00ae V2R Technology has been used by thousands of researchers worldwide and together, these researchers have published more than 800 peer reviewed papers, greatly contributing to available body of evidence in human movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

APDM, now owned by Clario, has delivered deep scientific expertise and broad endpoint technologies to help transform lives around the world for more than 50 years. Our endpoint data solutions have been deployed over 26,000 times to support clinical trials in more than 100 countries. Our global team of science, technology, and operational experts have supported over 60% of all FDA drug approvals since 2012. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information, visit our Wearable Biosensors for Research page<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Q:<\/mark> <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Would you please introduce yourself, your academic background and your research interests?<\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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A: <\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Having recently graduated with my Ph.D., I\u2019m now a post-doctoral researcher continuing my work as part of the Brain and Movement Research Group within the Translational and Clinical Research Institute at Newcastle University. I have been a member of the Mobilise-D project from September 2019 until its completion in June 2024, specifically involved in the technical validation study where I contributed to the validation of algorithms to identify the most accurate and reliable analytical pipeline for estimating digital mobility outcomes, such as real-world walking speed, from a single lower-back-worn wearable device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital mobility outcomes have the potential to measure changes in aspects of health that are most important to patients, such as their ability to walk safely and independently in their daily lives. These outcomes provide insight into our walking behaviors at a broad level (number of steps, number of walking bouts, average duration of walking) and functional gait performance (walking speed, stride length, and cadence). My research has focused on understanding how specifically DMOs can add value to the existing clinical assessment of Parkinson\u2019s disease, as a powerful complementary tool. My research now extends to characterizing digital mobility outcomes in people living with Multiple System Atrophy, Sarcopenia, and Posterior Cortical Atrophy, a rare form of Alzheimer\u2019s. I\u2019m also fascinated by how environmental contextual data measured from GPS devices can be applied to improve our understanding of how the places we live, work, and socialize influence our quality of life and health outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Q:<\/mark> <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Do you have a personal story that led to your interest in human movement\/ neurodegenerative disease research? What continues to drive your ambitions as a scientist?<\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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A: <\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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During my time studying Sport and Clinical Biomechanics MSc at the Sport and Exercise Science Institute at Liverpool John Moore\u2019s University, I had the privilege of attending meetings at the North-West Movement Analysis Centre at Alder Hey Children\u2019s Hospital. Here, clinicians and researchers discussed optimal treatment approaches for improving mobility in children with various forms of cerebral palsy, guided by biomechanical analysis of gait kinematics obtained from three-dimensional motion capture. This was an eye-opening experience of the positive real-world impact that human movement science can have in improving people\u2019s lives and ignited my career. My ambitions are driven by my own background, involved from sports from a young age, I know how important it is for people to remain healthy and active especially as we get older. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My ambitions are driven by my lifelong involvement in sports, which has given me strong appreciation for the importance of maintaining health and physical activity, particularly as we age. I\u2019m passionate about the role that physical activity plays in promoting healthy, active aging, and I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to enjoy a high quality of life well into their later years. My research is focused on identifying how mobility evolves over time and applying this information to develop strategies to preserve and enhance it, with the ultimate goal of helping people stay active, independent, and engaged in life as they grow older.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Q:<\/mark> <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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What research projects or questions are you currently working on?<\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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A: <\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Following the conclusion of the Mobilise-D project, I\u2019m currently working on several projects that implement digital mobility outcomes in their research. I\u2019m part of a collaborative study with University College London (UCL) that aims to understand how real-world mobility is affected in people with Posterior Cortical Atrophy, a group that is significantly underserved in research. Much of my previous work has focused on Parkinson\u2019s disease, so being involved in this study has been eye-opening. I\u2019m also contributing to the Exenatide study, a therapeutic clinical intervention trial which has recruited participants with Parkinson\u2019s and Multi-System Atrophy and has included digital mobility outcomes as secondary measures to assess changes in response to the therapeutic intervention. This is an exciting study to be part of, as it is one of the first clinical trials to incorporate digital mobility outcomes as key outcome measures.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Q:<\/mark> <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Where do you see the use of wearable IMU\u2019s in human movement research going in the next 5 years?<\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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A: <\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Understanding how well people move in their daily lives has long been an important research topic. However, there were significant challenges in determining the most valid approach to measuring this, which were widely disputed. Recently, substantial progress has been made in addressing these questions in a unified manner, resulting in clear guidelines on the optimal approaches to measuring real-world mobility. This has significantly improved confidence in the adoption of IMUs (Inertial Measurement Units) in clinical studies. From my first-hand experience in research, I\u2019ve observed a rapid increase in the number of studies incorporating IMUs. I\u2019m currently working with multiple studies across a growing number of sites, both nationally and internationally, and involving more diverse clinical groups, which demonstrates that this has become a hot topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building on the work of the Mobilise-D consortium, we have done the \u2018hard yards\u2019 in identifying the optimal approach to technically and clinically validating digital mobility outcomes. We have now made our pipeline openly available through the \u2018mobgap\u2019 package (https:\/\/github.com\/mobilise-d\/mobgap), allowing researchers not only to implement it in their own work but also to optimize the existing pipeline. This progress is really encouraging, and I anticipate a significant increase in both the quantity and quality of literature in this field as a result. Additionally, I hope to see more research being conducted in typically underserved countries, which would help promote a more diverse body of literature from a cultural perspective, an area that is currently limited.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Q:<\/mark> <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Fill in the blank:<\/strong><\/mark> When I\u2019m not working on a research project, you can find me\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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A: <\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Reading any fantasy or science-fiction book I can get my hands on. I\u2019ve recently read The Will of the Many<\/em> by James Islington and can\u2019t recommend it enough. Being physically active is very important to me, I played rugby from an early age and have recently started Cross-fit, quickly becoming obsessed with it! I enjoy watching any sport (primarily rugby and football) – I’m also a long-suffering Aston Villa football fan and am looking forward to this season having qualified for the Champions League!<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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