Adjunct Associate Professor
Andrew Hunt
Faculty of Health,
School of Biomedical Sciences
Biography
My research focuses on understanding the effects of heat and enabling people to work and live well in hot weather.I have over 15 years of experience conducting research with workforce populations, including the Australian Defence Forces, mining operators, first responders, and healthcare workers. My findings provide practical guidance for managing the risks posed by heat stress in a wide range of workplaces and have been cited in the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists’ Guide to managing heat stress. I contributed to developing physical employment standards for Defence personnel that also supported opening combat trades to women. My work has helped tender evaluations, informed court proceedings, and shed light on the challenges of heat exposure for clinical populations and healthcare workers wearing PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I've authored over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and more than 40 technical reports for government and industry partners. I have secured over $4M in funding to support the development of evidence-based guidance for decision-makers and pursue ground-breaking advances in our knowledge and technical capabilities. I’ve been an invited speaker at the Implications of Climate Change for Regional Work and Organisational Resilience Symposium (2022), Science of Sport, Exercise, and Physical Activity in the Tropics (2016), and Body Sensor Networks (2013) conferences, and I have been on the scientific committee for the International Congress on Soldiers’ Physical Performance (2017) and the International Conference on Physical and Physiological Employment Standards (2012). I have been a guest editor for Frontiers in Physiology and regularly provide expert reviews for various international journals.
In the era of climate change, my research is helping to pave the way toward health and resilience in hot weather for workers and vulnerable people in the community. The development of real-time monitoring of physiological strain, performance, and injury risk will help better manage workers' exposure to heat stress. For those vulnerable to heat, such as people with neurological diseases, including Parkinson's, understanding its effects on daily life and symptomology will help guide the development of strategies to reduce heat sensitivity.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Personal details
Positions
- Project Manager
Faculty of Health,
School of Biomedical Sciences
Keywords
Occupational Physiology, Heat Stress, Protective Clothing, Environmental Ergonomics
Research field
Human Movement and Sports Science
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (Queensland University of Technology)
Experience
Dr Hunt investigated the effects of personal protective equipment on thermal discomfort experienced by healthcare workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The survey tool used in this study has been made available through the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Disaster Research Response (DR2) Resources Portal to empower human health research in response to disasters and public health emergencies.
Dr Hunt was an invited speaker and expert panel member at the Implications of Climate Change for Regional Work and Organisational Resilience Symposium in September 2022. The symposium was hosted by the Regional Work and Organisational Resilience Sturt Group at Charles Sturt University, and he presented on climate change effects on workers’ heat strain and injury risk.
Publications
- Hunt, A., Brearley, M., Hall, A. & Pope, R. (2023). Climate Change Effects on the Predicted Heat Strain and Labour Capacity of Outdoor Workers in Australia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(9). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/239393
- Hunt, A., Ting, J., Schweitzer, D., Laakso, E. & Stewart, I. (2023). Personal protective equipment for COVID-19 among healthcare workers in an emergency department: An exploratory survey of workload, thermal discomfort and symptoms of heat strain. EMA - Emergency Medicine Australasia, 35(3), 483–488. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/237108
- Hunt, A., Potter, A., Linnane, D., Xu, X., Patterson, M. & Stewart, I. (2022). Heat Stress Management in the Military: Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature Offsets for Modern Body Armor Systems. Human Factors, 64(8), 1306–1316. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/209907
- Anderson, C., Stewart, I., Stewart, K., Linnane, D., Patterson, M. & Hunt, A. (2022). Sex-based differences in body core temperature response across repeat work bouts in the heat. Applied Ergonomics, 98. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/213451
- Potter, A., Hunt, A., Pryor, J., Pryor, R., Stewart, I., Gonzalez, J., Xu, X., Waldcock, K., Hancock, J. & Looney, D. (2021). Practical method for determining safe work while wearing explosive ordnance disposal suits. Safety Science, 141. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/210394
- Hunt, A., Minett, G., Gibson, O., Kerr, G. & Stewart, I. (2020). Could Heat Therapy Be an Effective Treatment for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases? A Narrative Review. Frontiers in Physiology, 10, 1–14. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/135832
- Potter, A., Hunt, A., Cadarette, B., Fogarty, A., Srinivasan, S., Santee, W., Blanchard, L. & Looney, D. (2019). Heat Strain Decision Aid (HSDA) accurately predicts individual-based core body temperature rise while wearing chemical protective clothing. Computers in Biology and Medicine, 107, 131–136. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/126418
- Hunt, A., Stewart, I. & Billing, D. (2019). Indices of physiological strain for firefighters of the Australian Defence Forces. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 16(11), 727–734. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/133661
- Buller, M., Maley, M., Costello, J., Stewart, I. & Hunt, A. (2019). Validity of a noninvasive estimation of deep body temperature when wearing personal protective equipment during exercise and recovery. Military Medical Research, 6(1). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/130794
- Hunt, A., Billing, D., Patterson, M. & Caldwell, J. (2016). Heat strain during military training activities: The dilemma of balancing force protection and operational capability. Temperature, 3(2), 307–317. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/102611
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Andrew, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Awards
- Type
- Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
- Reference year
- 2022
- Details
- Dr Hunt was an invited speaker and expert panel member at the Implications of Climate Change for Regional Work and Organisational Resilience Symposium in September 2022. The symposium was hosted by the Regional Work and Organisational Resilience Sturt Group at Charles Sturt University, and he presented on climate change effects on workers’ heat strain and injury risk.
- Type
- Editorial Role for an Academic Journal
- Reference year
- 2022
- Details
- Dr Hunt has been a topic editor for Frontiers in Physiology, leading a special issue on Methods and Applications in Exercise Physiology.
- Type
- Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
- Reference year
- 2016
- Details
- Dr Hunt was an invited speaker at the Science of Sport, Exercise, and Physical Activity in the Tropics conference in Townsville, QLD. He presented on military training in hot environments, Identifying future directions to enhance individual health and physical performance.
Supervision
Current supervisions
- Examining the human immune transcriptome for biological responses to psychological and physical stress
MPhil, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Tony Parker, Dr Daniel Broszczak, Professor Kirsten Spann