Health Sciences3803640

Peter Micalos

Dr Peter Micalos is a Senior academic in Anatomy and Physiology with expertise in biomedical science education and research in human health. His teaching focuses on curriculum innovation, authentic assessment, and research-led learning, with a strong emphasis on developing students’ conceptual understanding and applied reasoning in complex biomedical topics. He has led curriculum design and renewal across physiology and pathophysiology, contributing to improved student outcomes and program coherence.

Dr Micalos is actively engaged in higher degree research supervision and mentoring students to successful research outcomes, including high-quality publications. His research spans areas of human health including neurophysiology, pain, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer, with a focus on translational and collaborative research. He is currently a named investigator on a nationally competitive NHMRC-funded project.

He contributes to research governance through his role on the Human Research Ethics Committee, including as Deputy Presiding Officer, supporting ethical research practice and compliance with national standards. Dr Micalos collaborates across disciplines and engages with academic staff and students to support teaching, research development, and a strong scholarly culture within the University

Google Scholar

Dr Micalos’s teaching rationale looks towards promoting analytical reason aided by observation and interpretation. This highlights the need to explore learning content within a framework enriched with learning strategies that are scaffolded and sequential, and to derive reasoning through exploration and discovery. This approach aims to build on knowledge and understanding using processes that involve analytical, reflective, and decisive conclusions and to appreciate learning as a lifelong journey.

Dr Micalos's research impact in human health is evidenced by the scope and depth of his research related activities, mentorship, and supervision. Dr Micalos has procured over $80,000 in external research funding and has mentored academic colleagues and supervised students in research projects at CSU. Peter has published over 20 scientific journal articles, literature reviews, an edited book, and a book chapter. These publications have been well received by the scientific and professional community with over 500 citations in GoogleScholar, and publishing in Q1 level journals.

In order to gather and analyse data on pain and pain-related events, Peter has employed measurement procedures such as the nociceptive withdrawal reflex, sensory perceptual ratings, somatosensory cortical evoked potentials, and functional magnetic resonance imaging. During these procedures, Peter has collaborated with the Department of Radiology at Westmead Hospital, Brain Dynamics Centre, School of Psychology at Charles Sturt University, and the Centre for Sensory Motor Research at the University of Aalborg, Denmark.

Peter is currently collaborating in research projects involving acupuncture with the University of Technology, Sydney and on motor pathway output on nociceptive reflexes with the School of Exercise Science, Sport and Health at Charles Sturt University.