24 June 2026
At West Moreton Health, Olivia Powrie is the only Accredited Exercise Physiologist facilitating a research project in her service, making the HTQ Mentorship and Training Program an attractive opportunity to build her skills and connect with other clinician-researchers.
“Over the past 4 years in clinical practice, I’ve developed an interest in Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS),” Olivia explains. “This is a condition that causes your heart to beat faster than normal when you go from sitting or lying down to standing up.
“If you have POTS, your nervous system doesn’t regulate your automatic body functions, such as your heart rate, like it should when you change position. It causes symptoms like dizziness, fainting, fatigue, and heart palpitations.
“POTS is not life-threatening, but it can severely disrupt your life. People with POTS, most of whom are women, can find day-to-day activities quite challenging due to their symptoms,” Olivia says. “But lifestyle interventions can help improve your quality of life.”
Olivia is currently completing her PhD, supervised by Dr Jenna Taylor from The University of Queensland. Olivia is investigating a tailored exercise-based rehabilitation program for POTS and running a pilot of this program within West Moreton Health.
“I’m aiming to address existing gaps in the literature and in access to evidence-based care for individuals living with POTS, ultimately improving health outcomes for these individuals,” Olivia says.
“Before this project, I mainly worked in clinical roles that didn’t involve research, so improving my research skills is a must. The HTQ Mentoring and Training Program is a great opportunity to do this. I hope the program will also support the integration of research into clinical practice in my service.
“As an aspiring clinician researcher, I want to enhance my skills for future projects. I’m particularly interested in the program’s sessions on practical translation, developing an independent research career, securing future funding, leadership and strategy.”
With a keen interest in long-distance running, Olivia recognises that research is a marathon, not a sprint.
“I’m currently working towards running a marathon in every Australian state and territory. Once I complete that goal, I’ve got my eyes set on running the seven World Marathon Majors,” she says.
“I’m approaching my research career the same way, building up my skills through this program so I can confidently advocate for future research opportunities. I’d also like to support my colleagues interested in developing their own projects, so we can build the research culture and capacity within our service.”
More information is available on the Mentorship and Training Program page or read the announcement of the 2026 cohort.
Receive our eNewsletter
Connect with us
Quicklinks
Health Translation Queensland acknowledges the Traditional Owners and their custodianship of the lands on which we live, work, and play. We pay our respects to their Ancestors and their Descendants, who continue cultural and spiritual connections to Country. We recognise their valuable contributions to Australian and global society.
