Steve is a clinical cardiovascular exercise physiologist and postdoctoral research fellow in the Heart, Exercise and Research Trials (HEART) Lab at St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research with the support of a L.E.W Carty Charitable Fund Fellowship. He completed his PhD at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute / Deakin University in 2021, and undertook a further 3 years of postdoctoral training at the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Canada) before returning to Australia to join the HEART Lab in 2025.

Steve’s research is focused on better understanding how exercise can improve cardiovascular health and function in people living with or at risk for cardiovascular disease. He uses state-of-the art imaging and physiology-based assessments to measure oxygen transport and utilisation throughout the body, in order to identify weak links that could contribute to functional limitations and cardiovascular disease. His research studies people across a broad spectrum of health and disease, including high-performing athletes, through to cancer patients getting heart damaging chemotherapy, and people living with severe valve disease, heart failure or cardiomyopathies.

Steve led a ground-breaking clinical trial showing exercise training prevents heart dysfunction in breast cancer survivors, which he presented as a late breaking trial at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions (Chicago, 2022) with simultaneous publication in Circulation (2023). Steve’s work has received several awards, including the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand Allied Health and Technology Prize (2018) Exercise and Sports Science Australia Medal (2021) and the European Society of Cardiology CardioOncology Young Investigator Award (2025).

Key achievements

  • 2025 – L.E.W. Carty Charitable Fund Fellowship
  • 2025 – European Society of Cardiology CardioOncology Young Investigator Prize
  • 2025 – CASS Foundation Early Career Scientist Travel Award
  • 2023 – Best of the Baker publication award
  • 2022 – Presented the BREXIT study as a late-breaking clinical trial at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.
  • 2021 – Exercise and Sports Science Australia Medal
  • 2018 – Cardiac Society of New Zealand Allied Health and Technology Prize
  • 2018 – Jack Brockhoff Foundation Travel Award

Heart, Exercise & Research Trials

The HEART Lab conducts scientific investigations focused on understanding the effect of exercise on cardiovascular health and well-being, employing sophisticated exercise testing and specialised cardiac imaging methodologies to assess the heart's capacity to respond to physiological challenges posed by exercise. Our research encompasses a wide spectrum of health conditions, from severely abnormal heart function through to the best performing hearts of elite athletes.

Lab head: Professor André La Gerche

View lab profile

Selected publications

Skow RJ*, Foulkes SJ*, Mugele H, Perkins DR, Lawley JS, Tomczak CR, Nelson MD, La Gerche A, Haykowsky MJ, Thompson RB. Validation of magnetic resonance imaging-derived venous oxygen saturation and oxygen consumption measurements during exercise. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology. 2025; 238(6):H1179-H1192. doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00134.2025. *Co-first author.

Landsteiner I*, Foulkes SJ*, Campain J, Camphausen CE, Zlotoff DA, Lewis GD and Haykowsky MJ. Reduced exercise capacity in breast cancer compared to HFpEF: Mechanistic insights from invasive exercise testing. JACC: CardioOncology. 2026:In Press. doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccao.2025.12.002. *Co-first author.

Foulkes SJ, Moura-Ferreira S, Milani M, Bekhuis Y, Falter M, Delpire B, Pauwels R, Stroobants S, Jogani S, Vanhentenrijk S, Altintas S, Jasaityte R, Stassen J, Herbots L, Claessen G, Haykowsky MJ and Verwerft J. Mechanisms of exercise limitation in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and obesity: a case of engine-chassis mismatch. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology. 2025;329(5):H1126-36. org/10.1152/ajpheart.00587.2025

Foulkes SJ, Hewitt D, Skow R, Dover D, Kaul P, La Gerche A and Haykowsky MJ. Outrunning the grim reaper: longevity of the first 200 sub-4 min mile male runners. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2024;58:717-721. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2024-108386

Foulkes SJ, Howden EJ, Dillon HT, Janssens K, Beaudry R, Mitchell AM, Lindqvist A, Wallace I, Wright L, Costello BT, Claessen G, Haykowsky MJ and La Gerche A. Too Little of a Good Thing: Strong Associations Between Cardiac Size and Fitness Among Women. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2023;16(6):768-778. doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmg.2022.12.009

Foulkes SJ, Howden EJ, Haykowsky MJ, Antill Y, Salim A, Nightingale SS, Loi S, Claus P, Janssens K, Mitchell AM, Wright L, Costello BT, Lindqvist A, Burnham L, Wallace I, Daly RM, Fraser SF and La Gerche A. Exercise for the Prevention of Anthracycline-induced Functional Disability and Cardiac Dysfunction: The BReast Cancer Randomized EXercise InTervention (BREXIT) Study. Circulation. 2023;147(7):532-545. doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.062814

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7651-3740