Dr Kirk N. Olsen

Research Centre Manager

Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science (CHRIS)
Australian Institute of Health Innovation (AIHI)
Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
kirk.olsen(at)mq.edu.au

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Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology), Western Sydney University, Australia, 2011
• Bachelor of Psychology (Hons), Western Sydney University, Australia, 2007
  

Brief Biography

• Dr Kirk Olsen is Research Centre Manager of the Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University (MQ), Sydney, Australia. Prior to this appointment in December 2022, Dr Olsen held positions as Postdoctoral Researcher in the MQ School of Psychological Sciences and Centre Manager of the MQ Centre for Elite Performance, Expertise, and Training. He is also lab manager of the MQ hub of the Music, Sound and Performance Research Group. Dr Olsen's research combines psychological science with music and sound to investigate the mechanisms underlying human auditory perception, cognition, and emotion, with recent emphasis on the benefits of music for health and well-being across cultures and within subcultures. He is Co-Editor of the book 'The science and psychology of music: From Beethoven at the office to Beyoncé at the gym' (Greenwood Press/ABC-CLIO) and Guest Editor of a new special issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, entitled 'Psychosocial benefits of music in diverse subcultures'.

Specific Research Interests

• Music and emotional health
• Health benefits of physical musicality
• Psychosocial implications of violent music
• Social cohesion through intercultural music engagement
• Harmonious passion and psychological well-being

Past Positions/Roles

• Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Australia, 2016-2022
• Centre Manager: Research and Engagement, Centre for Elite Performance, Expertise and Training (CEPET), Macquarie University, Australia, 2016-2022
• Web Developer and Social Media Manager, School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Australia, 2017-2023
• Early Career Researcher Representative, School of Psychological Sciences Research Committee, Macquarie University, Australia, 2018-2019
• Postdoctoral Career Development Fellowship (Experimental Psychology), The MARCS Institute, Western Sydney University, Australia, 2012-2016
• Western Sydney University Low and Negligible Risk Human Research Ethics Review Committee, 2015-2016
• Research Officer, The MARCS Institute, Australia, 2011-2012
• Research Assistant, The MARCS Institute, Australia, 2008-2011
• MARCS Institute Postgraduate Student Representative, 2009
• Research Assistant, University of New South Wales, Australia, 2006-2008

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