Dr Lee Barber
PhD, Mphty, BAppSci (Hon), NHMRC ECF
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre
Child Health Research Centre
+61 7 3069 7334
Researcher biography
Dr Lee Barber is an Associate Investigator on the CRE and a member of the Clinical Trials theme.
Dr Barber is a post-doctoral fellow at QCPRRC in muscle mechanics, gait analysis and functional capacity and has more than 10 years clinical experience as a physiotherapist. He has 10 publications (8 first/lead author) with 155 citations. Dr Barber received the Promising Career Award at the American AACPDM (2014). He has received more than $1.2M in funding. His expertise is in muscle and tendon morphology and mechanics in children/adults with CP, including 3D freehand ultrasound, 3D motion capture, surface EMG and dynamometry to measure in-vivo muscle and tendon structure and function during gait. This data has been incorporated into patient specific musculoskeletal biomechanical models which allow orthopaedic surgeons to perform virtual surgery. Dr Barber also develops clinical tools to measure muscle mechanics and investigate how treatments for spastic type CP impacts muscle growth, structure and function and an individual’s capacity to perform activities of daily living.
Journal Articles
Coombes, Brooke K, Hanna, Monica, Thompson, Kaelah A., Coppieters, Michel W., Dick, Taylor J.M., Andrade, Ricardo J and Barber, Lee (2024). Mild untreated hypercholesterolaemia affects mechanical properties of the Achilles tendon but not gastrocnemius muscle. Journal of Biomechanics, 166 112048, 112048. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2024.112048
Obst, Steven J., Florance, Kaysie, Heales, Luke, Job, Sasha and Barber, Lee (2023). Short-term muscle power is related to lower limb muscle volume in young children. Pediatric Exercise Science, 35 (1), 35-40. doi: 10.1123/pes.2021-0167
Obst, Steven, Florance, Kaysie, Heales, Luke and Barber, Lee (2022). Medial gastrocnemius growth in children who are typically developing: can changes in muscle volume and length be accurately predicted from age?. Journal of Anatomy, 240 (5), 991-997. doi: 10.1111/joa.13602
Redd, Christian B., Karunanithi, Mohan, Boyd, Roslyn N. and Barber, Lee A. (2021). Technology-assisted quantification of movement to predict infants at high risk of motor disability: a systematic review. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 118 104071, 104071. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2021.104071
Obst, Steven J., Florance, Kaysie and Barber, Lee (2021). Regional variation in muscle echogenicity is related to muscle thickness in young children. Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, 47 (8), 2467-2476. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2021.03.024
Lorentzen, Jakob, Frisk, Rasmus Feld, Nielsen, Jens Bo and Barber, Lee (2021). Increased ankle plantar flexor stiffness is associated with reduced mechanical response to stretch in adults with CP. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 9 604071, 1-12. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.604071
O’Brien, Shari M., Carroll, Timothy J., Barber, Lee A. and Lichtwark, Glen A. (2021). Plantar flexor voluntary activation capacity, strength and function in cerebral palsy. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 121 (6), 1733-1741. doi: 10.1007/s00421-021-04638-z
Obst, Steven J., Bickell, Reuben, Florance, Kaysie, Boyd, Roslyn N., Read, Felicity and Barber, Lee (2020). The size and echogenicity of the tibialis anterior muscle is preserved in both limbs in young children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy. Disability and Rehabilitation, 44 (14), 1-10. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2020.1863482
O'Brien, Shari M., Lichtwark, Glen A., Carroll, Timothy J. and Barber, Lee A. (2020). Impact of lower limb active movement training in individuals with spastic type Cerebral Palsy on neuromuscular control outcomes: a systematic review. Frontiers in Neurology, 11 581892, 1-14. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2020.581892
Davis, J. F., Khir, A. W., Barber, L., Reeves, N. D., Khan, T., DeLuca, M. and Mohagheghi, Amir A. (2020). The mechanisms of adaptation for muscle fascicle length changes with exercise: implications for spastic muscle. Medical Hypotheses, 144 110199, 110199. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2020.110199
Maharaj, Jayishni N., Barber, Lee, Walsh, Henry P.J. and Carty, Christopher P. (2020). Flip-flops do not alter the neuromuscular function of the gastrocnemius muscle and tendon during walking in children. Gait and Posture, 77, 83-88. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2019.12.032
Gillett, Jarred G., Lichtwark, Glen A., Boyd, Roslyn N., Carty, Christopher P. and Barber, Lee A. (2019). The effect of combined functional anaerobic and strength training on treadmill gait kinematics and kinetics in ambulatory young adults with cerebral palsy. Gait and Posture, 70, 323-329. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2019.03.023
Frisk, Rasmus Feld, Lorentzen, Jakob, Barber, Lee and Nielsen, Jens Bo (2019). Characterization of torque generating properties of ankle plantar flexor muscles in ambulant adults with cerebral palsy. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 119 (5), 1127-1136. doi: 10.1007/s00421-019-04102-z
Chan, Dara V., Thorpe, Deborah E., Trost, Stewart G., Boyd, Roslyn N., Faldowski, Richard A., Barber, Lee, Levin, Ilana, Carroll, Amanda and Bagatell, Nancy (2019). Novel approaches to measuring community integration in adults with cerebral palsy. Disability and Rehabilitation, 42 (18), 1-12. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2019.1577500
Obst, Steven, Heales, Luke, Hrelja, Zachary, Ishri, Prashneveet, Wesche, Johanna and Barber, Lee (2019). The effect of deloading tape on medial gastrocnemius muscle fascicle behaviour during dynamic exercise. Journal of Sports Sciences, 37 (16), 1874-1883. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2019.1600225
Barber, L., Alexander, C., Shipman, P., Boyd, R., Reid, S. and Elliott, C. (2019). Validity and reliability of a freehand 3D ultrasound system for the determination of triceps surae muscle volume in children with cerebral palsy. Journal of Anatomy, 234 (3), 384-391. doi: 10.1111/joa.12927
Pingel, Jessica, Barber, Lee, Andersen, Ida Torp, Von Walden, Ferdinand, Wong, Christian, Dossing, Simon and Nielsen, Jens Bo (2019). Systemic inflammatory markers in individuals with cerebral palsy. European Journal of Inflammation, 17, 205873921882347. doi: 10.1177/2058739218823474
Gillett, Jarred G., Lichtwark, Glen A., Boyd, Roslyn N. and Barber, Lee A. (2018). Functional capacity in adults with cerebral palsy: Lower limb muscle strength matters. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 99 (5), 900-906.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2018.01.020
Willerslev-Olsen, Maria, Choe Lund, Mai, Lorentzen, Jakob, Barber, Lee, Kofoed-Hansen, Mathilde and Nielsen, Jens Bo (2018). Impaired muscle growth precedes development of increased stiffness of the triceps surae musculotendinous unit in children with cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 60 (7), 672-679. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.13729
Gillett, Jarred G., Lichtwark, Glen A., Boyd, Roslyn N. and Barber, Lee A. (2018). Functional anaerobic and strength training in young adults with cerebral palsy. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 50 (8), 1-1557. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001614
Fox, Aaron S., Carty, Christopher P., Modenese, Luca, Barber, Lee A. and Lichtwark, Glen A. (2018). Simulating the effect of muscle weakness and contracture on neuromuscular control of normal gait in children. Gait and Posture, 61, 169-175. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2018.01.010
Verschuren, Olaf, Smorenburg, Ana R. P., Luiking, Yvette, Bell, Kristie, Barber, Lee and Peterson, Mark D. (2018). Determinants of muscle preservation in individuals with cerebral palsy across the lifespan: a narrative review of the literature. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, 9 (3), 453-464. doi: 10.1002/jcsm.12287
Obst, Steven J., Boyd, Roslyn, Read, Felicity and Barber, Lee (2017). Quantitative 3-D Ultrasound of the Medial Gastrocnemius Muscle in Children with Unilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy. Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, 43 (12), 2814-2823. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2017.08.929
Baque, Emmah, Sakzewski, Leanne, Trost, Stewart G. , Boyd, Roslyn N. and Barber, Lee (2017). Validity of accelerometry to measure physical activity in children with brain injury.. Pediatric Physical Therapy, 29 (4), 322-329. doi: 10.1097/PEP.0000000000000439
Read, Felicity A., Boyd, Roslyn N. and Barber, Lee A. (2017). Longitudinal assessment of gait quality in children with bilateral cerebral palsy following repeated lower limb intramuscular Botulinum toxin-A injections. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 68, 35-41. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2017.07.002
Obst, Steven J., Barber, Lee, Miller, Ashton and Barrett, Rod S. (2017). Reliability of achilles tendon moment arm measured in vivo using freehand three-dimensional ultrasound. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 33 (4), 300-304. doi: 10.1123/jab.2016-0261
Boyd, Roslyn N., Davies, Peter S. W., Ziviani, Jenny, Trost, Stewart, Barber, Lee, Ware, Robert, Rose, Stephen, Whittingham, Koa, Sakzewski, Leanne, Bell, Kristie, Carty, Christopher, Obst, Steven, Benfer, Katherine, Reedman, Sarah, Edwards, Priya, Kentish, Megan, Copeland, Lisa, Weir, Kelly, Davenport, Camilla, Brooks, Denise, Coulthard, Alan, Pelekanos, Rebecca, Guzzetta, Andrea, Fiori, Simona, Wynter, Meredith, Finn, Christine, Burgess, Andrea, Morris, Kym, Walsh, John ... Scuffham, Paul A. (2017). PREDICT-CP: study protocol of implementation of comprehensive surveillance to predict outcomes for school-aged children with cerebral palsy. BMJ Open, 7 (7) e014950, e014950. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014950
Baque, Emmah, Barber, Lee, Sakzewski, Leanne, Ware, Robert and Boyd, Roslyn N. (2017). Characteristics associated with physical activity capacity and performance in children and adolescents with an acquired brain injury. Brain Injury, 31 (5), 1-7. doi: 10.1080/02699052.2017.1291990
Sartori, M., Fernandez, J. W., Modenese, L., Carty, C. P., Barber, L. A., Oberhofer, K., Zhang, J., Handsfield, G. G., Stott, N. S., Besier, T. F., Farina, D. and Lloyd, D. G. (2017). Toward modeling locomotion using electromyography-informed 3D models: application to cerebral palsy. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Systems Biology and Medicine, 9 (2) e1368, e1368. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1368
Barber, Lee, Carty, Chris, Modenese, Luca, Walsh, John, Boyd, Roslyn and Lichtwark, Glen (2017). Medial gastrocnemius and soleus muscle-tendon unit, fascicle, and tendon interaction during walking in children with cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 59 (8), 843-851. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.13427
Baque, Emmah, Barber, Lee, Sakzewski, Leanne and Boyd, Roslyn N (2016). Reproducibility in measuring physical activity in children and adolescents with an acquired brain injury.. Brain Injury, 30 (13-14), 1-7. doi: 10.1080/02699052.2016.1201594
Gillett, Jarred G., Boyd, Roslyn N., Carty, Christopher P. and Barber, Lee A. (2016). The impact of strength training on skeletal muscle morphology and architecture in children and adolescents with spastic cerebral palsy: a systematic review. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 56, 183-196. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2016.06.003
Baque, Emmah, Barber, Lee, Sakzewski, Leanne and Boyd, Roslyn N. (2016). Test–re-test reproducibility of activity capacity measures for children with an acquired brain injury. Brain Injury, 30 (9), 1-7. doi: 10.3109/02699052.2016.1165869
Baque, Emmah, Barber, Lee, Sakzewski, Leanne and Boyd, Roslyn (2016). Randomized controlled trial of web-based multimodal therapy for children with acquired brain injury to improve gross motor capacity and performance. Clinical Rehabilitation, 31 (6), 722-732. doi: 10.1177/0269215516651980
Baque, Emmah, Sakzewski, Leanne, Barber, Lee and Boyd, Roslyn N. (2016). Systematic review of physiotherapy interventions to improve gross motor capacity and performance in children and adolescents with an acquired brain injury. Brain Injury, 30 (8), 1-12. doi: 10.3109/02699052.2016.1147079
Barber, Lee A., Read, Felicity, Lovatt Stern, Jacquie, Lichtwark, Glen and Boyd, Roslyn N. (2016). Medial gastrocnemius muscle volume in ambulant children with unilateral and bilateral cerebral palsy aged 2 to 9 years. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 58 (11), 1146-1152. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.13132
Barber, Lee A. and Boyd, Rosyln N. (2015). Growing muscles in children with cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 58 (5), 431-432. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.12980
Boyd, Roslyn N., Baque, Emmah, Piovesana, Adina, Ross, Stephanie, Ziviani, Jenny, Sakzewski, Leanne, Barber, Lee, Lloyd, Owen, McKinlay, Lynne, Whittingham, Koa, Smith, Anthony C., Rose, Stephen, Fiori, Simona, Cunnington, Ross, Ware, Robert, Lewis, Melinda, Comans, Tracy A. and Scuffham, Paul A. (2015). Mitii™ ABI: study protocol of a randomised controlled trial of a web-based multi-modal training program for children and adolescents with an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). BMC Neurology, 15 (140) 140, 140. doi: 10.1186/s12883-015-0381-6
Gillett, Jarred G., Lichtwark, Glen A., Boyd, Roslyn N. and Barber, Lee A. (2015). Erratum: a protocol of a randomised controlled trial of the efficacy of a 12-week combined Functional Anaerobic and Strength Training programme on muscle properties and mechanical gait deficiencies in adolescents and young adults with spastic type Cerebral Palsy (BMJ Open (2015) 5 (e008059)). BMJ Open, 5 (7) e008059. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008059corr1
Gillett, Jarred G., Lichtwark, Glen A., Boyd, Roslyn .N. and Barber, Lee A. (2015). FAST CP: Protocol of a randomised controlled trial of the efficacy of a 12-week combined Functional Anaerobic and Strength Training programme on muscle properties and mechanical gait deficiencies in adolescents and young adults with spastic-type cerebral. BMJ Open, 5 (6) e008059, e008059. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008059
Barrett, Rod S., Lichtwark, Glen A., Armstrong, Codie, Barber, Lee, Scott-Young, Matthew and Hall, Richard M. (2015). Fluoroscopic assessment of lumbar total disc replacement kinematics during walking. Spine, 40 (7), 436-442. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000000787
Barber, Lee, Hastings-Ison, Tandi, Baker, Richard, Graham, H. Kerr, Barrett, Rod and Lichtwark, Glen (2013). The effects of botulinum toxin injection frequency on muscle growth in young children with spastic cerebral palsy: a 12 month prospective study. Journal of Children's Orthopaedics, 7 (5), 425-433. doi: 10.1007/s11832-013-0503-x
Barber, Lee A., Barrett, Rod S., Gillett, Jarred G., Cresswell, Andrew G. and Lichtwark, Glen A. (2013). Neuromechanical properties of the triceps surae in young and older adults. Experimental Gerontology, 48 (11), 1147-1155. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2013.07.007
Barrett, Rod S. and Barber, Lee (2013). Impaired muscle growth in spastic cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 55 (3), 202-202. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.12073
Barber, Lee, Barrett, Rod and Lichtwark, Glen (2012). Medial gastrocnemius muscle fascicle active torque-length and Achilles tendon properties in young adults with spastic cerebral palsy. Journal of Biomechanics, 45 (15), 2526-2530. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2012.07.018
Barber, Lee, Barrett, Rod and Lichtwark, Glen (2011). Passive muscle mechanical properties of the medial gastrocnemius in young adults with spastic cerebral palsy. Journal of Biomechanics, 44 (13), 2496-2500. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2011.06.008
Barber, Lee, Hastings-Ison, Tandy, Baker, Richard, Barrett, Rod and Lichtwark, Glen (2011). Medial gastrocnemius muscle volume and fascicle length in children aged 2 to 5 years with cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 53 (6), 543-548. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2011.03913.x
Barber, Lee, Barrett, Rod and Lichtwark, Glen (2011). Validity and reliability of a simple ultrasound approach to measure medial gastrocnemius muscle length. Journal of Anatomy, 218 (6), 637-642. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2011.01365.x
Barber, L, Barrett, R and Lichtwark, G (2009). Validation of a freehand 3D ultrasound system for morphological measures of the medial gastrocnemius muscle. Journal of Biomechanics, 42 (9), 1313-1319. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2009.03.005
Hubinger, Lyle, Mackinnon, Laurel Traeger, Barber, Lee, Mccosker, Jane, Howard, Alf and Lepre, Frank (1997). Acute effects of treadmill running on lipoprotein(a) levels in males and females. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 29 (4), 436-442. doi: 10.1097/00005768-199704000-00003
Conference Papers
Redd, Christian B., Barber, Lee A., Boyd, Roslyn N., Varnfield, Marlien and Karunanithi, Mohan K. (2019). Development of a wearable sensor network for quantification of infant general movements for the diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy. Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), Berlin, Germany, 23-27 July 2019. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2019.8857377
Baque, E., Barber, L., Sakzewski, L. and Boyd, R. N. (2016). Randomised controlled trial of web-based multimodal therapy for children with acquired brain injury to improve gross motor capacity and performance. 8th Biennial Conference of the Australasian Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, Adelaide, Australia, 30 March- 2 April 2016. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.13069
Baque, E., Barber, L., Sakzewski, L. and Boyd, R. (2016). Systematic review of physiotherapy interventions to improve gross motor capacity and performance in children and adolescents with an acquired brain injury. 8th Biennial Conference of the Australasian Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, Adelaide Australia, 30 March- 2 April 2016. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.13070
Baque, E., Barber, L., Sakzewski, L. and Boyd, R. N. (2016). Validation of the ActiGraph accelerometer to measure physical activity in children with an acquired brain injury. 8th Biennial Conference of the Australasian Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, Adelaide, Australia, 30 March- 2 April 2016. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.13069
Barber, Lee A., Baque, Emmah, Sakzewski, Leanne and Boyd, Roslyn N. (2016). Randomised controlled trial of a web-based multi-modal training program on gross motor capacity and performance for children with an acquired brain injury. International Conference on Cerebral Palsy and other Childhood-onset Disabilities, Stockholm, Sweden, 1-4 June 2016. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.13315
Baque, Emmah, Barber, Lee, Sakzewski, Leanne and Boyd, Roslyn (2015). Validity of accelerometry to measure physical activity in children with acquired brain injury. Annual Meeting American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, Austin, TX, United States, 21-24 October 2015. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.4_12886
Baque, Emmah, Barber, Lee, Sakzewski, Leanne and Boyd, Roslyn (2015). Randomised controlled trial of a web-based multimodal training program on activity capacity and performance for children with an acquired brain injury. Annual Meeting American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, Austin, TX, United States, 21-24 October 2015. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.101_12887
Baque, E. J., Barber, L. A., Sakzewski, L. and Boyd, R. N. (2014). Test-retest reliability of two mobility assessments for children with an acquired brain injury. AusACPDM 2014: 7th Biennial Scientific Conference, Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia, 11-14 March, 2014. Oxford, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.12368