Marita is an Early Career Researcher and Lecturer in the Department of Health Professions. She has extensive cardiorespiratory physiotherapy experience, with expertise in Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Her research interests include exercise training and physical activity in people with chronic respiratory diseases. Marita was awarded her PhD in 2016 through The University of Sydney. Marita’s studies investigated exercise capacity, exercise training and physical activity in people with non-malignant asbestos-related diseases and other dust-related respiratory diseases, such as silicosis and pneumoconiosis. Findings from her PhD have resulted in four publications, with her work being presented and cited both nationally and internationally. One of the main findings in her thesis was that exercise training improved both short- and long-term exercise capacity and health-related quality of life in people with dust-related respiratory diseases, providing evidence for the inclusion of people with dust-related respiratory diseases into pulmonary rehabilitation programs. Prior to joining Macquarie University as a Lecturer, Marita was the Cardiothoracic Ambulatory Care Senior Physiotherapist at St Vincent’s Hospital, working in pulmonary rehabilitation, cardiac rehabilitation and transplant rehabilitation programs.