Potential Sport and Exercise Science Projects

If you are interested in any of these potential projects, please contact the supervisors to didcuss it:

Interactions of exercise and hypoxia on fuel metabolism in obesity and diabetes, from cell to whole body.

Supervisors: Dr Peter Watt, Dr Adrian Bone and Dr Wendy Macfarlane (School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences), Dr Alan Richardson and Dr Nick Webborn

Oxygen is fundamental to cellular function, but Olympic athletes improve their muscle function, their fitness and their performance by training at high altitude and depriving their tissues of optimal oxygen levels. Why do low oxygen levels have such an enhancing effect on human metabolism? The burgeoning global epidemic of obesity is well publicised and has led to frightening projections of health outcomes over the next twenty years. Can new insights into boosting human metabolism be utilised to develop new and improved interventions to combat the global obesity epidemic? These questions lie at the heart of this proposal, where we aim to bring together expertise in low oxygen (hypoxic) physical training with molecular cellular models of tissue hypoxia, to begin to understand the key mechanisms pivotal to this effect on human metabolism. This work will use cell culture and whole body studies to continue on a successful collaboration between PABS and ourselves in research aimed at understanding how best to approach obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Physical activity behaviour change in Cardiac rehabilitation.

Supervisors: Dr Sarah Hardcastle and Dr Carrie Llewellyn (BSMS)

In the UK only 41% of patients who have had a heart attack engage in cardiac rehabilitation, far from the National Service Framework target of 85%. As such, CR remains a national priority project for the National Health Service (NHS), and local initiatives are at the forefront of research into how best to increase patients’ uptake of CR (NHS Heart Improvement, 2010). There is good evidence that CR has health benefits, reductions in mortality approach 50% for those who engage. Worldwide, CR uptake is poor with only 15- 30% of those eligible. Understanding the psycho-social factors that influence uptake and adherence and the development of effective interventions to improve uptake and adherence to CR is of critical importance, both nationally and internationally. This project would involve several studies examining psycho-social predictors of uptake and adherence to CR and a psychological intervention in an attempt to improve uptake & adherence.

Atrial fibrillation and exercise.

Supervisors: Dr Gary Brickley and Dr Louisa Beale

Building on our existing collaborative work with East Sussex Hospitals Trust, including studies on

relationship between atrial fibrillation and exercise capacity
use of exercise testing to evaluate the effect of medical interventions
effect of exercise training interventions

Optimizing exercise and nutritional strategies for elderly populations.

Supervisors: Dr Peter Watt and Dr Khalid Ali (BSMS)

We have published evidence that elderly people have a blunted anabolic response to nutrition and exercise. We aim to discover which aspects of the processes involved in growth regulation are disturbed and which exercise and nutritional strategies are best to alleviate the problem. It is anticipated that improving the response in elderly people will improve quality of life, strength and mobility.

Neuromuscular Mechanisms of Fatigue on Performance.

Supervisors: Dr Emma Ross, Dr Nick Smeeton, Dr Jeanne Dekerle and Dr Peter Watt

This theme brings together insights from biochemical study of fatigue, neuromuscular functioning, cognitive psychology to understand the limits of human performance – biology to behaviour. A studentship would bridge these domains using existing cutting edge experimental protocol for measuring metabolism, motor function and cognitive control. This multidisciplinary approach is typically ignored in current research. The work will allow a newer, more integrated, perspective on human performance. It will:

1. Provide a more complete understanding of the mechanisms underpinning superior human performance.

2. Determine why human performance typically fails in populations that differ in ability, age and clinical symptoms present.