Studentships

Applications are invited for a PhD studentship commencing in October 2010. The successful candidate will be based in the Extreme Environments Laboratory of the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Portsmouth and will conduct research to establish a reproducible cold challenge test to determine the cold sensitivity of the hands and feet. Following this, the cold sensitivity of “normal” uninjured men and women of varying ethnicity will be compared to that of patients with non-freezing cold injury and/or Reynaud’s Phenomenon. The work will also examine the potential of a thermal intervention such as heat acclimation to ameliorate cold sensitivity. Research questions will be examined using a range of techniques including infrared thermography and laser Doppler rheometry and will involve use of the Department’s specialised climatic chambers.

The successful candidate will have a 2.1 or first class honours degree and preferably a Masters degree in a relevant discipline. Additional experience in a laboratory environment will be an advantage. The research work will be lead by Dr Clare Eglin in collaboration with Dr Jim House and Prof Mike Tipton within the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Portsmouth as well as staff from collaborating medical/academic institutions.   

The studentship provides a stipend of £13,590 per annum plus tuition fees at the UK/EU rate for three years.

Information about the Department of Sport and Exercise Science can be found at http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/sportscience/. Informal enquiries should be made to Dr Clare Eglin. E-mail: clare.eglin@port.ac.uk

To apply please submit your application to (https://www.registryhub.port.ac.uk/online_application/). For further details regarding the application process please refer to our Graduate School site: http://www.port.ac.uk/sciencefacultygraduateschool, or email holly.shawyer@port.ac.uk (Faculty Research Admissions) for further enquiries. Applicants who are successfully shortlisted will be contacted soon after the closing date. Interviews are expected to take place in early September.

Applications are invited for a PhD studentship commencing in October 2010. The successful candidate will be based within the Extreme Environments Laboratory in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Portsmouth University.

The research program will aim to identify the factors influencing thermal comfort and thermal sensation in transient, non-uniform and dynamic thermal scenarios during cycling exercise. The program of work is inspired by recent evidence from our research group that substantial changes in deep body and skin temperature, thermal comfort and thermal sensation are evident as a consequence of the varied thermal scenarios encountered during cycling exercise. However, much of the information regarding the factors influencing thermal comfort and thermal sensation is derived from stable and uniform thermal environmental conditions where the thermal stimuli do not change rapidly. Clearly this is not applicable to the ‘real-life’ scenarios where variations in metabolic heat production interact with the additional avenues for heat loss and heat gain to/from the environment. Research questions will be examined using a range of methods including: thermometry, partitional calorimetry, exercise physiology, and psychophysiological techniques.

The successful candidate will have a 2.1 or first class honours degree in Exercise Science or a closely related field and preferably a Masters degree in a relevant discipline. Additional experience in a laboratory environment and experience of some of the aforementioned measurement techniques will be an advantage. The research work will be lead by Dr Martin Barwood and Dr Jo Corbett and overseen by Prof. Mike Tipton.     

The studentship provides a stipend of £13,590 per annum plus tuition fees at the UK/EU rate for three years.

Information about the Department of Sport and Exercise Science can be found at http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/sportscience/. Informal enquiries should be made to Dr Martin Barwood. E-mail: martin.barwood@port.ac.uk.

To apply please submit your application to (https://www.registryhub.port.ac.uk/online_application/). For further details regarding the application process please refer to our Graduate School site: http://www.port.ac.uk/sciencefacultygraduateschool, or email holly.shawyer@port.ac.uk (Faculty Research Admissions) for further enquiries. Applicants who are successfully shortlisted will be contacted soon after the closing date. Interviews are expected to take place in early September.

Applications are invited for a PhD studentship commencing in October 2010. The successful candidate will be based in the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at Portsmouth University and will conduct research to identify the psychological strategies that elite sport performers who participate in extreme environments (i.e. ocean, mountains, desert or Antarctic) employ to facilitate effective performance and survival. Inherent within this aim would be the identification as to what skills are utilised, how they have been developed, where and when they have been most useful and how these strategies are employed in certain situations. It is anticipated that this PhD would utilise both qualitative and quantitative methodologies in order to achieve the thesis aims.

The successful candidate will have a 2.1 or first class honours degree in Sport Psychology/Science or a closely related field and preferably a Masters degree in a relevant discipline. The research work will be led by Dr Neil Weston in collaboration with Drs Richard Thelwell and Jenny Page.

The studentship provides a stipend of £13,590 per annum plus tuition fees at the UK/EU rate for three years.

Information about the Department of Sport and Exercise Science can be found at http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/sportscience/. Informal enquiries should be made to Dr Neil Weston. E-mail: neil.weston@port.ac.uk.

To apply please submit your application to (https://www.registryhub.port.ac.uk/online_application/). For further details regarding the application process please refer to our Graduate School site: http://www.port.ac.uk/sciencefacultygraduateschool, or email holly.shawyer@port.ac.uk (Faculty Research Admissions) for further enquiries. Applicants who are successfully shortlisted will be contacted soon after the closing date. Interviews are expected to take place in early September.

The Peter Harrison Centre of Disability Sport (School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences) is offering a UK/EU PhD Scholarship. The project will examine the physiological and hormonal responses during wheelchair exercise in persons with a spinal cord injury to a variety of different exercise strategies.  Specifically the project will investigate the role of a warm-up on subsequent exercise capacity.  Additionally the project has scope to include work at a rehabilitation level as well as within the sporting context depending on the successful applicant’s knowledge and skill set.

The studentship commences in October 2010 and the successful candidate will hold a 2.1 or first class honours degree in Exercise Physiology or a closely related discipline.  Additional previous research experience/clinical experience in the area would be advantageous. Full-time UK/EU PhD scholarships include fees at the 'home/EU' student rate and maintenance (£13,590 in 2010/11) for three years, depending on satisfactory progress.

The project supervisors are Dr Vicky Tolfrey (v.l.tolfrey@lboro.ac.uk) and Dr Lettie Bishop (n.c.bishop@lboro.ac.uk)

The School of Sport and Education is comprised of the Sport Sciences and Education subject areas which have consistently been rated highly in national league tables. This reflects a strong tradition in Sport and Education coupled with significant recent investment in state-of-the-art sports and laboratory facilities for research and teaching. The School offers a vibrant and dynamic environment in which to research and teach. There is a stimulating mix of young researchers working alongside more experienced colleagues.

Within Sport Sciences we have two research centres: Centre for Sports Medicine and Human Performance and Centre for Youth Sport and Athlete Welfare.  As part of our vision for 2013 and beyond we are looking to continue development in these areas.  We have one full time PhD studentship available, beginning 1^st October 2010.

Centre for Sports Medicine and Human Performance (CSMHP)

Applications are invited for a PhD studentship project entitled “Pathogenesis of Exercise-Induced Asthma in Athletes”. Exercise-induced asthma (EIA) is highly prevalent in elite athletes. However, its mechanisms remain unclear. The objective of this research project is to explore the involvement of airway epithelial injury in the pathogenesis of EIA in athletes. The project involves experimental work with athletes. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to learn a range of advanced techniques for respiratory function assessment and EIA detection. The project builds on the recent opening of the Asthma Screening Centre for elite athletes within the Centre for Sport Medicine & Human Performance at Brunel University and on funding awarded by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The project will be led by Dr Pascale Kippelen in collaboration with Dr Lee Romer as well as staff from collaborating medical/academic institutions.   For informal discussions regarding this project please contact Dr Pascale Kippelen at Pascale.kippelen@brunel.ac.uk or Dr Lee Romer at lee.romer@brunel.ac.uk

Eligibility

Applicants must have a good first degree (upper second or first) in a Sport Sciences or related discipline and preferably hold a relevant master's degree. 

A studentship of £12,980, plus full time home/EU tuition fees, for a maximum of three years is available to support the successful applicant.  The successful applicant is required to undertake 150 hours of teaching and learning-related activities per academic year.

How to Apply

If you wish to apply for this PhD studentship, please e-mail the following to Julie Bradshaw, our Research Administrator, at julie.bradshaw@brunel.ac.uk by Noon on 26^th of August 2010 (interviews will take place during week beginning 6^th September 2010):

1.       A copy of your CV and information about the teaching-related activities you could support;

2.    A one-page (A4 single-spaced) personal statement indicating why you would be suitable for the project

3.    Names and contact details of three referees (two academic and one personal) who can support your application

Summary of Research Project:

Resistance exercise is a potent stimulus to a host of physiological systems, and the biological stresses associated with resistance exercise modalities have been shown to involve complex adaptations that benefit both healthy and clinical populations.  Resistance exercise bouts are defined physiologically by preceding anticipatory changes, acute within and immediate post-exercise modulations, and chronic/prolonged training adaptations in bioenergetic, endocrine, and neuromuscular systems that reflect augmented or deleterious functional performance.

By manipulating change within the acute resistance training variables, it is possible to influence the nature of the exercise stress, and ultimately impact the characteristics of the physiological adaptations induced.  While previous research has examined resistance exercise stress, the intervention of resistance training protocols remains to be fully explored; particularly with respect to understanding training load, recovery dynamics, and physical performance adaptation.  Specifically, from a clinical perspective the role of resistance training in health and wellbeing, aging, and exercise prescription is an expanding area, while from a performance perspective concurrent training methods, diurnal variations in training structure, and modulations in acute training variables all remain to be fully elucidated.  

This research studentship will follow a course of study examining ‘resistance exercise stress’; with a view to understanding the role training load, recovery, and physiological adaptation play in promoting physical, physiological, and functional performance within athletic, clinical, and adolescent populations.  The research will include the study of physiological systems (e.g. endocrine, cardiorespiratory) and neuromuscular function, and students will be expected to develop laboratory based techniques as well as applied monitoring and assessment skills.  The Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Northumbria University aims to challenge current understanding within the area of resistance exercise stress, and develop a world-class reputation as a research centre for resistance training and conditioning science.             

Details of research training to be undertaken as part of this project:

The student will be expected to undertake a tailored programme of training under the guidance of the lead supervisor and the supervisory committee.  The Northumbria University Graduate School also provides extensive training and support to PhD students. Scientific skills will be developed in accordance with the needs of the specific research projects undertaken, and will include a variety of bench-top laboratory techniques (biochemistry, cardiorespiratory), imagery procedures (ultrasound, MRI), and neuromuscular monitoring (NIRS, EMG,).  Students will also be exposed to significant skill development in the handling of resistance exercise training protocols across a variety of participant populations.   

Please visit the website for application details at http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/researchstudentships

MRes Sport Science offers students the opportunity to develop a specific area of expertise.

 Projects are available in all areas including, but not limited to:

•           Sports Performance;

•           Performance Analysis;

•           Sports Nutrition;

•           Exercise Physiology, including

            Environmental Physiology;

•           Molecular Exercise Physiology;

•           Exercise Biochemistry;

•           Biomechanics;

•           Kinesiology and Sports Injuries;

•           Sports Psychology.

 As a minimum, the following are projects with funding available: 

1) Effects of exercise and nutrition on bone metabolism. 

2) Functionality of movement variability for sports performance.

3) Motivational Approaches to Sport Performance.

Contact details: Dr Craig Sale; craig.sale@ntu.ac.uk; 0115 8483505