Personal profile

Research interests

My research interest has long been human exercise tolerance, or the ability to sustain exercise, with a particular focus on the mechanisms of fatigue within the muscles and their interaction with the brain (neuromuscular fatigue). I have more recently added a new strand to my research; this strand finds its origin in the neuroscience: I feel it is time to understand better how perceptions such as fatigue, effort, or pleasantness / unpleasantness, emerge from within the brain when we exercise, how these perceptions interact with each other, and affect our actions / behaviour.

Fatigue remains the prime focus of my work. The Fatigue and Exercise research lab I developed over the years, and lead today at the University of Brighton, studies fatigue in sedentary as well as more physically active healthy humans, and in clinical populations such as people with multiple sclerosis and post-covid.

This better understanding of both psychophysiological and behavioural responses when we exercise is critical for exercise scientists, clinicians, or any practitioners looking to help an individual tolerate exercise better or help improve human tolerance to physical exercise. Our findings inform strategies for exercise-based rehabilitation and training programmes to be safe and effective (i.e. robust science-based interventions).

My work finds impact in the areas of health, sport and wellbeing.

Supervisory Interests

I have supervised five PhD students to completion, and I am currently supervising another five PhD students. I have also been looking after the wider community of PhD students for four years (2017-21) when I was the ‘Postgraduate Research Coordinator’ for my school. I therefore understand very well PhD processes, the main milestones of a PhD journey, and the specific professional and personal development needs PhD students have. I offer strong support to my students and love working with them. Students joining the Fatigue and Exercise research lab benefit from peer support with regular meetings to discuss science, bespoke research projects, or recent publications in our field, in addition to the entitled PhD supervision support.

If you are interested in the following areas, do not hesitate to contact me:

  • Exercise intensity domains, anaerobic capacity, and neuromuscular fatigue
  • Perceptions (particularly fatigue and effort) and exercise tolerance / behaviour
  • The interaction between physical training and both perceptual and neuromuscular fatigue
  • Multiple sclerosis, long-covid, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)

Approach to teaching

The human body fascinates me: The human body is a truly incredible machine. I also love Science: the different approaches we can choose to try to offer a satisfying answer to an important research question; the different ways of going about it (i.e. methods and methodologies); the creativity it requires but also the challenges it brings that we have to face (and learn from); its limitations (would we ever really know?). I believe my passion for both Exercise Psychophysiology and Science transpires in my teaching style.

As an active researcher and consultant for sport government bodies and NHS trusts, I want to contribute to the design and delivery of research- and consultancy-informed teaching materials to foster students’ engagement, understanding of, and enthusiasm for the professional world.

I am keen to pilot different learning and teaching strategies to improve the courses I am involved with. The two MSc courses I developed and led for seven years (2012-19) include many problem-based learning scenarios (PBL) to prepare students for the ‘real world’. I piloted a PBL intervention in collaboration with the English Institute of Sport (EIS) a few years ago. Student feedback was excellent. It was a great experience. I also introduced in these postgraduate programmes a series of classroom-based Action Learning Sets (ALS) for MSc students to reflect and make the most of their work experience. I believe these learning opportunities are essential for them to develop their employability skill set. You can find more information about these two MSc courses here:

Applied Sport Physiology MSc (PGCert PGDip) / Applied Exercise Physiology MSc (PGCert PGDip)

We also deliver a Strength and Conditioning MSc (PGCert PGDip) alongside our undergraduate programme. You can find details of the sport and exercise science courses on the University of Brighton website.

Some of the key areas I teach in are:

  • Exercise intensity domains and exercise tolerance
  • The muscle, the nervous system, and exercise
  • Neuromuscular fatigue and the muscles – brain interaction during exercise
  • The philosophy of science, scientific methods and methodologies, quantitative statistics
  • The physiology of training

Scholarly biography

Past roles and positions

2017-21

Postgraduate Research Coordinator for the School of Sport and Service Management (University of Brighton, UK)

2011-16

Senior Lecturer in Sports and Exercise Science (University of Brighton, UK)

 

2014-18

Consultant for the English Institute of Sport (Physiology)

2012-19

MSc Course Leader - Applied Sport Physiology and Applied Exercise Physiology (University of Brighton, UK)

Leadership experience

2019-20

Development and validation of two new MRes courses (Sport and International Development; Sport and Exercise Science)

2018-19

Development, validation, and implementation of processes underpinning PhD supervision team formation at the school of Sport and Service Management

2018-20

Development, validation, and implementation of a two-tier teaching experience scheme for PGR students at the school of Sport and Service Management

2017-

REF output reviewer for my school

2017-18

Validation of a new MSc in Strength and Conditioning

Revalidation of MSc in Applied Sport Physiology and Applied Exercise Physiology

2012-13

Development, validation, and implementation of two new MSc courses (Applied Sport Physiology; Applied Exercise Physiology)

Validation of a school postgraduate taught programme framework

 

Education/Academic qualification

Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, University of Brighton

Award Date: 30 Jun 2010

PhD, Sports and Exercise Science (Physiology), Universite de Lille 2

Award Date: 18 Jun 2003

Master, Physiology and biomechanics in Sports and Exercise Science, Universite de Lille 2

Award Date: 30 Jun 2000

Master, Sport, Exercise, Science and Coaching, Universite de Lille 2

Award Date: 30 Jun 1999

Bachelor, Physical Activity Sciences, Universite de Lille 2

Award Date: 30 Jun 1998

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