Dr Mark Hayes joined the University of Brighton full-time in 2011 as a lecturer in sport and exercise science. Before this Mark taught full-time in Further Education having studied Fine Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals and Microbiology in Ireland (1992–1995) followed by a BSc (first class honours) in Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Brighton (1995 - 1998). During his career in Further Education, Mark lectured in sport and exercise science, developed and course led a Foundation Degree in Sport Coaching and Development, completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education with Greenwich University and commenced work on an MPhil in environmental physiology. On joining the University Mark completed his PhD, examining the efficacy of progressive heat acclimation for intermittent-sprint exercise in the heat. Mark teaches predominantly in the area of exercise and environmental physiology with consideration of performance, occupational and health aspects and was awarded one of the University of Brighton's Excellence in Facilitating and Empowering Learning Awards in 2013.

I am a senior lecturer in sport and exercise science teaching predominantly exercise and environmental physiology to undergraduate and postgraduate students. I also supervise between around nine undergraduate and 2 MSc dissertations each year.

My philosophy for teaching stems from my own experiences as a student combined with the knowledge gained from completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Education and Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. Through these experiences I have been fortunate to work with some excellent educators and to observe first hand effective but also not so effective pedagogy. Further, being a practitioner in Further Education and Higher Education for a combined total of seventeen years has afforded me the opportunity to apply many techniques in differing learning environments and, observing the response of learners has shaped my approach to teaching. Consequently, I subscribe to the belief that students’ learning is enhanced when they adopt an active rather than passive approach. I work from a student-centred perspective and expect and encourage students to adopt the active approach, facilitating this through a range of techniques while being mindful to cater for the different learning styles that students bring to the classroom. Small group-based activities, action learning sets and problem-based learning are frequently used to promote engagement and where possible I minimise the traditional didactic approach. Such activity is enhanced by the use of various technologies including, for example, audience participation software (Poll Everywhere) and mobile technology.

My research interests centre on understanding human tolerance to environmental extremes in the areas of thermal and hypoxic stress. Specifically, I am interested in physiological responses to heat, cold and hypoxic stress from a performance, occupational and health perspective, how humans can adapt to reduce strain in these environments and how thermal stimuli might be used to improve health in certain disease states.

Current research projects

• Mechanisms of performance enhancment with mouth rinse solutions
• Cold exposure, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity
• Neuromuscular fatigue and exercise tolerance
• Heat exposure and health in Fire Instructors