Dietary influences on exercise metabolism in relation to the maintenance of lifelong health and in the achievement of optimal sporting performance

Career overview

Professor Gareth A. Wallis completed his undergraduate studies with a BSc (Hons.) in Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham from 1997 to 2000, followed by an MSc (Dist.) in Exercise Physiology at Loughborough University from 2000 to 2001. He then worked in applied sports science, providing physiology support for high-performance athletes at the Human Performance Unit at the University of Birmingham from 2001 to 2002. Professor Wallis pursued a PhD in Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham from 2003 to 2006, focusing on exercise metabolism and carbohydrate ingestion, under the supervision of Professor Asker E. Jeukendrup. Following his PhD, he undertook post-doctoral training in integrative biology at the University of California-Berkeley from 2006 to 2008 in the laboratory of Professor George A. Brooks. He then transitioned to a role in New Product Research at GlaxoSmithKline from 2008 to 2011, where he was involved in developing new nutritional products and health claims, particularly in the realm of sport and exercise nutrition. In late 2011, Professor Wallis joined the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham, where he has been engaged in research and teaching focused on exercise metabolism and nutrition aimed at optimising sports performance and health. In April 2021, he was appointed as the Head of Research and Knowledge Transfer at the School.

Research interests

Professor Wallis''s research focuses on exercise metabolism and nutrition, specifically the dietary influences on exercise metabolism. He aims to understand how nutrition can be manipulated to enhance metabolic or adaptive responses to exercise, with a particular emphasis on macronutrients and their roles in performance, training adaptation, and health. His research employs a variety of experimental approaches, including exercise testing, nutritional intervention, stable isotope tracer administration, biological tissue/fluid collection, and analytical techniques such as mass spectrometry and molecular biology. Professor Wallis''s work seeks to generate translational knowledge for practical applications in sport, exercise, and health nutrition settings.