This is a self-funded PhD opportunity for UK or students that classify as 'home' students who have or will achieve a Master’s degree by the 1st October 2021. The successful applicant will join the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Roehampton (London, UK). They may choose to study fulltime or part time, the latter reducing tuition fees to £2,250 per year and still enabling completion in four years. Funds will be provided by the Department for conference attendance. There is likely to be substantial opportunity to earn money supporting the teaching of undergraduate courses in the department, in particular helping with lab practicals and marking assignments.
The start date for this position is the 1st October 2021 or 1st January 2022.
Application deadline: 20th September 2021
PhD Supervisors: Prof. Lewis Halsey, Dr Chris Tyler, Dr Emily Watkins
Application process
Expressions of interest, including a CV, should be made to Prof. Lewis Halsey [Email Address Removed]. Informal enquiries are also welcome.
Once expressions of interest have been made and an application has been encouraged, please visit the following website for details on the application itself. https://www.roehampton.ac.uk/graduate-school/degrees/
Eligibility conditions and duties
We seek candidates with a background in the quantitative sciences (sport and exercise, physiology, biology, chemistry, physics, and related scientific areas) and with an interest in the study of human macro-physiology.
Details of potential research
Human responses to high ambient temperatures, in particular increases in body temperatures, have been studied extensively and we know, for instance, that the ability to perform manual and cognitive tasks is impaired when body temperature Is elevated (Nybo et al., 2001). Intriguingly, relatively little has been studied about our physiological responses to high ambient temperatures when not exercising, i.e. when at rest (Pallubinsky et al. 2019) despite 'rest' being the modal state of most people. Indeed, only very recently has it become clear, based on work done in our labs at Roehampton, that metabolic rate increases once temperatures rise sufficiently in people lying down. But as yet we don't fully understand why this happens. Indeed, this new, fundamental finding raises multiple key questions to be addressed, including:
- At exactly what temperature does metabolic rate start to increase, and what physiological changes drive this increase?
- How does this threshold temperature vary between people? Can it be predicted based on sex, body mass index, age, or previous exposure to the heat?
- What are the implications of the relationships between ambient temperature and physiological upregulation for real-world situations such as working in an office in the summer or wearing fire-proof clothing?
- Do people get 'used' to the heat? Does their physiology habituate to high temperatures over time?
Research facilities and support:
The Human Physiology laboratory at the University of Roehampton is set-up to induce active and passive heating (walk-in environmental chamber and water-perfused suit), and to assess a range of physiological responses to hyperthermia (e.g. respiratory (indirect calorimetry using metabolic carts and Douglas bag systems), cardiovascular (e.g. cardiac ultrasound, doppler systems), and immunological (e.g. onsite capillary and venous blood analysis)). The supervisory team have extensive experience in this field, publishing widely and working with elite athletes, fire services, and sportswear companies.
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