• Physiology
• Professor Rob Shave
• Professor Richard Tong
• Professor Bill Bell
• Dr Karianne Backx
• Carl Beynon
• Dr Steve Cooper
• Dr Bill Davies
• Dr Michael G Hughes
• Dr Rhodri Lloyd
• Dr Jon Oliver
• Dr Anwen Rees
• Dr Paul M Smith
• Dr Eric Stohr
• Dr David Wasley
• PhD Students
• Dr Eveline Lee
• Dr Zaheer Yousef
• Prof John Cockcroft

The physiology and health team within the Cardiff School of Sport are engaged in a wide range of research. Staff interests span the entire physiology spectrum with colleagues examining the physiology underpinning elite performance through to the use of exercise as a health tool.

Our work falls into three thematic areas:

1) Training science

Recent or Ongoing Projects

• The physiological capacity of spinal injured athletes performing hand-cycling exercise.
• The impact of playing surface on the development of fatigue.
• The acute and chronic effect of ultra-endurance exercise upon the heart.
• The immune response to exercise in able-bodied athletes and those with physical impairments.
• The acute impact of resistance exercise on blood pressure and cardiac mechanics.
• The ergogenic effects of intravenous Actovegin® administration during graded, exhaustive exercise.
• Polymorphisms of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE I/D) and their distribution in developing young adult Rugby Union players
• Geometry of the femoral neck and the lumbar spine: the effect of atypical high-impact modalities between playing units in young adult male Rugby Union players.

2) The role of exercise in the management of chronic disease and disability

Recent or Ongoing Projects

• The use of functional electrical stimulated exercise upon vascular structure and function in people with spinal cord injury.
• The impact of exercise upon cardiac mechanics in post-MI patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation.
• The use of novel cardiac biomarkers to predict outcome from cardiac rehabilitation.
• Using 2D speckle tracking echocardiography at rest and during exercise to assess ventricular mechanics in diabetic heart failure.

3) Pediatric exercise physiology

Recent or Ongoing Projects

• Development and trainability of the stretch-shortening cycle during childhood.
• The influence of fitness and maturational status upon left ventricular cardiac function at rest and during exercise
• Development and trainability of maximal sprint speed during childhood.