Sports Science: Fully Funded Swansea University and DSTL PhD Scholarship: Human response to...

Funding providers: Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and Swansea University's Faculty of Science and Engineering 

Subject areas: Exercise Physiology; Thermal Physiology; Human Performance

Project start date: 

• 1 July 2022 (Enrolment open from mid-June)

Project supervisors:

• Dr Mark Waldron (Swansea University, UK)
• Mr René Nevola (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, UK)
• Dr Shane Heffernan (Swansea University, UK)
• Professor Andrew Kilding (Auckland University of Technology, NZ)
• Dr Ed Maunder (Auckland University of Technology, NZ)

Aligned programme of study: PhD in Sports Science

Mode of study: Full-time

Project description:

This is a three-year studentship, investigating strategies to prepare military personnel for rapid deployment to hot environments.

Performing physical work in hot environments can lead to thermal strain, which (if excessive) can be detrimental to the performance and health of military personnel. There are a number of steps that can be taken to prepare for heat exposure but these can sometimes be impractical or unfeasible when unscheduled activities take place, such as emergencies which may require rapid deployment to hot regions. This PhD project is concerned with understanding the practical ways in which military personnel can prepare and adapt for rapid heat exposure, and to explore the physiological mechanisms that underpin these adaptations.

As part of this project, the successful candidate will be based full-time in Swansea University at the A-STEM Research Centre laboratories on Bay Campus. We are looking for a highly motivated student, with a strong interest in human physiology. The student must have laboratory experience in human or exercise physiology.