PhD in Sport and Exercise Sciences - Exercise and The Failing Heart

University of Leeds

A research degree in the Faculty of Biological Sciences is an opportunity to gain and develop skills as an independent researcher in your chosen field. Under the supervision of your lead supervisor and one or more co-supervisors, you will get the chance to carry out cutting-edge research on a particular biological problem and to become part of a large research community using multi-disciplinary approaches to tackle today’s important research questions. Throughout your PhD you will not only strengthen your research skills and knowledge within your research area but also develop skills through our training programmes as well as through attendance as seminars and conferences.Our research investigates how the multiple organ and system impairments characteristic of heart failure integrate to cause fatigue and exercise intolerance, and limit quality of life and ultimately survival. We explore the mechanisms by which exercise exerts its benefits and the optimal training regimes that achieve these effects. Our approaches range from the measurement of gene expression to in vivo organ structure and function, complemented by in silico modelling. We use animal models and human participants for our research in this area. In rodent models of heart failure, we investigate mechanisms for remodelling of cardiac structure and mechanical-electrical activity, the ways in which these are reversed by exercise, and how peripheral effects on skeletal muscle may be alleviated.