Paul Ansdell, Luke Hughes, Stuart Goodall, Gerrit Hilgen
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Physiology in Focus 2024, a joint conference between The Physiological Society and The Scandinavian Physiological Society is taking place at Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK on 2-4 July. With just over one month to go until this exciting meeting, the team from Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at Northumbria University, tell us more about the host institute, including the origins of the physiology department and the extensive multidisciplinary projects taking place there today.
Welcome to Northumbria University!
As physiologists working here, we’d like to take the opportunity to welcome you to Newcastle upon Tyne and Northumbria University ahead of Physiology in Focus 2024. When you arrive in early July, the infamous British summer should have made its way up north, and we hope you get to see the city in its best light. While you’re here, as well as hearing and presenting some of the latest physiological research, we hope you get a chance to explore.
The University is located in the city centre, about a five-minute walk from Grey’s Monument, which has shops, bars, and restaurants lining the streets that project out in all directions. If you’re looking for somewhere nearby with plenty of great options for a quick lunch, head to Grainger Market; or if you fancy a longer walk one evening, head to Ouseburn for plenty of independent restaurants, bars, and pubs. From the centre, head down the hill along Grey Street towards the River Tyne you’ll end up at the Quayside, with views of the seven bridges between Newcastle and Gateshead, and plenty of places to eat, drink and “network” either side of the river.
If you have a couple of hours spare, jump on the metro and take the 20-minute journey out to the coast. Get off at Tynemouth and make your way down the high street to King Edward’s Bay or Longsands Beach. For the environmental physiologists, remember that this is the North Sea, and water temperatures might only be around 10-15°C in July…
We’re confident that you won’t be lost for places to go and things to do while you’re here, and we’re looking forward to welcoming you.
History of physiology at Northumbria
Physiology at Northumbria can be tracked back to 1895, when the Sutherland Building on our City Campus was opened as the University of Durham College of Medicine. Nowadays, this building hosts celebrations and awards ceremonies rather than medical students; however, the topics taught can still be found within our Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. Today, physiology takes many forms here, ranging from microbiologists using genetically modified bacteria to treat disease to exercise physiologists supporting Olympians and professional athletes to achieve success.
Exercise physiology first appeared in the late 1980s as a module on the BSc Sports Studies degree, co-delivered by Newcastle Polytechnic (our predecessor) and Sunderland Polytechnic. Fast-forward to 2004, and the first exercise physiology paper was published with data collected in our laboratories by Hayes et al. (2004), who investigated the link between muscular endurance and high intensity running styles. Fast-forward again to 2023, where over 70 papers were published in this calendar year by academic staff in the Department of Sport, Exercise, and Rehabilitation; it’s clear that exercise physiology has gone from strength to strength at Northumbria.
Similarly, Biomedical Sciences first appeared as an option on Chemistry degrees in the late 1980’s. Although an early paper from the department appears in 1973 on whether Bacteroides corrodens (a pathogen associated with various infectious diseases) are strictly anaerobic (Robinson & James, 1973). Nowadays, the Department of Applied Sciences hosts a wide range of researchers, from cellular and microbiologists to food and nutrition scientists.
Physiological research at Northumbria
Physiological research at Northumbria comes in many shapes and sizes. Below, we would like to share with you some of the brilliant branches of research and projects taking place across the departments.
Health and Wellbeing
Across faculties, a multidisciplinary group of academics are working in line with the NHS Long Term Plan to develop, design and implement complex interventions to improve physical function and quality of life in adults and older adults with chronic conditions. This includes NIHR and EU Horizon funded projects looking at the rehabilitation of patients with chronic diseases, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration with clinical colleagues on projects funded by charities such as Parkinson’s UK, the Transplant Association, and the MS Society.
Indeed, interdisciplinary research is a cornerstone of Northumbria. On campus, you might notice the building work creating our new Centre for Health and Social Equity (CHASE). The CHASE project will bring physiologists alongside academics from other disciplines to work on issues related to health, social care, education, wellbeing and equity from 2025 onwards.
Chronobiology
More interdisciplinary work between physiologists, psychologists, and clinical colleagues has led to recent Wellcome Trust funding to study circadian rhythms and how they are disrupted in bipolar disorder. The team seeks to determine whether individuals with bipolar disorder are more sensitive to evening light and whether treatment could improve retinal resilience to light-induced circadian disruption. They are also investigating the neurophysiology of light stimuli and treatment in retinal organoid cells derived from people with bipolar disorders.
Aerospace Medicine
Housed within our laboratories is the Variable Gravity Suspension System, one of a few gravity-unloading systems in Europe, which enables the simulation of micro- and hypo-gravity. Using this system, researchers in the faculty are investigating physiological responses to lunar and Martian gravity, as well as countermeasures to reduce the level of deconditioning experienced by astronauts. The team also collaborate with the European Space Agency (ESA) during spaceflight simulation campaigns using bedrest and parabolic (reproducing gravity-free conditions) flights, and with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to explore optimisation of exercise countermeasures to spaceflight.
Space research is now being emphasised as a ‘research peak’ at Northumbria. During your visit, you might spot the groundwork being set to host our new ‘North East Space Skills and Technology (NESST) Centre’, which has received investment from the UK Space Agency (UKSA). The centre will provide world-leading research facilities and will house experts from industry and academia, creating a platform for international collaboration in the space sector.
Elite Performance
Within the Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, physiologists are working alongside collaborators within the UK Sports Institute, Newcastle United and Sunderland Football Clubs, British Cycling, and Washington Spirit FC to optimise performance and recovery in elite athletes. The studies that take place in our research laboratories aim to provide mechanistic understanding of how humans adapt and respond to exercise, and design and implement interventions to maximise sports performance and optimise the stress-recovery-adaptation process. Alongside this mechanistic work, research staff and PhD students are also embedded in elite performance environments, conducting research-informed practice at the same time as practice-informed research. You can see the full range of topics on our research webpages.
Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Physiology at Northumbria is not just limited to humans. Academics in our Applied Sciences department are using microbial biotechnology on projects funded by the European Innovation Council to use genetically modified bacteria for the personalised treatment of chronic diseases. Recent breakthroughs in neuroscience have resulted in the Academy of Medical Sciences’ Springboard scheme awarding funding to support a pioneering study on age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common eye disease in elderly people. This award will help to study the ion channel physiology in cellular models of AMD. The outcome will help understand AMD better and find new ways to treat the disease. Another project funded by the Royal Society, is exploring how individuals use social information to make decisions in threatening situations. The team will study fruit flies to understand the neurophysiology of how stressors affect these processes to yield insight into social behaviours and their dysfunctions.
There is still time register for Physiology in Focus 2024. Registration closes on 11 June, so secure your spot today!
Reference List
Hayes PR., Bowen SJ. and Davies EJ., 2004. The relationships between local muscular endurance and kinematic changes during a run to exhaustion at vVO2max. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 18(4), pp.898-903.
Robinson JVA., and James, AL., 1973. Some Serological Studies on Bacteroides corrodens. Microbiology, 78(1), pp.193-197.