https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.126.32

After not being able to meet face to face at a Society conference since December 2019, we were delighted to be at the University of Nottingham on 12 – 13 April for The Biomedical Basis of Elite Performance 2022.

This conference, in its third addition, once again provided an overview of the physiological responses to exercise, in the context of human adaptation and performance, and the central role that biomedical science is playing in directing understanding in this area. The programme covered cardiovascular, neuronal, and neuromuscular physiology, along with molecular and cellular metabolism, and the application of transformative methods in human physiology.

179 people from 11 countries shared their science at 20 invited talks, 6 oral communications and one poster session of 56 posters.
We are grateful to Professor Paul Greenhaff (University of Nottingham, UK) and his co-organisers for putting together such a vibrant and inspiring meeting.

Two of the prize winners and a first-time attendee share their thoughts on the conference.

Thomas Inns
University of Nottingham, UK

The Biomedical Basis of Elite Performance 2022 was a wonderfully organised in-person conference, the first of which I and many others had attended since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The atmosphere was fantastic, drawing researchers from across the globe, and the quality of work presented and displayed was excellent.

One of the things that impressed me the most was how well each of the presenters delivered a wide range of topics throughout various areas of performance and health science. Presentation topics ranged from the tissue level to studies containing elite athletes, epigenetics to exercise training and fatigue, and were communicated at levels understandable to both scientists and clinical researchers with varied understanding of the topic at hand.

It was also a pleasure to interact with other researchers from undergraduate and early-stage postgraduate through to those who had devoted many years to their work. We were honoured to hear an extremely insightful keynote talk from Professor Claude Bouchard, focusing on his various careers and interests over his long and impactful time pushing the boundaries of human physiology and performance work. The absolute silence in the room during this talk was telling of the utmost respect he had gained. It was encouraging to hear him discuss both successes and failures of his and his colleagues’ hypotheses during his work, highlighting an important personal lesson as an early career researcher to understand that it’s okay if you don’t find what you expected!

I was honoured to receive the Michael J Rennie prize for best oral communication following the presentation of findings from my primary PhD study investigating neuromuscular adaptation to immobilisation in humans. This was especially humbling given the quality of presentations, and I am grateful to both The Physiological Society for the opportunity to present and to my supervisors Professor Beth Phillips and Dr Mathew Piasecki for their constant support.

Joseph Bass
University of Nottingham, UK

I have been a member of The Physiological Society for several years and have been fortunate enough to participate in many of their Annual Conferences and events, with this year’s Biomedical Basis of Elite Performance being my first in-person attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The atmosphere and character of the event was fantastic, and it was great to be able to see the enthusiasm of new and old colleagues, with the research they were presenting and the discussions that sprang from these. This was especially evident in other early career researchers, who may have been presenting in-person for the first time and embraced the experience.

It was nice to have a varied and balanced range of sessions within the area of elite performance, with a great mix of invited speakers, who were able to place into context many years of research. Similarly, the engagement and questions from the audience throughout the conference were excellent and allowed open and honest discussions to be had. These sessions allowed a greater appreciation and understanding of physiology not typically within my area. Seeing how physiological research has been shaped and changed over time was inspiring to see, and I am intrigued to see where it continues.

Overall, the whole event was thoroughly enjoyable and refreshing to attend. I look forward to attending the next Biomedical Basis of Elite Performance conference and thank The Physiological Society for supporting the event.

Robyn Aitkenhead
Edinburgh Napier University, UK

The Biomedical Basis of Elite Performance 2022 was my first in-person conference. This was a fantastic opportunity and it felt great to network and speak to others in person rather than online. I felt very privileged to present my Master’s research at the poster session. This was also a great opportunity to speak to other researchers and learn about the other incredible research going on. In addition, having the posters up before and after the sessions allowed for greater insight into the posters I didn’t get to view during the dedicated poster session. It was great to have some very interesting conversations about my research during the poster session and it has definitely sparked some ideas for future work.

The conference was very well organised by The Physiological Society and the line-up of oral talks was of a very high quality. There was a focus on early career researchers, which was great to see. The oral talks allowed me to learn about other areas of research completely new to me, specifically neuromuscular research. It was an amazing opportunity to hear an online presentation from Professor Louise Burke on her research and I thoroughly enjoyed the many presentations focusing on sex differences and female athletes. Furthermore, it was very inspiring to hear from the keynote speaker Professor Claude Bouchard.

Attending my first conference solo was particularly nerve-wracking but everyone I spoke to was very welcoming and kind. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my two days at the conference and I hope that this will be one of many Society conferences I attend in the future!

Organising Committee

Professor Paul Greenhaff
University of Nottingham, UK

Dr Matthew Brook
University of Nottingham, UK

Dr Carrie Ferguson
Lundquist Institute, California, US

Professor Ylva Hellsten
University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Dr Mathew Piasecki
University of Nottingham, UK

Professor Claire Stewart
Liverpool John Moores University, UK

Dr Gareth Wallis
University of Birmingham, UK

Dr Daniel Wilkinson
University of Nottingham, UK