About

The School of Sport & Exercises is pleased to offer a £500 tuition fee reduction (for one year only) to University of Kent 2013 first-class honours graduates, who register on a Sport and Exercise Sciences MSc programme for 2013 entry.

Application criteria

• Candidates must hold a first-class honours degree from Kent.
• Current Kent home/EU and overseas candidates are eligible to apply for this scholarship.
• Any offer of a scholarship will be subject to the receipt of satisfactory academic transcript, references and personal statement.

How to apply

1. Submit a formal application for a School of Sport and Exercise Sciences taught Master’s programme.
2. Send an email to sportsciences@kent.ac.uk including:

• Subject line:  MSc Taught Scholarship (1)
• Your contact details
• Your postgraduate application number
• Information about your current or expected qualifications. 

Deadline

There is no closing date, however students are encouraged to apply early.

About

The School of Sport and Exercise Sciences is pleased to offer scholarships of £500 (for one year only), to full-time home/EU or overseas fee paying applicants who are accepted to study on a Sport and Exercise Sciences MSc programme in September 2013.

The successful applicants will be expected to act as 'ambassadors' for the School, and to assist with promotions.  This will involve attending Open/UCAS days and being featured in, or writing for, the School's Newsletter.

Application criteria

• Applicants must have received, and accepted, an offer for a full-time taught postgraduate degree in the School of Sport & Exercise Sciences for 2013-14.
• Full-time UK, EU and overseas fee paying students are invited to apply.
• Applicants must hold, or be expected to achieve, a first class honours, or 2:1, degree or equivalent.

How to apply

1. Submit a formal application for a School of Sport and Exercise Sciences taught Master’s programme.
2. Email sportsciences@kent.ac.uk including:

• Subject line: MSc Taught Scholarship (2)
• Your full name, postgraduate application number or student id number.
• Your CV and a covering letter addressing "Why I wish to pursue my chosen postgraduate degree at Kent and how I could promote the School of Sport & Exercise Sciences".

Deadline

Monday 1 July 2013

The School of Sport and Exercise Sciences is offering one studentship, funded by the East Kent Hospitals Charity. This will cover tuition fees at the Home/EU rate plus a combined maintenance grant and salary, equivalent to the maintenance grant offered by the Research Councils (£13,590 in 2012-13).

The studentship will be offered for one year in the first instance, renewable for a maximum of three years subject to satisfactory academic performance.

About the project

The use of a novel cardiopulmonary exercise test protocol in the pre-operative assessment of patients with cardiovascular disease

The cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) is considered to be the single best parameter to evaluate both the pulmonary and cardiovascular reserves of patients. Because of this, maximal oxygen uptake, determined from CPET, provides a strong predictor of post-operative complications in patients with various forms of cardiovascular and lung disease. Indeed, numerous studies suggest risk for perioperative complications can generally be stratified by CPET results. Thus, it is well-accepted that CPET provides an important tool for clinicians to assess patient suitability for surgery. However, the typical protocols used in clinical CPET’s are not easily standardised, and are not always well-tolerated by patients due to their inability to prescribe patient specific work-rates that are both palatable and produce valid and reliable values. Consequently, it is vital that a standardised protocol that is practical for both patient and clinician is developed. This PhD studentship will seek to determine the validity and reliability of a new CPET protocol, and it’s ability to act as a predictor for post-operative outcome.
 
What the work will include:
For this PhD project you will work with staff and patients of the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust. Specifically, this will involve work with the Cardiology and Anaesthetic Departments, as well as with vascular surgeons. You will be based between the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Kent (Chatham), and the William Harvey Hospital (Ashford) and so some commuting will be necessary. The project will involve exercise testing of patients at various treatment stages, including Ward based data collection during the post-operative stages of recovery.

Supervisors:
Dr. James Hopker, Dr. Lex Mauger & Dr. Jane Fisher (East Kent NHS Trust)

For further enquiries about this project, contact the Sports Studies office (01634 888814, sportsstudies@kent.ac.uk) or Dr. James Hopker (j.g.hopker@kent.ac.uk).

Application criteria

• A 2:1 or 1st degree or postgraduate qualification in sport and exercise science, physiology, biology, health or another related discipline.
• An advanced knowledge and understanding of exercise physiology.
• Strong grasp of qualitative and quantitative research methods
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• The successful applicant will be subject to a Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure check and Occupational Health Screening.

How to apply

1. Submit a formal application for a School of Sport and Exercise Sciences PhD programme. Please ensure your application includes a 250-500 word plan outlining your ideas on this research topic and its title.
2. Send a CV and covering letter (by email or post) to Nicola Johnson (N.S.Johnson@kent.ac.uk)
   
   School of Sport & Exercise Sciences
   University of Kent at Medway
   Medway Building
   Chatham Maritime
   Chatham
   Kent ME4 4AG

Deadline

Friday 15 February 2013

Dr. John Dickinson invites applications for a full-time PhD Scholarship / Graduate Teaching Assistantship that will investigate the dysfunctional breathing in athletes across a range of sporting disciplines.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs)

Graduate Teaching Assistants are employees as well as students.

GTAs include tuition fees at the home/EU rate, a maintenance grant and salary. Combined maintenance/salary can be as much as the UK Research Council rate (£13,590 pa in the 2012/13 academic year).

GTAs are offered for one year, renewable for a maximum of three years subject to satisfactory academic performance.

About the project

Athletes are more susceptible to exercise induced asthma (EIA) than the general population. However, it is common for other respiratory conditions such as exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO) or dysfunctional breathing (DB) to be misdiagnosed as EIA. In groups of elite athletes estimates of rate of incorrect diagnosis of EIA have ranged between 20-50%. The use of indirect airway challenges helps to reduce the chance of incorrect diagnosis, but research investigating the respiratory responses to exercise in athletes with EILO and DB is sparse. There is no globally recognised treatment for treating athletes with EILO and DB and research investigating interventions for athletes with EILO and DB is limited.

The successful candidate will investigate exercise respiratory responses and potential treatment pathways in athletes with EILO and/or DB. The areas that will be investigated are:

1. Respiratory responses during intense exercise with athletes who report symptoms of EILO and/or DB. Particular focus will be in sports where the requirements of the sport limit when athletes can breathe and when recovery between high intensity efforts is limited
2. Breathing training and sports therapy interventions to treat EILO and DB

The research undertaken will improve the quality of care and the service provision to athletes reporting respiratory symptoms during exercise. Improved guidance for diagnosing and treating EILO and DB will be produced as a result.

More specific details about the project can be obtained by emailing Dr John Dickinson (j.w.dickinson@kent.ac.uk).

Application criteria

• Applicants should have a good Honours degree (at least 2.1 or equivalent) in an appropriate subject and a Masters degree in a relevant subject is desirable.
• The successful scholarship candidate will have a keen interest in sports performance and exercise respiratory physiology. 

How to apply

1. Submit a formal application for a School of Sport and Exercise Sciences PhD programme.
2. Send your CV and a covering letter (by post or email) to Nicola Johnson.
   
   School of Sport and Exercise Sciences
   University of Kent at Medway
   Medway Building
   Chatham Maritime
   Chatham
   Kent ME4 4AG
   
   N.S.Johnson@kent.ac.uk

Deadline

Friday 1 March 2013 (with interviews to be held on Friday 22 March 2013)

Dr. Mark Burnley invites applications for a full-time PhD Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA), that will investigate the fractal properties of the EMG signal and force output during fatiguing muscular exercise.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs)

Graduate Teaching Assistants are employees as well as students.

GTAs include tuition fees at the home/EU rate, a maintenance grant and salary. Combined maintenance/salary can be as much as the UK Research Council rate (£13,590 pa in the 2012/13 academic year).

GTAs are offered for one year, renewable for a maximum of three years subject to satisfactory academic performance.

About the project

“Fractal properties of electromyographic activity and force output during neuromuscular fatigue”

One of the features of the fatigue process is a change in the frequency spectra and/or variability of the EMG and force signals during submaximal contractions. Since the early 1990s, interest in the structure rather than the amount of variability in physiological signals has burgeoned.  This is due to the acknowledgement that variability in biological systems is not simply noise but may form a key component of system control.  Deviations from “normal” variability in a signal of interest are a sign of a loss of system control.  Analysis of signal complexity in physiology is based on the fact that many organ systems in the body demonstrate fractal properties.  Fractals have the property of self-similarity or “scale invariance”, meaning that the quantitative features look the same regardless of the resolution of measurement. The possibility that the structure of the output of the neuromuscular system might be perturbed by fatigue has received very little attention. This scholarship will investigate the fractal properties of various physiological outputs during fatiguing exercise.

For more specific details email Dr Mark Burnley (m.burnley@kent.ac.uk).

Application criteria

• Candidates should have at least 2.1 Honours degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate subject.
• A Masters in a relevant subject is desirable, as is an interest in mathematics evidenced by a relevant A-Level or similar study.
• Candidates should also have a keen interest in the physiology of fatigue and neuromuscular function.

How to Apply

1. Submit a formal application for a School of Sport and Exercise Sciences PhD programme.
2. Send your CV and a covering letter (by post or email) to Nicola Johnson.
   
   School of Sport and Exercise Sciences
   University of Kent at Medway
   Medway Building
   Chatham Maritime
   Chatham
   Kent ME4 4AG
   
   N.S.Johnson@kent.ac.uk

Deadline

Friday 1 March 2013 (interviews will be held on Friday 22 March 2013)

Professor Samuele Marcora (School of Sport and Exercise Sciences) and Dr Gurprit Lall (Medway School of Pharmacy) invite applications for one full-time PhD Graduate Teaching Assistantship Scholarship to investigate the psychobiological bases of physical activity behaviour.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs)

Graduate Teaching Assistants are employees as well as students.

GTAs include tuition fees at the home/EU rate, a maintenance grant and salary. Combined maintenance/salary can be as much as the UK Research Council rate (£13,590 pa in the 2012/13 academic year).

GTAs are offered for one year, renewable for a maximum of three years subject to satisfactory academic performance.

About the project

“Psychobiological bases of physical activity behaviour”

It is now well established that regular physical activity improves physical fitness and health. In spite of this vast amount of scientific evidence, the general UK population remains largely sedentary.  Therefore, the challenge now facing scientists is to develop interventions that can facilitate the adoption and maintenance of a physically active lifestyle.

Our proposal is based on the fact that perception of effort is one of the main barriers to regular exercise. The successful scholarship candidate will conduct a mix of rodent and human studies aimed at establishing the neurobiology of perception of effort and physical activity behaviour. Some of the lab techniques to be used for this research programme are manipulations of brain function, exercise testing and training, psychological questionnaires, and spontaneous physical activity. The ultimate goal of this research programme is to identify neurobiological targets for interventions aimed at reducing perception of effort during exercise and facilitate physical activity behaviour.

For more specific details about the project, email Professor Samuele Marcora (s.m.marcora@kent.ac.uk) or Dr Gurprit Lall (G.Lall@kent.ac.uk).

Application criteria

• Candidates should have at least 2.1 Honours degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate subject (eg Sports Science, Biology, Medicine, and Psychology).
• A Masters in a relevant subject is desirable.
• Candidates should have a keen interest in physiology and behaviour, and willingness to conduct animal as well as human research. 

How to apply

1. Submit a formal application for a School of Sport and Exercise Sciences PhD programme.
2. Send your CV and a covering letter (by post or email) to Nicola Johnson.
   
   School of Sport and Exercise Sciences
   University of Kent at Medway
   Medway Building
   Chatham Maritime
   Chatham
   Kent ME4 4AG
   
   N.S.Johnson@kent.ac.uk

Deadline

Monday 4 March 2013 (interviews will be held on Tuesday 26 March 2013)

Dr. Sakis Pappous invites applications for one Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) to investigate the Sport Participation and Health Legacies of the Olympic and/or the Paralympic Games.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs)

Graduate Teaching Assistants are employees as well as students.

GTAs include tuition fees at the home/EU rate, a maintenance grant and salary. Combined maintenance/salary can be as much as the UK Research Council rate (£13,590 pa in the 2012/13 academic year).

GTAs are offered for one year, renewable for a maximum of three years subject to satisfactory academic performance.

About the project

"Sport Participation and Health Legacies of the Olympic and/or the Paralympic Games"

Research scholars are currently questioning the possible effects that Mega-Sport Events might have in increasing the sport participation of the host population at a grass root level. One of the most prominent key pledges set out from the organisers of the 2012 Games was to make the UK a world-leading sporting nation and to increase sport participation. However evidence for the effect of the Games on sustained participation and health legacies in sport is open to doubt. Research does not offer clear results to argue that Mega-Sport Events increase long-term sport participation. There is much anecdotal evidence based on “mega events” and their assumed positive effect upon grass roots participation for the host nation, although there is scarce empirical evidence to support it.

This project seeks to investigate and examine the associated effects of hosting a mega sports event, such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games on the participation in physical activity and sport at grass roots participation and also to ultimately ascertain whether these aforementioned can lead a health legacy.

More specific details about the project can be obtained by emailing Dr Sakis Pappous (ap414@kent.ac.uk).

Application criteria

• Candidates should have at least 2.1 Honours degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate subject.
• A Masters in a relevant subject is desirable.
• Candidates should have a keen interest in the social sciences and the health benefits of physical activity.
• The project will be a multi-disciplinary study using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research and both primary and secondary data. Some experience of measurement conducting secondary dataset analysis will be an asset.

How to apply

1. Submit a formal application for a School of Sport and Exercise Sciences PhD programme.
2. Send your CV and a covering letter (by post or email) to Nicola Johnson.
   
   School of Sport and Exercise Sciences
   University of Kent at Medway
   Medway Building
   Chatham Maritime
   Chatham
   Kent ME4 4AG
   
   N.S.Johnson@kent.ac.uk

Deadline

Tuesday 12 March 2013 (interviews to be held on Monday 25 March 2013)

Dr. Sakis Pappous invites applications for one Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) to evaluate the service delivery of a new cancer rehabilitation service in an applied setting, and to assess the impact of exercise on the physical health and quality of life measures of cancer patients who use the service.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs)

Graduate Teaching Assistants are employees as well as students.

GTAs include tuition fees at the home/EU rate, a maintenance grant and salary. Combined maintenance/salary can be as much as the UK Research Council rate (£13,590 pa in the 2012/13 academic year).

GTAs are offered for one year, renewable for a maximum of three years subject to satisfactory academic performance.

About the project

"Evaluation of a new pilot scheme providing specialist cancer rehabilitation exercise sessions"

Medway Public Health Directorate and Medway Council have implemented a successful exercise referral programme which is widely used by primary care to support patients becoming more active. A new pilot scheme is being developed to extend the existing service to provide specialist cancer rehabilitation exercise sessions, and is a collaboration between Medway Public Health Directorate and Macmillan Cancer Support charity. The cancer rehabilitation initiative has a steering group comprising representatives from SSES, the local NHS, Macmillan, a health professionals and patients.

Extending the existing exercise referral service to cancer patients has been achieved through a dedicated Macmillan Physical Activity Instructor. The Macmillan Physical Activity Instructor is delivering specific classes and gym programmes for patients undergoing treatment, or post-cancer treatment.

The overall aim of the proposed service is to introduce cancer patients and cancer survivors to opportunities for physical activity and therefore improve their general health / wellbeing, promote recovery from cancer, slow disease progression and reduce the likelihood of re-occurrence. An additional aim is to improve access to supported exercise for cancer patients and ensure that healthcare professionals have the confidence in the service to refer their patients. This will partly be achieved by providing a safe service delivered by a trained and accredited professional associated with Macmillan.

The project will be a multi-disciplinary study using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research methods.

More specific details about the project can be obtained by emailing Dr. Sakis Pappous (ap414@kent.ac.uk).

Application criteria

• Candidates must have academic credentials and skills to cope with PhD level study, including at least 2.1 Honours degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate subject (a Masters in a relevant subject is desirable).
• Candidates must have an awareness of exercise and quality of life issues for clinical groups. An interest and / or experience of working with cancer patients, or other chronic diseases / illnesses would be an advantage, along with outcome evaluation experience within an NHS, research, or charity environment.
• Candidates should have demonstrable skills in analysing psychometric data as well as an interest in mixed methods research.
• Whilst there will be strong leadership from the supervisory team, candidates must be able to work on their own initiative.

How to apply

1. Submit a formal application for a School of Sport and Exercise Sciences PhD programme.
2. Send your CV and a covering letter (by post or email) to Nicola Johnson.
   
   School of Sport and Exercise Sciences
   University of Kent at Medway
   Medway Building
   Chatham Maritime
   Chatham
   Kent ME4 4AG
   
   N.S.Johnson@kent.ac.uk

Deadline

Saturday 16 March 2013 (interviews to be held on Thursday 28 March 2013)