Dr Paul Ansdell

Assistant Professor

Department: Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation

I am currently an Assistant Professor in Exercise Physiology having completed my Ph.D at 51�� in 2020. Before moving to Northumbria, I completed my undergraduate and masters degrees at the University of Brighton.

My research focuses on how age, sex, and hormonal status interact to determine physiological function in health and disease, and our group is currently made up of postgraduate students, Ph.D candidates, and postdoctoral resarchers.

I primarily teach on the BSc Sport and Exercise Science and MSc Strength and Conditioning degrees on modules such as Fundamentals of Human Physiology and Physiology of Strength and Conditioning.

Email Paul

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

My research focuses on how age, sex, and hormonal status interact to determine physiological function in health and disease.

Examples of our work include studies of how the menstrual cycle and menopause influence central nervous system function in healthy females, as well as females with multiple sclerosis; as well as studies of how the physiological responses to exercise differ between males and females.

Currently my work is funded by research councils (BBSRC), charities (MS Society) and industry, and our group is made up of postgraduate students, Ph.D candidates, and postdoctoral researchers.

Key Publications

Experiences of athletes in a simulation based applied sports science university assessment: Identifying areas for improvement, Jones, T., Ansdell, P. 9 Jan 2025, In: Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education
Female Brain and Endocrinological Research Veteran (FemBER-Vet) Study: A study protocol for identifying endocrinological, lifestyle and psychosocial determinants of brain health outcomes in female veterans for future intervention success, Watermeyer, T., Atkinson, E., Howatson, G., McGill, G., Dodds, C., Ansdell, P., Udeh-Momoh, C. 22 Jan 2025, In: PLoS One
Anodal tDCS improves neuromuscular adaptations to short-term resistance training of the knee extensors in healthy individuals, Angius, L., Ansdell, P., Škarabot, J., Goodall, S., Thomas, K., Cowper, G., Santarnecchi, E., Kidgell, D., Howatson, G. 1 Dec 2024, In: Journal of Neurophysiology
Changes in motor unit behaviour across repeated bouts of eccentric exercise, Hayman, O., Ansdell, P., Angius, L., Thomas, K., Horsbrough, L., Howatson, G., Kidgell, D., Škarabot, J., Goodall, S. 1 Nov 2024, In: Experimental Physiology
Contraction intensity modulates spinal excitability during transcranial magnetic stimulation-evoked silent period in rectus femoris muscle, Guerrero, G., Ansdell, P., Howatson, G., Avela, J., Walker, S. 1 May 2024, In: European Journal of Applied Physiology
Influence of Oestradiol Fluctuations in the Menstrual Cycle on Respiratory Exchange Ratio at Different Exercise Intensities: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis and Pooled-Data Analysis, Rattley, C., Ansdell, P., Burgess, L., Felton, M., Dewhurst, S., Neal, R. 16 Dec 2024, In: Physiologia
Motor unit discharge rate modulation during isometric contractions to failure is intensity‐ and modality‐dependent, Valenčič, T., Ansdell, P., Brownstein, C., Spillane, P., Holobar, A., Škarabot, J. 15 May 2024, In: The Journal of Physiology
No sex differences in oxygen uptake or extraction kinetics in the moderate or heavy exercise intensity domains, Solleiro Pons, M., Bernert, L., Hume, E., Hughes, L., Williams, Z., Burnley, M., Ansdell, P. 1 Mar 2024, In: Journal of Applied Physiology
Sex Differences in Neuromuscular Aging: The Role of Sex Hormones, Piasecki, J., Škarabot, J., Spillane, P., Piasecki, M., Ansdell, P. 1 Apr 2024, In: Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews
Supraspinal, spinal, and motor unit adjustments to fatiguing isometric contractions of the knee extensors at low and high submaximal intensities in males, Angius, L., Del Vecchio, A., Goodall, S., Thomas, K., Ansdell, P., Atkinson, E., Farina, D., Howatson, G. 14 Jun 2024, In: Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985)

PGR Supervision

Padraig Spillane Neurophysiology and plasticity across the female lifespan Start Date: 01/10/2022

Further Information

I am a co-lead of the Women's Sport and Wellbeing Interdisciplinary Research Theme.

I am also the Theme Lead for within the Physiological Society.

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