Healthy ageing

Movement and physical activity play a critical role in promoting healthy ageing. Regular and adequate levels of physical activity help people age more slowly, reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases, and live healthier lives.

Network members are conducting cutting-edge research into the effects of exercise on the cardiovascular health and skeletal muscle function of older adults and is working to develop community-based interventions that prevent and reduce the risk of falls, improve frailty, and promote wellbeing in older age. 

Examples of focus areas include:

• Cardiopulmonary system
• Skeletal muscle function and structure
• Falls prevention
• Frailty
• Postural control and mobility
• Arts, creativity and well-being

Members conducting healthy ageing research:

• Dr Sarah Astill (School of Biomedical Sciences)- Motor Learning; Upper Limb Rehabilitation; Spinal Cord Injury; Children with Developmental Disorders; Plasticity; Physical Activity
• Anna Anderson (Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine)- Digital tools for people with musculoskeletal conditions, Improving accessibility and inclusion in health research, Mixed methods research and evidence synthesis 
• Dr Laura Britten (School of Biomedical Sciences)- Physical Activity; Interventions; Dance; Wellbeing; Behaviour Change; Spinal Cord Injury; Upper Limb; Rehabilitation
• Professor Anne Forster (School of Medicine)- Stroke; Stroke Rehabilitation; Ageing; Rehabilitation
• Dr Simon Howell (School of Medicine)- Cardiovascular complications of anaesthesia and surgery; Risk estimation in surgery and anaesthesia; Frailty in the surgical patient; Exercise and functional capacity in surgical patients.
• Professor Philip Conaghan (School of Medicine)- Osteoarthritis; Rheumatoid arthritis; Psoriatic arthritis; Arthritis clinical trials; Arthritis therapeutics; Outcome measurement; Imaging
• Dr Sarah Kingsbury (School of Medicine)- Osteoarthritis; Musculoskeletal disease; Orthopaedics; Clinical trials; Interventions; Care pathways; Pharmacoepidemiology; Health services
• Dr Nick Preston (School of Medicine)- Rehabilitation; Cerebral palsy; Developmental Coordination disorder; Movement disorders; Development of new outcome measures; Rasch model; Physiotherapy
• Dr Matthew Lancaster (School of Biomedical Sciences)- Cardiac ageing; Arrhythmias; Cardiovascular responses to exercise; The sinoatrial node; Control of heart rate; Blended learning
• Dr Ai Lyn Tan (School of Medicine)- Early inflammatory arthritis; Rheumatoid arthritis; Osteoarthritis; Psoriatic arthritis; Muscle; Imaging; MRI; Ultrasound
• Dr Sarah Mackie (School of Medicine)- Giant cell arteritis; Polymyalgia rheumatica
• Professor Gretl McHugh (School of Healthcare)-  Musculoskeletal conditions; Long-term conditions; Health services research; Health Visiting; Community Nursing
• Dr Maria Horne (School of Healthcare)- Health promotion; Behaviour change; Community & public health; Research; Mixed methodology; Qualitative research; Exercise & physical activity; Older adults; Ethnicity; Sexuality & intimacy.
• Dr Jennifer Airlie (Bradford Institute for Health Research)- Sedentary Behaviour, Stroke Rehabilitation, Physical Activity in Care Homes, Improving and Psychological Health and Social Well-being, Ageing
• Professor Amanda Farrin (School of Medicine) - Clinical Trials; Statistics; Complex Interventions; Stroke; Older People; Mental health; Primary Care; Audit & Feedback; Cancer; Palliative Care
• Dr Andrea Utley (School of Biomedical Sciences)- Motor control and Co-ordination disorders; Rehabilitation in manipulating movement
• Professor Derek Steele (School of Biomedical Sciences)- Cardiac and skeletal muscle cell physiology; Calcium imaging; Confocal microscopy; Arrhythmias; Cardiac disease mechanisms; Skeletal muscle disease mechanisms
• Dr Sarah Calaghan (School of Biomedical Sciences)- Cardiac physiology; Caveolae; compartmentalised signalling; Adrenergic signalling; Mechanotransduction; Models of cardiac disease; Skeletal myopathy, Statins, Muscle adaptation to exercise
• Dr Oliver Price (Faculty of Biological Sciences)- Airways disease; Exertional dyspnoea; Pulmonary function testing; Bronchial provocation; Cardiopulmonary exercise testing; Rehabilitation strategies
• Rebecca Hawkins (School of Medicine)- Qualitative methodology and methods; Ethnography; Process evaluation; Frailty; ageing; Long-term conditions; Stroke; Care homes; Caring; Social isolation and loneliness
• Professor Carl Thompson (School of Healthcare)- Clinical decision making and judgement; Implementation science; Mixed methods evaluation; Social judgement analysis; Q methodological modelling; Care homes; Dissemination and adoption of innovation
• Dr Liam Hill (School of Psychology)- Child Development; Cognitive and Motor Development; Academic Attainment; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Fundamental Movement skills; Physical activity in learning
• Ilaria Pina (School of Biomedical Sciences)- Physical Activity, Healthy Ageing, Movement Behaviours, Health Inequalities, Rehabilitation
• Bonnie Cundill (School of Medicine)- Clinical trials; statistics; Randomised controlled trials; Complex interventions; Cluster randomised trials; Pilot/feasibility studies; Elderly care; Vulnerable populations; Frailty
• Leanne Shearsmith (School of Medicine)- Psychology; Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs); Quality of life; Cancer; Dementia; RCTs; Applied health research; Qualitative research methods