44School of Psychology and Sport Sciences School of Psychology and Sport Sciences The School achieved a 5% 4* rating in UOA- 46 Sports-related studies which indicates quality that is world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour. The School has recently moved into state- of- the- art facilities, and our flagship research centres - the Brain, Performance and Nutrition Research Centre ( BPNRC), the Centre for Cognition and Communication ( CoCo) and Sport, Exercise and Wellbeing ( SEW) now house the latest in research technology. In 2010, we will be opening a new £ 26 million sports facility with high specification sport science and coaching laboratories available for research, teaching and sport science support. The combination of psychology and sport within a single School affords opportunities to examine the relationship between the mind and body - the core research focus in the School. A strong research culture exists within the School which was reflected in our significant success in the latest Research Assessment Exercise 2008 ( RAE) where 28 staff were submitted. The RAE UOA- 44 Psychology panel noted that the School demonstrated " a healthy amount of research income from a range of funders, including the Office of Science and Technology / Research Councils, UK Government and Industry" and " evidence of international excellence in both the major groupings" as well as " strong collaborations both within the region and internationally".

www. northumbria. ac. uk45 Sport Sciences Within the Department of Sport Sciences, we have several key research themes: Exercise Regulation ( Pacing) Research in exercise regulation focuses on the physiological, neural, and psychological control mechanisms of the body during activities of daily living and exercise. This unit uses electroencephalography ( EEG), electromyography ( EMG), transcranial magnetic stimulation ( TMS), and multiple physiological system analysis to assess basic brain function and exercise control processes, with results both influencing innovative theories of integrative control and practice ( e. g. sports science support for national teams). The multidisciplinary nature of this research has involved international collaborations with engineers and complex system specialists ( e. g. National Institute of Health, USA; University of Cape Town, South Africa). The English Institute of Sport have recently supported a PhD studentship to investigate pacing strategies. Biochemistry, Nutrition, Health and Exercise The School has facilities for biochemical analysis, body composition analysis, a metabolic kitchen, Near Infrared Spectroscopy monitoring of brain oxygenation and further physiological monitoring capacity. The group has been successful in obtaining Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council funding ( Industrial CASE award) to examine the role of cytokines in fatigue as well as funding from a variety of international industrial partners ( GlaxoSmithKline, Masterfoods, etc.) to investigate the impact of nutritional strategies in recovery from exercise. The group has links with schools within the region to investigate the relationship between exercise- induced energy expenditure, appetite and food intake. Ian Walshe PhD student profile " I'm from Rugby in Warwickshire and initially heard about Northumbria from a friend who did her undergraduate degree here. After doing a bit of investigating I found Northumbria to be progressive and ambitious. My area of research is in sport science in relation to the immune system. I have a real interest in the area and only a few universities in the UK specialise in this. The first few months of my PhD have been a huge learning curve for me; I have learned many skills which are particular to my area of research. The Graduate School have also provided many training workshops, ranging from writing for publication to academic teaching skills."