Role
Dr. Robert Needham is a Research Associate in Paediatric Physical Activity and Health, and a lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science. His research role involves leading a Rosetrees foundation grant project assessing the effects of different elements of the national physical education curriculum of cardiometabolic health and cognitive function.
He teach on the Sport and Exercise Science course as a module leader for the ‘Physical Activity for Health’ 3rd year module.
Career overview
In 2020, Robert completed PhD in Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) at Nottingham Trent University. During that time, he assessed the prevalence of EIB in university field hockey players and assessed the therapeutic potential of a prebiotic supplement (Bimuno-Galacto-oligosaccharides) in EIB. Following his PhD, he worked at the Nottingham Respiratory Research Unit (NRRU) as a research associate for three years. During his time at the NRRU, Robert helped on the APEX study which was designed to help understand asthma exacerbations and attacks. Now, back at NTU, he is working in the field of paediatric physiology working primarily on a large project to understand the effect of different element of the national physical education curriculum on cardiometabolic health and cognitive function. Additionally, he is a lecturer at NTU, being the module leaders for the 3rd year ‘Physical Activity for Health’ module.
Research areas
Dr. Needham main research areas include:
- Paediatric physical activity and health
- Respiratory physiology
Publications
- Needham, R. S., Sharpe, G. R., Williams, N. C., Lester, P. A., & Johnson, M. A. (2022). Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in university field hockey athletes: Prevalence, sex differences, and associations with dyspnea symptoms. Frontiers in Allergy, 3, 994947.
- Pradhan, A., Needham, R., Shaw, K., Martin, M., Portelli, M., Sayers, I., & Harrison, T. (2022). Characteristics of patients and exacerbations in the ongoing Asthma: Phenotyping Exacerbations (APEX) studies.
- Johnson, M. A., Sharpe, G. R., Needham, R. S., & Williams, N. C. (2021). Effects of prior voluntary hyperventilation on the 3-min all-out cycling test in men. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
- Johnson, M., Needham, R., Williams, R., Ashby, J., Williams, N., Mills, D., & Sharpe, G. (2018). Effects of maximal volitional hyperpnoea on exercise tolerance and locomotor muscle fatigue.
- Needham, R., Sharpe, G., Olieff, J. A., Johnson, M., & Mills, D. (2017). Effects of maximal volitional hyperpnoea on single-leg knee-extensor exercise tolerance.
- Varley, I., Lewin, R., Needham, R., Thorpe, R. T., & Burbeary, R. (2017). Association between match activity variables, measures of fatigue and neuromuscular performance capacity following elite competitive soccer matches. Journal of Human Kinetics, 60(1), 93-99.