Research Archives - The School of Applied Sciences

Making Waves: The Future of Surf Science & Collaboration

On Monday 27 October, Lost Shore Surf Resort in Ratho hosted the official launch of Edinburgh Napier University’s The Surf Lab, a one-day gathering of academics and industry leads. The event was hosted to inform invited guests to explore how The Surf Lab was created to discover how surfing can drive better health, stronger communities, and be a key centre to help develop innovation across the sport, support tourism and encourage sustainability within the sector.

The day involved a collection of presentations from key staff from Edinburgh Napier University, and the founder of Lost Shore Surf Resort, expanding on how the journey was established in the creation of this world’s first partnership between a commercial wave pool facility and a University.

Welcoming Innovation at The Surf Lab

Professor Gary Hutchison opened the event, providing the attendees how the inception of the Surf Lab was delivered to him by both Dr Brendon Ferrier and Dr Jamie Marshall. In his presentation, Gary outlined how the concept of The Surf Lab and the partnership with Lost Shore Surf resort addressed Edinburgh Napier University’s strategic objectives of building careers, growing networks and advancing knowledge.

Gary emphasised how The Surf Lab concept showed strong relationship with the University’s parallel centre for cycling innovation at the Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland (MTBCoS). Noting that due to the success of the MTBCoS, he was willing to take a chance with The Surf Lab concept, especially due to its alignment with the objectives and aim of both the School of Applied Sciences, but also the broader Edinburgh Napier University community.

Riding the Wave of Innovation: The Lost Shore Story

Andy Hadden, the founder and developer of Lost Shore Surf Resort further highlighted the initial development of The Surf Lab and how Lost Shore Surf Resort as a commercial venture supported its development. Andy outlined the inception of the resort, from how he came to the concept whilst working in London, using his first £5,000 to fund the first PhD in Surf Therapy, to then building Lost Shore. The atmosphere Andy generated whilst outlining the journey he and the team went through from inception to recently celebrating their first year of business illustrated to the audience how the Surf Lab was an intrinsic part of the business model. Which re-enforced the partnership between Lost Shore and Edinburgh Napier University.

From Lab to Line-up

Dr Brendon Ferrier and Dr Jamie Marshall then presented the past, current and future projects The Surf Lab have been involved with. The focus of the presentation was how Lost Shore Surf Resort utilised The Surf Lab to help them with their initial purchase of their rental fleet of wetsuits. This small project helped establish the environmental focus that Lost Shore share, with their investment in the first rental fleet of Yulex based wetsuits. A natural rubber-based material, moving away from the heavily petrochemical based neoprene material usually found as the base for wetsuits. It was also outlined how Dr Marshall’s role with the International Surf Therapy Organisation resulted with Lost Shore and Edinburgh Napier University hosting the annual surf therapy conference over the five days prior to the launch day. Highlighting how The Surf Lab re-enforced the objectives of Edinburgh Napier University.

From Board to Bench: The Science of Surfing at Surf Lab

During the breakout sessions, several attendees visited the Surf Lab space and was presented with some of the projects and opportunities the lab space can be utilised for. Both Alex Mbuli, a teaching associate at Edinburgh Napier University and Damaris Vasquez, a potential PhD candidate working out of The Surf Lab provided information within their respective fields. This discussion quickly turned to an open discussion with attendees about innovative opportunities for industry and academic research groups at several Edinburgh based universities to become involved with the Surf Lab. Building on the innovative approach of the Surf Lab. But also, the collaborative approach we strive for within the Surf Lab.

Waves and Wellness

During the Waves and Wellness breakout session, Dr Jamie Marshall sparked an engaging discussion on the growing momentum behind surf therapy and the broader concept of blue health – the idea that proximity to water can positively influence mental and physical wellbeing. These conversations didn’t stop at surfing; they explored how lessons from these approaches can inform physical activity promotion and social prescribing, offering new pathways for integrating nature-based interventions into healthcare and community programmes.

The session also highlighted several future research directions, including projects examining the role of aquatic environments in reducing stress, improving resilience, and fostering social connection. All of this unfolded poolside, with the backdrop of surfers carving waves in the Lost Shore Surf Resort’s state-of-the-art wave pool – a fitting setting for envisioning how water-based activities can transform health and wellness strategies.

Surf Lab Connections: Unlocking Innovation Through Partnership

Hosted by Professor Susan Brown, Head of Sport Engagement at Edinburgh Napier University, the afternoon session explored an ambitious vision that goes far beyond surfing as a sport. At its core, The Surf Lab at Lost Shore aims to make surfing more accessible, inclusive, and sustainable, while delivering measurable benefits for mental and physical wellbeing. It’s about creating opportunities for people of all backgrounds to engage in an activity that fosters resilience, confidence, and connection with nature.

Professor Brown highlighted how The Surf Lab helps cement principles of sport engagement that extend well beyond traditional sporting outcomes:

“The Surf Lab really helps us cement our principles around developing the evidence base for the benefit of sport engagement, which are not always sporting related, but do also help support mental, physical health and wellbeing of our community populations – cementing community cohesion, reducing crime and increasing educational engagement.”

This approach positions surfing as a catalyst for positive social impact – strengthening communities, promoting education, and contributing to a healthier, more connected society.

Driving Innovation and Growth Through Collaboration

The Surf Lab isn’t just transforming access to sport, it’s also a catalyst for innovation and regional growth. By creating jobs, fostering new businesses, and driving economic development, it’s shaping the future of surfing and beyond.

For industry partners, this is a unique opportunity to collaborate with Edinburgh Napier University’s world-class experts and facilities. As Maggie Reid, Business Development and Relationship Manager, explained: “Working with Edinburgh Napier allows you to access world-leading experts and world-leading facilities, research and knowledge exchange, and actually, it can underpin your business innovation and your strategy and your growth.”

If you’re ready to explore partnership opportunities, tap into cutting-edge research, or co-create solutions that deliver real impact, get in touch with Edinburgh Napier’s team today and be part of the Surf Lab journey.

Find out more at napier.ac.uk/surflab or contact innovation@napier.ac.uk

Written by: Dr Brendon Ferrier

How does weather shape seabird relationships?

How weather shapes seabird relationships

When we think about seabird behaviour, we often focus on things like foraging or migration. But what about their relationships? Our new study in Animal Behaviour shows that the weather in late winter, just before the breeding season, can play a surprisingly important role in whether seabird pairs stay together or “divorce” between breeding seasons.

Studying shags on the Isle of May

We studied European shags (Gulosus aristotelis) on the Isle of May National Nature Reserve in the Firth of Forth. Thanks to the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology’s incredible long-term monitoring programme, we had access to two decades of data on more than 1,500 individual birds.

I first started working on this project during my time at the UKCEH. It has been a real privilege to see how combining this long-term dataset with BioSS’s statistical expertise, together with my current position at Edinburgh Napier University (Centre for Conservation and Restoration Science), has opened up new ways of understanding pair fidelity.

(Photo: Ken Ritchie)

What we found

On average, only about 45% of shags stay with the same partner from one breeding season to the next, but that number fluctuates dramatically, from as low as one in five pairs to nearly three-quarters in other years.

We know from previous studies that older birds and those that bred successfully are more likely to stick together, and our results confirmed that these intrinsic factors are especially strong. What we wanted to understand was whether the environment also plays a role.

The answer is yes. We found that when late winter was windier and the seas were warmer, shags were more likely to switch partners. That makes sense, because this is the time when birds are returning to the colony, re-establishing bonds, and preparing to breed. Tough conditions at this stage seem to make pair stability harder to maintain.

Interestingly, pairs that did reunite tended to lay earlier in the season, and early laying was linked to greater reproductive success. So, while divorce itself didn’t directly reduce success, its knock-on effects on timing did matter.

(Photo: Gerrit Peters)

Why it matters

Our findings support the idea that environmental conditions shape animal social behaviour, in this case through pair bonding decisions. And with climate change predicted to bring warmer seas and more variable wind conditions, this could mean more greater instability in seabird partnerships and potential ripple effects for population dynamics in the future.

For me, one of the most rewarding aspects of this study is that it could only have been done because of the long-term fieldwork on the Isle of May. Decades of careful monitoring gave us the chance to ask questions that simply couldn’t be answered with short-term data. It’s a reminder of how important it is to keep investing in long-term ecological research and the insights it brings are invaluable.

About the study

This research was a collaboration between Edinburgh Napier University, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), and BioSS, using over 20 years of detailed field data from the Isle of May National Nature Reserve.

European shags on the Isle of May. Long-term monitoring of these seabirds has revealed how winter weather influences their pair bonds (photo Francis Daunt)

Written by: Lecturer and Lead Researcher, Dr Sue Lewis

Read our most recent news story/press release.

Agora este é meu país favorito no mundo!

O ano de 2024 mal havia começado quando, em 9 de janeiro, a BBC anunciou que 2023 foi oficialmente o ano mais quente registrado. Um novo recorde diário de temperatura global foi estabelecido em mais de 200 dias no ano passado, de acordo com a análise da BBC dos dados coletados pelo Serviço de Mudanças Climáticas Copernicus.

Para o Dr. Fernando Rafael De Grande, como para muitos outros cientistas ambientais, essa confirmação não foi surpresa. Fernando tem estudado o impacto do aumento da temperatura na delicada linha costeira de manguezais do Brasil por algum tempo, mas passou o ano de 2023 trabalhando em Edimburgo com cientistas do Centro de Ciências de Conservação e Restauração (CCRS) da Universidade Napier de Edimburgo.

‘O Centro é liderado pela Professora Karen Diele na Universidade Napier, que também trabalha e publica sobre o ambiente de manguezal do Brasil, então eu já estava familiarizado com seu trabalho há algum tempo’, explica Fernando, que fez sua graduação inicialmente na Universidade Estadual de São Paulo e agora é pesquisador pós-doutorado no Instituto de Ciências Marinhas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (IMar/UNIFESP), em Santos.

‘Eu estava ansioso para expandir minha pesquisa, adotar uma abordagem mais global e queria melhorar meu inglês, então solicitei ao governo brasileiro o patrocínio de uma oportunidade de trabalhar com a Professora Diele aqui na Escócia.’ A reputação internacional da Universidade Napier em pesquisa de manguezais foi essencial para atender às condições de financiamento estabelecidas pelo governo brasileiro, que concordou em patrocinar sua bolsa.

No último ano, a pesquisa de Fernando na Napier concentrou-se na produção de uma meta-análise e revisão sistemática da literatura, para avaliar onde e em que medida as temperaturas mais quentes provavelmente afetarão a produção de fauna de mangue ao redor do mundo.

‘É difícil testar o impacto do aumento da temperatura no campo’, explica ele, ‘então eu compilei resultados publicados de experimentos laboratoriais de todo o mundo, incluindo muitas espécies diferentes, e descobri que, sim, o aumento de temperatura devido às mudanças climáticas pode afetar negativamente a fauna de manguezais, o que, por sua vez, poderia impactar as florestas de mangue, dada a importante função ecológica desses animais. Muitas espécies animais incluídas em nosso estudo crescem e se reproduzem menos em temperaturas mais altas. Esse impacto poderá ser especialmente pronunciado no Indo-Pacífico Central e Indo-Pacífico Ocidental. Estou ansioso para em breve submeter os resultados de nosso trabalho a um jornal científico para publicação, junto com Karen e meus supervisores brasileiros.’

Refletindo sobre seus 12 meses em Edimburgo, pouco antes de retornar ao Brasil em 13 de janeiro, Fernando disse: ‘A equipe da Karen no Centro tem uma reputação internacional por seu trabalho, e ela publicou pesquisas globalmente significativas em muitos artigos, então eu me beneficiei diretamente dessa experiência. A Napier também tem uma boa infraestrutura de pesquisa, incluindo laboratórios e equipamentos para pesquisa marinha. Também fiquei impressionado com os outros laboratórios da universidade.

‘O CCRS funciona como um grupo interdisciplinar, e isso foi uma experiência totalmente nova e muito boa para mim. Aprendi como trabalhar nesse tipo de ambiente de pesquisa, com colegas de disciplinas diversas, produzindo pesquisas valiosas juntamente com eles. Outros alunos de Biologia Marinha da Karen trabalham na Escócia, e pude interagir com eles e discutir nossas áreas de pesquisa individuais, o que também foi muito interessante e produtivo.

‘Meu tempo aqui também melhorou muito meu inglês, como eu esperava. Como acadêmico, posso ler e escrever em inglês, mas viver aqui ajudou muito minha conversação.

‘Para pessoas dos trópicos, como eu, a Escócia é muito diferente e tem uma paisagem muito bonita. Eu amei a Escócia, e as pessoas em Edimburgo foram muito amigáveis. É uma cidade linda, com uma arquitetura maravilhosa e a cultura aqui é incrível. Há bons museus gratuitos e, é claro, o castelo no centro da cidade! É muito diferente de São Paulo.

‘Também viajei pela Escócia durante meu tempo aqui, como por exemplo, para Fort William, Glasgow, Inverness e St Andrews. Talvez agora este seja meu país favorito do mundo!

Embora esteja retornando para continuar sua pesquisa de pós-doutorado em São Paulo, Fernando continuará colaborando com o CCRS no futuro. Ele já foi convidado a trabalhar e co-autor dois artigos com Karen e colegas do Centro e diz: ‘Já começamos a planejar algumas novas e empolgantes pesquisas conjuntas aqui no Brasil também, e o trabalho de campo para isso já começará em algumas semanas.’

‘Estou otimista de que posso aplicar nossa pesquisa quando voltar ao Brasil, para melhorar a gestão e conservação dos manguezais no Brasil e em outras regiões do mundo.

A pesquisa desenvolvida pelo Fernando foi financiada pela Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, processo n° 2022/12556-2.

Maybe now this is my favourite country in the world!

2024 had barely begun when, on 9 January, the BBC announced that 2023 was officially the warmest year on record. A new daily global temperature record had been set on more than 200 days last year, according to analysis by the BBC of data gathered by the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

For Dr Fernando Rafael De Grande, like many other environmental scientists, this confirmation came as no surprise. Fernando has been studying the impact of warming temperature on Brazil’s delicate mangrove coastline for some time, but he spent 2023 working in Edinburgh with scientists from the Centre for Conservation and Restoration Science (CCRS) at Edinburgh Napier University.

‘The Centre is led by Professor Karen Diele at Edinburgh Napier, who also works and publishes on Brazil’s mangrove environment, so I have been familiar with her work for some time,’ explains Fernando, who studied his initial degree at São Paulo State University and is now a post-doc Research Fellow at the Institute of Marine Science, Federal University of São Paulo (IMar/UNIFESP), Santos, Universidade Federal de São Paulo.

‘I was keen to expand my research, to take a more global approach – and wanted to improve my English – so I applied to the Brazilian government to sponsor an opportunity to work with Professor Diele here in Scotland.’ Edinburgh Napier’s international reputation for mangrove research was essential to satisfy the funding conditions set by the Brazilian government, which agreed to sponsor his fellowship.

For the past year, Fernando’s research at Napier has focussed on producing a meta-analysis and systematic literature review, to assess where and how much warmer temperatures will likely impact mangrove fauna production around the globe.

‘It is difficult to test the impact of temperature increase in the field’, he explains, ‘so I have collated published results from lab experiments from around the world, including many different species, and have found that, yes, increasing temperatures due to climate change can negatively affect mangrove fauna, which in turn could impact the mangrove forests themselves, given the animals’ important ecological roles. Many animal species included in our study grow and reproduce less under increased temperatures. This impact is expected to become particularly acute in the Indo-Pacific and western Pacific. I am now looking forward to soon submit the results of our work to a scientific journal for publication, together with Karen and my Brazilian supervisors.

Reflecting on his 12 months in Edinburgh, just before his return to Brazil on 13 January, Fernando said: ‘Karen’s team in the Centre have an international reputation for their work, and she has published globally significant research in many papers, so I have benefited directly from that [expertise]. Napier also has a good research infrastructure, nice labs and equipment for marine research, and I have been equally impressed by the other science labs at the university.

‘CCRS works as an interdisciplinary group, and that has been a totally new and very good experience for me. I have learned how to work in this type of research environment, with colleagues from diverse disciplines, doing and publishing valuable research together. Other Marine Biology students off Karen work in Scotland, and I have been able to interact with them and discuss our areas of individual research, and that too has been very interesting and productive.

‘My time here has also much improved my English, as I’d hoped. As an academic, I can read and write in English, but living here has greatly helped my conversational English.

‘For people from the tropics, like me, Scotland is very different and has a very beautiful landscape. I have loved Scotland, and the people in Edinburgh have been very friendly. It’s a beautiful city with wonderful architecture and the culture here is amazing. There are good free museums, and of course the castle at the centre of the city! It is very different from San Paulo.

‘I’ve also travelled around Scotland during my time here, to Fort William, Glasgow, Inverness, and St Andrews. Maybe now this is my favourite country in the world!

Although now returning to continue his postdoctoral research Fellowship in São Paulo, Fernando will continue to collaborate with CCRS into the future. He has already been invited to work on and co-author two papers with Karen and colleagues from the Centre and says ‘We already started to plan some exciting new joint research work here in Brazil also, and field work for this will already kick off in a few weeks.’

‘I am optimistic that I can apply our research when I return to Brazil, to improve mangrove management and conservation in this region of the world. Our research is relevant not only for Brazil, but also for other countries with mangrove environments.’

frdegrande@gmail.com

Funding was provided by a FAPESP research grant No. 2022/12556-2.

ENU’s Stellar Contributions to the Scottish Institute of Policing Research in 2023

The Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR) is a collaborative organisation which brings together 15 Scottish Universities, as well as Police Scotland and The Scottish Police Authority, whose aim is to ‘support internationally excellent, multi-disciplinary policing research to enable evidence-informed policy & practice.’

Edinburgh Napier’s Contribution to the SIPR Annual report demonstrates the outstanding and sheer volume of work and dedication that has gone into this area of research from academics within the university, with our very own Professor Liz Aston leading the research institute.

Some of the work in this year’s report includes examples of the kind of collaboration carried out, including knowledge and exchange events, which has contributed to organisational learning, such as hosting Norwegian Police.

Our ENU head of Social Sciences, Dr Andrew Wooff, now an incoming Associate Director of SIPR is co-lead of the Education and Leadership network. Indeed, he also co-wrote a report with Drs Shane Horgan and Andy Tatnell; ‘Pluralised responses to policing the pandemic: analysing the emergence of informal order maintenance strategies, the changing of ‘policing web’, and the impacts of COVID19 in rural communities.’

Dr Jennifer Murray collaborated on an engaging report on the ‘Estimation of risk for missing individuals: Development of an empirical risk assessment and decision support tool for missing person investigations’ and as well as this, our Edinburgh Napier Carnegie grant PhD scholar, Abigail Cunningham delivered research on ‘Encountering policing – a dialogic exploration of Scottish Pakistanis’ experience of ‘policing.’

Edinburgh Napier also leads The Scottish Centre for Policing and Public health, with Prof Nadine Dougall and Drs Inga Heyman, Andrew Tatnell and Andrew Wooff contributing ‘How cross-service collaboration can improve community safety and wellbeing – a systematic review and case study of a community hub intervention’, again showing the range of multi-disciplinary research submitted to the report.

Furthermore, Dr Shane Horgan collaborated on a report titled: ‘Influence Policing’ which looked at contemporary issues with targeted communication campaigns.

There was much more submitted by our Edinburgh Napier SIPR academics, and you can read the full annual report here: SIPR-Annual-report-2023.pdf

To find out more about SIPR and what they do, visit the site: SIPR – Scottish Institute for Policing Research

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E-bike boom: ENU researchers find electric mountain bikes could help tackle health inequalities

The biggest study of its kind also found cost remains a barrier to e-MTBs, writes Dr Lesley Ingram-Sills

New research into the use of electric mountain bikes (e-MTBs), led by researchers at Edinburgh Napier University’s Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland, has found they could have a role to play in reducing health inequalities – as well as offering a ‘unique opportunity’ to promote wellbeing.

The study, which was the largest undertaken into the recreational use of the e-MTBs, gathered more than 1300 responses were gathered from riders, retailers, manufacturers and land managers across Scotland, England and Wales.

It found evidence of an older participation base than general MTB cyclists, as well as a broadly similar number of disabled respondents to the British average, suggesting they could help more people stay fit and active.

Other conclusions included an increase in speed and distance covered throughout the year in comparison to other cyclists, this the majority of individuals participating to benefit mental health or have fun. Cost is the main barrier to participation and this is an important consideration moving forward to make it fully accessible as a sport.

The final report also makes nine recommendations to organisations involved in the sector, including education relating to trail etiquette and outdoor access codes, reducing the financial barriers and promoting its health benefits.

Within this research we attempted to understand the rider, the industry, and the most popular trails to ride e-MTBs on. We continue to see a growth in this sector of the cycling industry and its great to see new users entering the sport for the first time. e-bikes really can smash down barriers making cycling accessible for all regardless of fitness, gender, disability or age. It’s great to see more individuals accessing green spaces to have fun and improve their mental health – we all need a bit of that after the last few years. The Stakeholders are trail blazers here, using this information to help with trail developments, infrastructure, and rider education to support e-MTBers just as the sport is gaining momentum.

This study was funded and supported British Cycling, Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland, Forestry England, Natural Resources Wales, Scottish Cycling, NatureScot and Forestry and Land Scotland. It also suggests targeting under-represented groups to make cycling more diverse, promoting a positive image of e-bike use, and conducting more research on their environmental impact in future.

Since being introduced into the cycling industry, sales of e-bikes have grown exponentially over the last five years. They are expected to surpass 130 million in 2023 with some estimates predicting as much as an eight-fold increase by 2030.

Sighthill science labs benefit from £700k upgrade

After a busy programme of work over the summer, our fantastic team of technicians in The School of Applied Sciences have spent a few weeks over the autumn kitting out our newly extended and refurbished labs. And don’t they look great!

The full programme of works – representing an investment of more than £700,000 in lab facilities at Sighthill – have provided:

more lab benches for our increased undergraduate students studying on our biosciences suite – this is the extended Microbiology lab.
flexible project space for our 4th year and MSc students to do their project work
our new tissue culture suite for practical class teaching, 4^th year undergraduate and MSc projects in programmes such as Biomedical Science and Biological Sciences.
A brand new VR research lab (below) which will be kitted out with the latest research technology for Psychology students.

Students are now enjoying the new facilities, which will make a positive impact on everyone’s work in 2023.

Happy New Year when it comes!

Empowering every player

As the knock-out stage of the Qatar World Cup kicks off, a new generation of football heroes are being forged. One name now familiar in most UK households is Kylian Mbappé. In 2018, the French striker – then aged just 19 – became only the second teenager ever to score in a World Cup Final. (The first was Pelé, in 1958.) It’s the stuff that dreams are made of.

2022 is already a bumper year for football heroes, with the summer success of England’s Women’s team captivating everyone, not just football fans… and also making household names of young players like Lauren Hemp (21) and Georgia Stanway (23).

There are now thousands upon thousands of youth footballers, right across the UK, who are dreaming of a future moment when they too can lift a trophy.

But football is a grassroots game – with more than 60,000 youth players registered in Scotland alone – and while not every player will make it to a Cup final, let alone a World Cup, everyone can improve and enjoy playing to the full in their local team.

The value of science in youth football/grassroots football is being promoted by Scottish-based SoccerPDP.com, based on academic research by Dr James Dugdale of Edinburgh Napier University.

“We have worked with James since he was a PhD student at Stirling University, where we funded his studies to validate data for our app” explains founder and CEO Jacob Gordon.

Dr Dugdale is now supervising his own PhD students in the School of Applied Sciences at Edinburgh Napier, and both Alban Dickson – the psychologist with Heart of Midlothian – and nutritionist Saumya Khullar will see their PhD research applied for practical benefit, helping nurture young players through the SoccerPDP app.

SoccerPDP provides an in-depth development plan across four key pillars: strength and conditioning, nutrition, psychology, and technical skills. That empowers every player to maximise their potential and help realise their long-term ambitions within the game.

“Our science-based approach provides players with a pathway to improve,” says Jacob. “We demonstrate how the exercises and drills should be carried out, along with the scientific reason behind each training task, allowing young players to gain an understanding of how each action will help them improve their game, alongside regular training and matches.”

soccerpdp empowers players, parents and coaches — The soccerpdp app empowers players, parents and coaches, allowing young players to gain an understanding of how each action will help them improve their game.

James adds: “The app focuses on players aged 10 – 18, who can track their development individually. Both our new PhD’s are looking at aspects of communication, to better engage the target market.”

The research will inform new iterations of the platform, and both PhDs are being co-funded by SoccerPDP and Edinburgh Napier, (which also offers a unique BSc degree in Football Coaching, Performance, and Development, backed by the Scottish FA).

SoccerPDP provides access to a 12-month personal development plan for players of all abilities, and can be used by players, their parents, and coaches. It provides techniques, support, and education opportunities to improve performance both on and off the pitch.

Everything Soccer PDP does is based on sound scientific theory. Developed initially in partnership with academics at the University of Stirling, the programme continues to apply the latest scientific advances and understanding to provide accurate assessment, which helps track the progress of players throughout their development.

“With support from an international research network of collaborators, our system now brings an inclusive and standardised approach to the development of grassroots footballers,” says Jacob. “We create a highly accurate ‘football CV’ that allows a player’s development to be continuously tracked and benchmarked against their previous performances and the results of others.”

More>> https://soccerpdp.com

BSc (Hons) Football Coaching Performance and Development (with Scottish FA) Undergraduate Full-time (napier.ac.uk)

ENU researchers design prehab service to revolutionise pre-surgery patient care

The waiting time for hip and knee replacement increased from 12 weeks to 18 months because of Covid and the backlog it created for the NHS.

Such a long period can considerably decrease the quality of life and the chance of quick post-surgery recovery for the patient. The good news: a group of ENU researchers may have just found the perfect solution.

Patients waiting for hip or knee replacements live with severe pain symptoms caused by damaged joint surfaces. The constant soreness and discomfort reduce people’s mobility and fitness, increasing their chances for gaining weight and extending the likely time of post-surgery recovery.

According to Edinburgh Napier’s Professor Anna Campbell, “Evidence is emerging that providing virtual exercise, nutritional and emotional support to people waiting for operations – or during treatment – has the potential to significantly improve their physical and psychological wellbeing and quality of life.”

The hip and knee (HAK) prehab intervention is a pilot service designed by ENU lecturers and researchers – Dr Kostas Kaliarntas, Professor Anna Campbell, and Dr Amanda Pitkethly from the School of Applied Sciences; and Dr David Hamilton, Dr Coral Hanson and Professor Lis Neubeck from the School of Health and Social Care. They worked in collaboration with orthopaedic surgeon Dr Nick Clement and anaesthetist Dr Elizabeth Brun Lacey, from NHS Lothian.

The service is now being funded by NHS Lothian for approximately 18 months. Its function is to provide virtual lifestyle behaviour change programmes that will increase the fitness and wellbeing of patients waiting for hip and knee replacement. These include individual online exercise sessions, dietary advice, and emotional support; all provided by clinical exercise physiologists.

Similar services developed by ENU researchers have been successfully delivered to cancer and cardiac patients, such as the ongoing Safefit trial led by Professor Anna Campbell and her team.

The new HAK prehab intervention follows the Safefit protocol and researchers aim to recruit 126 hip and knee replacement patients, supplying each of them with a 6-month virtual prehabilitation service.

The clinical exercise physiologists will monitor behavioural changes and measure outcomes by conducting interviews and exploring service users’ experiences. If the pilot proves beneficial for patients, and feasible for the NHS, it could revolutionise pre-surgery healthcare.

Dr Kostas Kaliarntas added, “This project gives us exciting opportunities for further collaborations with NHS, placement opportunities for our MSc Clinical Exercise Science and Physical Activity & Health undergraduate students, and potential follow up external funding applications.”

To find out more about becoming a clinical exercise physiologist by studying BSc (Hons) Physical Activity & Health or MSc Clinical Exercise Science at Edinburgh Napier University, click the links.

BSc (Hons) Physical Activity & Health Undergraduate Full-time

MSc Clinical Exercise Science Postgraduate Full-time

Growing the cycling industry in Scotland

In 2023, Scotland is to host the Cycling World Championships, a two-week extravaganza that will bring together 13 international competitions in one country for the first time.

This inaugural mega event will provide an outstanding opportunity to showcase the Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland (MTBCOS) research group and a new Innovation Centre at Innerleithen, in the Scottish Borders.

Edinburgh Napier University’s Professor Geraint Florida-James is playing a key role in establishing the new innovation centre – which marks an important milestone for the sport of cycling at home and worldwide. An applied researcher who is passionate about sports science and cycling, Professor Florida-James has been involved with the biking industry for nearly twenty years, also coaching athletes for the Downhill and the Cross-Country World Cups, as well as Professional Enduro Racers.

The MTBCOS is a project that started in 2014, with Edinburgh Napier University working in partnership with Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Cycling. Its role has been to help grow a Scottish cycling industry, with relevant research and help businesses take advantage of one of the country’s fastest-growing sports. The group provides support with market research, developing, testing, and launching new products.

The success of the project caught the attention of the Scottish and UK Governments and raised the profile of the sector internationally. As a result, with an additional partner, the South of Scotland Enterprise, the Centre has been fundamental in securing £19M of Borderlands Regional Growth Deal Funding to purchase the Caerlee Mill in Innerleithen, an old textile mill that has been out of use since 2013. Professor Florida-James emphasises that partnerships such as these are key for the Centre’s continued success.

Also included in the Borderlands Project is the first mechanical lift-assisted Bike Park in the Northern Hemisphere, which will be with a short ride of the Mill. Once renovated, the Mill and the surrounding world-class bike tracks will serve as an innovation site for the cycling industry - led by Edinburgh Napier – where new products can be developed and tested. In addition, the Hub will also explore supply chain issues and can connect local entrepreneurs with international audiences.

Professor Florida-James says, “we expect huge international interest around the 2023 Championships, which will help more companies become aware of the research and development potential here, and the potential to reshore some of the cycling industry to Scotland”.

The Centre has equally been supporting internal partners within Edinburgh Napier who are involved with mental health and wellbeing research, to identify ways cycling can boost these issues in Scotland and beyond. Various schools within the University will combine their research with the Centre through the new Innovation Hub, recognising the opportunities cycling presents for future health, wellbeing and economic development.