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.

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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Researchers call for compulsory training for all Police Scotland officers

Police officers across Scotland should carry naloxone, an emergency treatment for drug overdoses, a new report has recommended.

An Edinburgh Napier University-led study backed the use of the nasal spray, which counters the effects of overdose from opioids such as heroin, following an independent evaluation of a pilot carried out between March and October last year.

The researchers also called for naloxone training to be made compulsory for all Police Scotland officers and staff.

Supporters believe naloxone is an important tool in tackling Scotland’s drug-related deaths crisis, by providing immediate first aid while waiting for the ambulance service to arrive and take over emergency medical treatment.

In response to the increasing drugs death toll, and the recommendation of the country’s Drug Deaths Taskforce, Police Scotland began a pilot project to test the carriage and administration of the treatment by officers.

Last year’s trial was initially launched in Falkirk, Dundee and Glasgow East before being extended to include Caithness and Glasgow custody and Stirling community police officers.

Naloxone packs were used 51 times in the course of the pilot, and by the end 808 officers had been trained in their use, representing 87 per cent of the workforce in the pilot areas.

A team led by Dr Peter Hillen and advised by Dr Andrew McAuley of Glasgow Caledonian University assessed the attitudes and experiences of police officers, the effectiveness of their naloxone training and responses from people who use drugs and support services.

A total of 346 police officers completed questionnaires, with 41 taking part in interviews or focus groups, and further interviews were carried out with people who use drugs, family members, support workers and key stakeholders.

A majority of officers who participated in an interview or focus group were supportive of the pilot and its roll out across Scotland. Thirteen interviewees had personally administered naloxone, some on several occasions, and officers reported very positive experiences of naloxone being used effectively to save people’s lives.

While some officers considered carrying naloxone would lead to greater reliance on police by ambulance services, police overwhelmingly said that preserving life was the top priority.

Community stakeholders who were interviewed were supportive of the pilot as part of a range of initiatives to tackle the drug deaths crisis.

The study recommended that police carrying naloxone should be rolled out Scotland-wide, and that it should also be placed within police cars and custody suites to widen access.

As well as compulsory naloxone training for all police staff, the report urged consideration be given to measures to further address stigmatising attitudes towards people who use drugs.

It also recommended that officers be given ‘unambiguous information’ about their legal position if they administer the emergency treatment.

Professor Nadine Dougall, pictured, one of the team’s co-investigators, said: “Our evaluation has shown that there is significant potential benefit in training and equipping police officers with naloxone nasal spray as part of emergency first aid until ambulance support arrives.

“Many police officers told us they are often the first to attend people who have overdosed, and they greatly valued the potential to save lives in this way. People with personal experience of overdose also agreed naloxone should be carried by police officers but were keen to stress that naloxone was only a part of a solution to address drug-related deaths.”

Newly Recruited Research Fellow – Estelle Clayton – Completes the INTERACT Team

The team of INTERACT is now complete. And the researchers are very excited to start working on the project that will lay down the foundation for policy and best practice in ‘technologically-mediated’ policing, creating a safer and fairer future for all of us.

INTERACT – Investigating New Types of Engagement, Response And Contact Technology – is a large Economic and Social Research Council funded collaborative project nested at Edinburgh Napier University. Using mixed methods research, this holistic study aims to explore the perspectives of police senior leadership and staff, police officers, and members of the public to gain an in-depth understanding of stakeholders’ experiences and views on using technology when interacting with one another. The data will allow the group to make valuable recommendations for policy to impact future best practices.

The research began last year when Dr Liz Aston, Associate Professor of Criminology at Edinburgh Napier University and Director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR) was appointed as Principal Investigator of the project. ENU partnered with the University of Dundee from Scotland as well as Keele University and University College London from England.

The first six months were spent establishing partnerships with police forces, where the research could be conducted, and recruiting the ideal candidates for the team from all four institutions. Recent PhD candidate, Estelle Clayton, from the University of Dundee completed the group in December.

Born in Manchester, Estelle moved to Scotland in 2008 to study Philosophy as an undergraduate degree at the University of St Andrews. She continued her studies at the University of Edinburgh with a Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Estelle then proceeded to do a PhD, her research entitled, Stop and Search Scotland: An Analysis of Police Practice and Culture in a Time of Change.

Estelle is immensely interested in how policing works – what officers do, how they perceive their role and how that influences their behaviour. She is curious about the ways such insights can be used for policymaking to improve the experiences of the Police and the public when interacting with each other. Naturally, she is very excited to be part of the INTERACT team and to have the opportunity to work with Dr Liz Aston among other experts from the field.

Now that the team is complete, and the research is entering its second phase, Estelle will spend the next six months interviewing members of the senior leadership of Police Scotland to understand how decisions about the use of technology are made, and what aims and objectives they have. She will equally interview staff members who use technology daily, investigating how they deal with it and what they would improve on it. The same research will be simultaneously undertaken in England by the Research Fellow from Keele University, Dr Will Andrews.

Following this period, as the research enters its third phase, Estelle will join police officers in the field to observe real-time interactions with the public mediated by technology. She will conduct follow-up interviews and focus groups with officers and civilians, as well as two communities of interest, to explore their views and experiences as well.

The study, which is scheduled to finish in September 2024, will have the research team working on the publication in its last phase. The group will present recommendations based on the findings to support policymakers in establishing guidelines around the use of technology to benefit all stakeholders involved in Police-public interactions.

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Exercise Prescription should be offered as part of cancer treatment

A global panel of exercise oncology experts published new guidance recommending the systematic use of an “exercise prescription” to help cancer patients cope with treatment side effects and lower the risk of developing certain cancers.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) convened the group, including Professor Anna Campbell from Edinburgh Napier’s School of Applied Sciences, from 17 international partner organisations. The group reviewed the latest scientific evidence and offered recommendations about the benefits of exercise for prevention, treatment, recovery and improved survival.

ACSM Immediate Past President Katie Schmitz, who co-chaired the panel, said: “With more than 43 million cancer survivors worldwide, we have a growing need to address the unique health issues facing people living with and beyond cancer and better understand how exercise may help prevent and control cancer. This multidisciplinary group of leaders at the forefront of exercise oncology aimed to translate the latest scientific evidence into practical recommendations for clinicians and the public and to create global impact through a unified voice.”

Edinburgh Napier’s Professor Campbell has been working in the area of exercise and cancer survivorship for 20 years – particularly in the area of implementation of exercise programmes after a cancer diagnosis.

She said: “These updated recommendations are designed to convince clinicians to refer and to help cancer patients to incorporate physical activity into their recuperation. These papers demonstrate how much the area of exercise oncology has developed over the past five years in terms of the strength of evidence of the benefits of staying active after a cancer diagnosis, more clarity on specific guidelines and finally how to put a referral pathway and implementation of programmes into practice.”

Turning their theory into practice, Gary MacDougall, a 48-year-old man from Edinburgh who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer joined Professor Campbell and her team’s exercise-focused programme in April 2018. He claims that during his first six chemotherapy sessions he “became stronger and fitter.” Remarkably his tumour had shrunk to the point where he was eligible for surgery. He said “Whether it was chemotherapy, fitness, diet or just ‘hope’ – I believe they all played a part – the doctors were exceptionally surprised my tumour shrunk enough in those first six chemotherapy sessions and gave me the chance to have surgery. That operation was a year ago and after six further chemotherapy sessions I am still here, and my cancer markers are looking good.”

The new guidance and recommendations, for use by health care and fitness professionals when creating exercise programmes for cancer patients and survivors, include:

For all adults, exercise is important for cancer prevention and specifically lowers risk of seven common types of cancer: colon, breast, endometrial, kidney, bladder, esophagus and stomach.
For cancer survivors, incorporate exercise to help improve survival after a diagnosis of breast, colon and prostate cancer.
Exercising during and after cancer treatment improves fatigue, anxiety, depression, physical function, quality of life and does not exacerbate lymphedema.
Continue research that will drive the integration of exercise into the standard of care for cancer.
Translate into practice the increasingly robust evidence base about the positive effects of exercise for cancer patients.

Organisations represented on the international panel include the American Cancer Society, the US-based National Cancer Institute, the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology, Macmillan Cancer Support and the German Union for Health Exercise.

Full details of the review and recommendations are outlined in three academic papers published in two scientific journals. Edinburgh Napier’s Professor Campbell co-authored “Exercise Is Medicine in Oncology: Engaging Clinicians to Help Patients Move Through Cancer,” which was published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, a flagship journal of the American Cancer Society.