Leeds Beckett University Sponsored PhD Studentship in collaboration with Leeds Rhinos Rugby Football League Club - Lean mass development in rugby league: associations with physiological performance

Funding will consist of UK full tuition fees for three years and the award of a living stipend at UK Research Council rates (£17,668 per annum pro-rata into 12 monthly payments). Funding will be subject to satisfactory progress.

A laptop will be provided and the opportunity to apply for funding to support the research project.

Leeds Rhinos Rugby Football League Club and Carnegie School of Sport

Lean mass development in rugby league: associations with physiological performance

Supervisory Team: Dr Nessan Costello, Dr Santiago Zabaloy, Dr Debbie Smith

Rugby league is a physically demanding sport, which requires players to have well developed physical qualities (Till et al., 2016). Enhanced physical qualities are often associated with athlete body size and composition. For example, increased fat-free mass is correlated with increases in strength (Higham et al., 2014; Taber et al., 2019), acceleration, and momentum (Cunningham et al., 2013). A greater body mass is a general predictor of success in rugby (Austin et al., 2011; Fontana et al., 2015), however, increases in fat-free and overall body mass have also been shown to negatively impact acceleration (i.e., 5 metre sprint time) and initial sprint momentum (Zabaloy et al., 2022). As such, practitioners could be negatively impacting rugby league performance, if targeting increases in player fat-free mass are achieved, which are assumed to be positive (McCormack et al., 2020). 

Therefore, the purpose of this PhD is to undertake a series of high-quality studies, which will evaluate the association between fat-free mass, body composition and physiological performance in rugby league, ultimately identifying areas to optimise fat-free mass development. 

Candidate

Essential
Hold a degree in sports science, dietetics, or a related field
Have previous experience of working in a sports nutrition capacity within elite or professional sport
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills evidenced through positive and productive relationships with all stakeholders
Well-organised, with the ability to manage own workload and multiple priorities
DBS Certificate (can be obtained on appointment)

Desirable
A Master’s degree with evidence of undertaking empirical research as part of your studies
Sport and Exercise Nutrition register (SENr) graduate registration
Experience of working within professional or elite sport 
ISAK Level 1 qualification

Applicants are encouraged to discuss their proposals with the project lead Dr Nessan Costello (n.costello@leedsbeckett.ac.uk).

As part of your application, please provide a CV, cover letter and research proposal. The proposal should align to the above theme and include a brief literature review related to this project, with an outline of the studies that you would propose to the answer the aims of the PhD (maximum 5 pages single spaced).

We can only consider complete applications. The research degree application is complete once you have uploaded all of the following:

1. Your application form (include the project reference LR Nutrition)
2. Your research proposal, statement of purpose and CV on the Research Proposal Template
   
3. Copies of your bachelors and master certificates, including transcripts
4. Copy of your IELTS (or equivalent) certificate (if applicable) further information can be found on our Graduate School FAQs
5. Copy of your passport

Email the documentation above) to researchadmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk 

The deadline for applications is midnight on 16th April 2023

Candidates must be available for interview 11th/12th May 2023