Leeds Beckett University Sponsored PHD Studentship in collaboration with a Professional Cycling Team - Impact of Energy and Carbohydrate Availability on Health, Performance and Nutritional Behaviours in Female and Male Professional Cyclists

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Leeds Beckett University Sponsored PHD Studentship in collaboration with a Professional Cycling Team - Impact of Energy and Carbohydrate Availability on Health, Performance and Nutritional Behaviours in Female and Male Professional Cyclists

Full-time
We fund UK fees and provide a stipend of £18,622
Start date: 1 February 2024
Location: UK (Leeds based)
Funding note: The studentship has a bursary of £18,622 per annum (pro-rata into 12 monthly payments) plus UK Fees paid initially for a period of three years

A professional cycling team and the Carnegie School of Sport are looking to recruit a highly motivated individual to a prestigious fully funded PhD studentship in the discipline of performance nutrition.

Reporting to the Head of Nutrition, the successful student will support the development of knowledge, planning and delivery of a team wide performance focused nutrition programme specific to the training, competition and health demands of a professional cycling team. The successful candidate will primarily be responsible for the nutrition provision and education of u23 development team riders whilst providing additional support to projects in the Men’s Pro and Women’s Teams. The practitioner role will be approximately 2 days per week, with an expectation to attend races, training camps and other team events to provide nutrition support (approximately 20-50 days per year), while concurrently conducting research. Therefore, this provides an exciting opportunity for the successful candidate to develop both their applied practice and applied research skills, while working in a professional cycling team.

The studentship will aim to answer a series of research questions that further understanding in the key performance area listed below.

The Carnegie School of Sport at Leeds Beckett University is purposefully driven by a focus on working together to make a positive difference. Our strength is the breadth and depth of our research, which is underpinned by the disciplinary experience of our colleagues and students. Pursuing an inclusive and ambitious research agenda, we cross the broad spectrum of the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Our research culture is founded upon a genuine commitment and capacity to work with others on real-world applied problems, to achieve impact beyond academia. From our leading work on talent development, coaching practice, and anti-doping, to our research in gender equality, ageing and obesity, we work to apply our knowledge to address some of the key issues facing our communities today.

View more about our Carnegie School of Sport Building and Facilities

Funding will consist of UK full tuition fees for three years and the award of a living stipend at UK Research Council rates (£18,622 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.

PhD: Impact of Energy and Carbohydrate Availability on Health, Performance and Nutritional Behaviours in Female and Male Professional Cyclists

The performance of professional cyclists can be affected by their dietary intake. They have an increased risk of developing a state of low energy availability (LEA) due to the high energy demands of training and racing. LEA is commonly reported in elite cyclists where there is a discrepancy between the amount of energy consumed and the energy expended during an athlete's daily training or events. As a result, the energy required is not being adequately met. This scenario can negatively impact bone health, metabolic rate, endocrine function, and the cardiovascular system. If this negative energy balance occurs frequently enough, there is an increased risk of illness, injury, and a decline in overall performance due to maladaptation to the physiological stimuli. Most of the research conducted in this field are laboratory-based studies, which limit the applicability to real-world situations. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to evaluate the effects of periods of short-term energy availability (e.g. altitude training camps, stage races) and long term energy availability (e.g. changes across the season(s)) on important physiological markers, body composition, bone health, endocrine function, health and performance in male and female professional cyclists. To gain a more complete understanding of cyclists' experiences with nutrition and the socio-ecological factors that influence their eating habits, and behaviours, this project will also conduct a qualitative exploration of the cyclists’ perceptions and experiences. This will bring together a holistic understanding of cyclists’ experiences of nutrition combined with the physiological demands to inform improved interventions to minimise LEA and enhance performance.

Recommended Readings

Burke L, Ackerman KE, Heikura IA, Hackney A, Stellingwerff T (2023) Mapping the complexities of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (REDs); developing of a physiological model by a sub-group of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Consensus on REDs. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(17): 1098-1108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-107335
Mountjoy M, Ackerman KE, Bailey DM, et al (2023) International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs). British Journal of Sports Medicine;57:1073-1097. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-106994
Torstveit MK, Fahrenholtz IL, Lichtenstein MB, et al (2019) Exercise dependence, eating disorder symptoms and biomarkers of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (RED-S) among male endurance athletes. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine;5:e000439.http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000439
Melin AK, Areta JL,Heikura IA, Heikura IA, et al (2022) Direct and indirect impact of low energy availability on sports performance. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports; 00:1-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.14327
Heikura IA, Stellingwerff, T, Areta JL (2021) Low energy availability in female athletes: From the lab to the field. European Journal of Sport Science; 22(5):709-719. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2021.1915391
Heikura IA, Quod M, Strobel N, Palfreeman R (2019) Alternate-day low energy availability during spring classics in professional cyclists. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance; 14: 1233-1243. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2018-0842
Podlogar T, Bokal S, Cirnski S, Wallis G (2022) Increased exogenous oxidation but unaltered endogenous carbohydrate oxidation with combined fructose-maltodextrin ingested at 120 g.h^-1 versus 90 g.h^-1 at different ratios. European Journal of Applied Physiology; 122:2393-2401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-022-05019-w

Candidate - Qualifications and Accreditations

Essential

Hold a degree in Sport Science, Nutrition or Dietetics
Hold a Masters in Sports Nutrition, Nutrition or Dietetics or IOC Diploma in Sport Nutrition
Professional accreditation with recognised nutritional or dietetics association e.g. UK Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register (SENR), British Dietetics Association or European / Australian equivalent
UKAD Antidoping Advisor

Desirable

ISAK Level 1 accreditation
Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene registered

Experience, Knowledge & Skills

Experience of delivering performance nutrition services with professional athletes in a high-performance sport environment
Experience of translating nutritional requirements to practical food solutions
Experience of working collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams
Excellent communication and presentation skills
Excellent data collection (e.g. macronutrient intakes, hydration, body composition, resting metabolic rate, physiological testing etc) and management skills
Ability to critically evaluate scientific research papers to provide practical solutions

Applicants are encouraged to discuss their proposals with the project leads Professor John O’Hara (j.ohara@leedsbeckett.ac.uk) and Dr Meghan Brown (Meghan.Brown@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:

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

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

The deadline for applications is midnight on 26 November 2023

Candidates must be available for interview the week commencing 8 January 2024

For candidates outside the UK. Please ensure that you contact our colleagues in Research Admissions prior to starting your application. They will go through the requirements that will need to be undertaken for you to study in the UK. Research Admissions can be contacted on researchadmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

Application form

Who to contact

To discuss your application and project proposal please contact Applicants are encouraged to discuss their proposals with the project leads Professor John O’Hara (j.ohara@leedsbeckett.ac.uk) and Dr Meghan Brown (Meghan.Brown@leedsbeckett.ac.uk).
For questions on the application process please contact researchadmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk