Leeds Beckett University Sponsored PhD Studentship in collaboration with World Rugby - Injury Prevention in Youth Girls Rugby Union: Understanding Risk and Evaluating Prevention Strategies

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World Rugby and the Carnegie School of Sport are looking to recruit a highly motivated individual to undertake a PhD studentship 'Injury prevention in youth girls rugby union: Understanding risk and evaluating prevention strategies'

Full-time
Funded (UK Fees and Stipend)
Start date: June 2023
Location: Leeds, UK
Funding note: The studentship has a bursary of £17,668 per annum (pro-rata into 12 monthly payments) plus UK Fees paid initially for a period of three years

Leeds Beckett University, in collaboration with World Rugby, University of Calgary (Canada), University of Bath (England) and the Rugby Football Union are looking to recruit a highly motivated individual to join the research team at Leeds Beckett University. The PhD studentship will involve working alongside a leading international multidisciplinary research team and governing bodies to deliver a large-scale impactful research project. The candidate will have access to the world-class facilities at the Carnegie School of Sport, including the £45 million new build.

The quality of Carnegie School of Sport research is evident in the outstanding results achieved in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, where we ranked 2nd nationally when accounting for both research quality and the number of contributing staff (Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism). Within the Carnegie School of Sport, the Carnegie Applied Rugby Research (CARR) centre, led by Prof. Ben Jones and Prof. Kevin Till, undertakes high quality applied research with international and national governing bodies, and a range of professional sports teams. The CARR centre has over 60 researchers, working collaboratively to improve athlete welfare and performance.

Research Team:

Professor Ben Jones (Principal Investigator / Director of Studies; b.jones@leedsbeckett.ac.uk)
Omar Heyward (Project Lead / Supervisor; o.heyward@leedsbeckett.ac.uk)
Dr Stephen West and Professor Keith Stokes (Advisors; University of Bath)
Professor Carolyn Emery (Advisor; University of Calgary)

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 (£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.

Injury prevention in youth girls rugby union: Understanding risk and evaluating prevention strategies

Leeds Beckett University in collaboration with World Rugby

Rugby union is a contact sport, whereby players are required to engage in repeated physical contacts during training and match play. The tackle in rugby causes the greatest injury burden in senior men and women. The injury incidence and prevalence of girls rugby is relatively unknown. Understanding injury epidemiology in girl’s rugby and evaluating prevention strategies is a priority to enhance player welfare and injury management.

This project is being conducted across Canada and the UK. The successful applicant will work collaboratively with World Rugby, University of Calgary, University of Bath and the Rugby Football Union. The aim of the project, is to systematically examine the incidence, nature and severity of rugby injuries (and specifically head injuries) sustained in youth girls’ rugby in England and to identify ways in which the risk of injury to rugby players might be reduced.

The project will involve:

i) Prospective injury epidemiology to identify overall injury risk and specific injury patterns in a sample of schools and club teams
ii) Exploring head impacts during rugby matches using video analysis and wearable sensor technology
iii) Evaluating injury prevention approaches (e.g., injury prevention exercise programmes, law variations, tackle training)

The candidates will be expected to be based in Leeds, working both independently and collaboratively as part of a broader research team.

Hear more about the project from Omar Heyward here

Cross, M. J., Tucker, R., Raftery, M., Hester, B., Williams, S., Stokes, K. A., Ranson, C., Mathema, P., & Kemp, S. (2019). Tackling concussion in professional rugby union: a case-control study of tackle-based risk factors and recommendations for primary prevention. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(16), 1021–1025. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097912

Hendricks, S., Till, K., den Hollander, S., Savage, T. N., Roberts, S. P., Tierney, G., Burger, N., Kerr, H., Kemp, S., Cross, M., Patricios, J., McKune, A. J., Bennet, M., Rock, A., Stokes, K. A., Ross, A., Readhead, C., Quarrie, K. L., Tucker, R., & Jones, B. (2020). Consensus on a video analysis framework of descriptors and definitions by the Rugby Union Video Analysis Consensus group. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(10), 566–572. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101293

Heyward, O., Emmonds, S., Roe, G., Scantlebury, S., Stokes, K. and Jones, B., 2021. Applied sport science and medicine of women’s rugby codes: a systematic-scoping review and consensus on future research priorities protocol. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 7(3), p.e001108.

Scantlebury, S., Ramirez, C., Cummins, C., Stokes, K., Tee, J., Minahan, C., Emmonds, S., McCormack, S., Phillips, G. and Jones, B., 2022. Injury risk factors and barriers to their mitigation for women playing rugby league: a Delphi study. Journal of sports sciences, 40(13), pp.1436-1449.

Shill, I.J., West, S.W., Sick, S., Schneider, K., Hagel, B.E., Pasanen, K., Wiley, J.P., Emery, C.A. and Black, A.M., 2022. Injuries and concussions in female high school rugby: prevention is worth a try. Clinical journal of sport medicine, 32(5), pp.508-516.

Starling, L.T., Gabb, N., Williams, S., Kemp, S. and Stokes, K.A., 2022. Longitudinal study of six seasons of match injuries in elite female rugby union. British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Stokes, K. A., Locke, D., Roberts, S., Henderson, L., Tucker, R., Ryan, D., & Kemp, S. (2021). Does reducing the height of the tackle through law change in elite men's rugby union (The Championship, England) reduce the incidence of concussion? A controlled study in 126 games. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 55(4), 220–225. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101557

Tucker, R., Raftery, M., Fuller, G. W., Hester, B., Kemp, S., & Cross, M. J. (2017). A video analysis of head injuries satisfying the criteria for a head injury assessment in professional Rugby Union: a prospective cohort study. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 51(15), 1147–1151. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097883

Tucker, R., Raftery, M., Kemp, S., Brown, J., Fuller, G., Hester, B., Cross, M., & Quarrie, K. (2017). Risk factors for head injury events in professional rugby union: a video analysis of 464 head injury events to inform proposed injury prevention strategies. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 51(15), 1152–1157. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097895

West, S.W., Shill, I.J., Sutter, B., George, J., Ainsworth, N., Wiley, J.P., Patricios, J. and Emery, C.A., 2022. Caught on camera: a video assessment of suspected concussion and other injury events in women's rugby union. Journal of science and medicine in sport, 25(10), pp.805-809.

West, S.W., Shill, I.J., Clermont, C., Pavlovic, N., Cairns, J., Seselja, B., Hancock, M.V., Roberts, S.P., Hendricks, S. and Emery, C.A., 2022. Same name, same game, but is it different? An investigation of female rugby union match events in Canadian Varsity players. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 17(5), pp.1119-1127.

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 WR2)
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 10th April 2023

Candidates must be available for interview week commencing 1st May 2023

Application form

Who to contact

To discuss the project please contact Professor Ben Jones (b.jones@leedsbeckett.ac.uk) and Omar Heyward (o.heyward@leedsbeckett.ac.uk)
For questions on the application process; researchadmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

If you are applying from outside the UK it is important that you are aware of the entry and additional fee requirements. Before you apply please contact colleagues in our LBU Graduate School researchadmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk for further information, to discuss the requirements and your application.