Professor David Woods

David is a Consultant Endocrinologist in the Defence Medical Services, Reader in Military Medicine and Professor of Sport and Exercise Endocrinology, Leeds Beckett University.

David's research interests focus on the interaction of the human with the environment, particularly in relation to exercise under hypoxic or thermal stress. Recent research strategies have included an investigation of the endocrine, cardiac and physiological response to normobaric and hypobaric hypoxia. Recent field studies in Nepal, Bolivia and the Alps have examined subjects suffering acute mountain sickness or high pulmonary artery systolic pressure and identified brain natriuretic peptide as a potential biomarker. These studies are complimented by laboratory based studies in the hypobaric chamber at the Centre for Aviation Medicine, RAF Henlow and the normobaric hypoxic chamber here in Leeds. Future work will build on these themes and in particular investigate pre-acclimatization strategies.

Research in the field of thermal stress has four major strands: the assessment of the effect of heat and physical exercise on the gonadotrophic axis and spermatogenesis; investigation of the thermal burden of exercise for the soldier in a hot environment; investigating hyponatraemic heat illness in collaboration with the Institute of Naval Medicine and the search for a biomarker for thermal stress.