Cardiovascular Health Sciences research group
The Cardiovascular Health Sciences Research Group investigates the role of exercise and physical activity in shaping cardiovascular and respiratory health, with a primary focus on improving the prevention, early identification, and clinical management of cardiovascular disease.
Understanding how the heart and vasculature adapts to exercise provides a powerful window into both human performance and disease. Our research brings together physiology, imaging, and clinical science to better distinguish health from pathology and ultimately improve cardiovascular outcomes.
David Oxborough
Co-Research Group Lead, RISES
Our core areas of activity
Sports cardiology and pre-participation screening
The Sports Cardiology and Pre-Participation Screening subgroup investigates cardiovascular adaptation to exercise in both elite and recreational athletes. A key focus of our work is improving the ability to differentiate physiological cardiac adaptation from inherited cardiac conditions such as cardiomyopathy.
The group also investigates the cardiovascular effects of image and performance enhancing drugs (IPEDs) in recreational gym users through to competitive bodybuilders.
Cutaneous Vascular and Sudomotor Structure and Function in Health and Disease
The cutaneous vascular and sudomotor function and structure in health and disease subgroup focuses on understanding how the skin’s key vascular and sudomotor functions and structures adapt to exercise and environmental stressors in healthy and disease populations.
Using a range of intricate thermoregulatory and microvascular assessment methods, our research aims to further understand how cutaneous microvascular and sudomotor function and structure respond to exercise and environmental stressors in health and disease.
Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke
Dr Ellen Dawson is part of a large EU consortium (TARGET) led by Dr Sandra Ortega-Martorell at LJMU, which aims to revolutionise the management of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) and AF-related strokes (AFRS).
By developing novel virtual twin-based AI models, TARGET combines mechanistic and data-driven virtual twins with causal AI to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice.
Cardiovascular epidemiology
The Cardiovascular Epidemiology theme focuses on understanding the determinants and distribution of cardiovascular disease and guiding primary and secondary prevention.
Using large-scale datasets and advanced analytical approaches, our research aims to identify the lifestyle, clinical, and biological drivers of cardiovascular risk and translate these findings into evidence-based prevention and precision medicine strategies.
Cardiopulmonary health and climate change
The Cardiopulmonary Health and Climate Change subgroup focuses on how rising temperatures and extreme weather events affect the heart and lungs, particularly in vulnerable populations.
Our research aims to better understand how heat stress impacts people living with long-term heart and/or lung conditions, and to develop new approaches to study these effects.
Nutrition, exercise and cardiometabolic health
The Nutrition, Exercise and Cardiometabolic Health subgroup investigates how dietary patterns and lifestyle behaviours influence cardiometabolic risk across diverse populations.
Clinical exercise physiologists: establishment and recognition as healthcare professional in UK
With funding from Research England, we established Clinical Exercise Physiologists (CEPs) as a registered health professional in the UK.
Clinical Exercise Physiologists are university qualified health professionals who specialise in the prescription and delivery of evidence-based exercise interventions to optimise the prevention, treatment and long-term management of acute, sub-acute, chronic and complex conditions (NHS careers).