Human health and performance

Science programme: Human health and performance

HortResearch Human health and performance programme is recognised nationally and internationally in the area of sport monitoring. It comprises projects aimed at defining individually optimised exercise and training protocols with specific and timed nutritional supplement administration to bring about enhanced performance and wellbeing.

This objective will be enabled by using real-time sampling and measurement systems to follow changes of selected hormones and markers of oxidative stress/inflammatory events in biological fluids (transdermal exudate, saliva and blood).

We have a cross-disciplinary team, with expertise in: stress and exercise physiology, biochemistry, endocrinology, immunology, biosensor technology, chemistry, and engineering.

The Human health and performance team is currently working on:

Non invasive sampling technologies and real-time portable biosensor devices for measuring key biomarkers and dynamic hormone changes re levant for sports performance and health.
A technology platform for assessing metabolic and inflammatory aspects of exercise performance and health.
Nutritional supplements and fruit-derived compounds for functional foods to improve wellbeing and physical performance.

We work with elite athletes, coaches, sport physiologists and nutritionists to improve performance.

For a better understanding of our research, we recommend the following documents:

N D Gill, C M Beaven, and C Cook
Effectiveness of post-match recovery strategies in rugby players
Br J Sports Med 2006; 40: 260-263.

Hurst , S.M., McLoughlin, R.M., Monslow, J., Owens, S., Morgan, L., Fuller, G.M., Topley, N., & Jones , S.A. (2002).
Secretion of Oncostatin M by infiltrating neutrophils: Regulation of IL-6 and chemokine expression in human mesothelial cells.
J. Immunol., 169:5244-5251.

Hurst , S.M., Wilkinson, T.S., McLoughlin, R.M., Jones, S., Horiuchi, S., Yamamoto, N., Rose-John, S., Fuller, G.M., Topley, N., & Jones , S.A. (2001).
IL-6 and its soluble receptor orchestrate a temporal switch in the pattern of leukocyte recruitment seen during acute inflammation.
Immunity, 14:1-20.

Tan, K.H., McLeod, J.D., Purcell, W.M., Heales, S.J.R., & Hurst, R.D. (2002)
T cell-induced blood-brain barrier damage/endothelial cell cytoxicity.
NeuroReport. 13, 2587-2592.

Crewther B, Cronin J, Keogh J
Possible stimuli for strength and power adaptation - Acute metabolic responses
SPORTS MEDICINE 36 (1): 65-78 2006

Mitchell JS, Wu YQ, Cook CJ, et al.
Sensitivity enhancement of surface plasmon resonance biosensing of small molecules
ANALYTICAL BIOCHEMISTRY 343 (1): 125-135 AUG 1 2005

Young BJ, Cook CJ
Stress-induced modification of anxiety in rats is dependent on reproductive status
PHYSIOLOGY & BEHAVIOR 80 (4): 569-575 JAN 2004

Cook CJ
Real-time measurements of corticosteroids in conscious animals using an antibody-based electrode
NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY 15 (5): 467-471 MAY 1997

Wu, Y.; Mitchell, J. S.; Cook, C. J.; Main, L.
Evaluation of Progesterone – Ovalbumin Conjugates with Different Length Linkers in Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay and Surface Plasmon Resonance-Based Immunoassay.
Steroids, 2002, 67 (7), 565-572.

Contact Margot Skinner