Salary Range:
£9,662.00 - £9,662.00
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, creating a community where colleagues feel respected and valued. We aim to reflect the diversity of our students and communities, and to strengthen our university through collaboration and diverse perspectives, across all roles at the University.
Established in 2003, the School of Sport, Exercise & Rehabilitation Sciences (SERS) sits within the Faculty of Health Sciences. Continued investment in facilities, equipment, and teaching and research staff has helped build our growing international reputation. Our team of academic staff deliver a diverse range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, including taught MSc courses, MSc by Research and PhDs. Our teaching is gold standard, evidenced by the most recent Teaching Excellence Framework rating.
Our staff and students are committed to fostering sporting excellence, promoting health and wellbeing and advancing recovery from injury and/or illness. Our research priorities are focused on the assessment and management of cardiorespiratory health, prosthetic provision and long-term rehabilitation for people living with limb loss, cancer survivorship through exercise and lifestyle interventions, and athlete development and performance.
We offer a fully funded PhD opportunity, including stipend of £21,805 per annum and full tuition fees covered at the UK rate.
We are looking to appoint two Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA) to our School from September 2026. As a GTA, you will undertake PhD research and gain valuable teaching experience in the Higher Education sector. The GTA position is part-time, and the PhD position is full-time. Based in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, you will have access to our impressive research and teaching facilities. These include our vast new biomechanics laboratory, with state-of-the-art marker-based and markerless Theia motion capture technologies, multiple force plates, musculoskeletal modelling software, EMG, isokinetic dynamometry and a strength and conditioning suite with 1080 Sprint. Our physiology laboratories include an environmental chamber, specialist respiratory physiology and lung function testing facilities, and High Performance Centre for elite sport, as well as an extensively equipped Sport Rehabilitation suite and Health and Injury Performance Hub, which houses a new anti-gravity treadmill and therapeutic facilities.
We have a strong track-record of our GTA staff gaining permanent academic or research positions on graduation. You will have plenty of opportunity to develop your specific PhD research within our main research themes. We would be pleased to receive applications from candidates keen to undertake doctoral studies specifically relating to the following projects:
1) Growing into the Game: Understanding Female Footballer Health, Development, Cognition and Performance During Adolescence (supervisors: Dr Kate Donnan [email protected] and Dr Chris Towlson-McLaren [email protected])
2) ACTIVE Asthma: Co-designing Exercise Guidance for People with Asthma (supervisors: Dr Andrew Simpson [email protected] , Dr Laura Gale [email protected] and Prof Mike Crooks)
3) Movement Economy in People with a Below-Knee Amputation: Comparing Standard and Self-Aligning Ankle Prostheses for People with Limited Mobility (supervisors: Dr Tom Nickolay [email protected] , Dr Steve Hayes [email protected] and Prof Natalie Vanicek [email protected])
4) The Cyclical Nature of Perfectionism: Understanding of the Reciprocal Relationship Between Performance and Perfectionism in the Sport Domain. (supervisors: Dr Dan Fleming [email protected] , Prof Adam Nicholls [email protected] and Dr Laura Gale [email protected] )
Please prepare a brief literature review (up to 500 words) on your chosen topic (from the list above) and identify at least one research gap within the area. You should have a minimum of a 2:1 undergraduate degree in a Sport and/or Exercise Science, Sports Rehabilitation (or equivalent) disciplines and good attainment within your undergraduate research project, or thesis. You should also have excellent written and oral communication skills, be able to work well independently and be highly motivated to undertake PhD research.
Interviews will take place on the week commencing 7th September 2026.
In addition to the literature review, applicants are required to submit a covering letter outlining how their qualifications and experience meet the Person Specification in the Job Description below. The covering letter should be no more than 500 words. For more information regarding the specific duties for the role please view the job description here
Applications close at 00:01am of the closing date listed. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications. If you are interested in this role, please submit your application as early as possible.
