Dr Paul Ansdell

My research focuses on how age, sex, and hormonal status interact to determine physiological function in health and disease.

Examples of our work include studies of how the menstrual cycle and menopause influence central nervous system function in healthy females, as well as females with multiple sclerosis; as well as studies of how the physiological responses to exercise differ between males and females.

Currently my work is funded by research councils (BBSRC), charities (MS Society) and industry, and our group is made up of postgraduate students, Ph.D candidates, and postdoctoral researchers. 

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Comparison of predicted aerobic capacity to measured aerobic capacity in menopausal women: an analysis of three methods, Rattley, C., Felton, M., Ansdell, P., Dewhurst, S., Neal, R. 27 Jun 2025, In: Climacteric
• Experiences of athletes in a simulation based applied sports science university assessment: Identifying areas for improvement, Jones, T., Ansdell, P. 1 Jun 2025, In: Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education
• Female Brain and Endocrinological Research Veteran (FemBER-Vet) Study: A study protocol for identifying endocrinological, lifestyle and psychosocial determinants of brain health outcomes in female veterans for future intervention success, Watermeyer, T., Atkinson, E., Howatson, G., McGill, G., Dodds, C., Ansdell, P., Udeh-Momoh, C. 22 Jan 2025, In: PLoS One
• Reticulospinal function can be measured in the tibialis anterior using the StartReact method, Hayman, O., Atkinson, E., Ansdell, P., Angius, L., Thomas, K., Howatson, G., Kidgell, D., Skarabot, J., Goodall, S. 1 Jun 2025, In: Advanced Exercise and Health Science
• Submaximal 2‐day cardiopulmonary exercise testing to assess exercise capacity and post‐exertional symptom exacerbation in people with long COVID, Thomas, C., Kudiersky, N., Ansdell, P., Ashton, R., Brown, C., Bewick, T., Carr, J., Hume, E., Spillane, P., Pastorio, E., Owen, R., Maden‐Wilkinson, T., McNeil‐Angopa, E., Parkington, T., Arena, R., Ozemek, C., Formenti, F., Veluswamy, S., Gururaj, R., Faghy, M. 13 Jun 2025, In: Experimental Physiology
• The effect of sex on the cardiopulmonary and neuromuscular response to high-intensity interval exercise, Wilson, H., Bernert, L., Spillane, P., Squires, E., Crawford, L., Piasecki, J., Julian, R., Wilhelm, E., Hicks, K., Ansdell, P. 1 Jul 2025, In: American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology
• The effect of the menstrual cycle and oral contraceptive pill on countermovement jump height, perceived recovery and readiness to train following a strength-based exercise session, McNulty, K., Ansdell, P., Goodall, S., Thomas, K., Elliott-Sale, K., Howatson, G., Hicks, K. 9 Jun 2025, In: Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal
• Ventilation differences in the menstrual cycle: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Rattley, C., Ansdell, P., Burgess, L., Felton, M., Dewhurst, S., Armstrong, M., Neal, R. 30 Jun 2025, In: Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology
• Anodal tDCS improves neuromuscular adaptations to short-term resistance training of the knee extensors in healthy individuals, Angius, L., Ansdell, P., Škarabot, J., Goodall, S., Thomas, K., Cowper, G., Santarnecchi, E., Kidgell, D., Howatson, G. 1 Dec 2024, In: Journal of Neurophysiology
• Changes in motor unit behaviour across repeated bouts of eccentric exercise, Hayman, O., Ansdell, P., Angius, L., Thomas, K., Horsbrough, L., Howatson, G., Kidgell, D., Škarabot, J., Goodall, S. 1 Nov 2024, In: Experimental Physiology

Padraig Spillane Neurophysiology and plasticity across the female lifespan Start Date: 01/10/2022

I am a co-lead of the Women's Sport and Wellbeing Interdisciplinary Research Theme.

I am also the Theme Lead for Human, Environmental, and Exercise Physiology within the Physiological Society.