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Patients and members of the public can get involved in our research in many different ways. Involving patients and the public in our research helps us to answer many research questions. The needs of all of our volunteers are always considered throughout the research process.
We often need volunteers for a wide range of our research studies. Each study follows a carefully designed protocol that has been approved by local ethics committees. Some of the studies may also provide a small inconvenience allowance. You would have to undergo safety screening before participating in any of our research studies. Please note that you cannot start to participate in a new medical research study within 3 months of finishing a different one.
If you would like to volunteer to participate in one of our studies, please see a list of the research projects we are currently recruiting for below.
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The CHAIN I Study (in partnership with CHAIN II) is investigating how inactivity affects the way that the body works.
The biological processes that underpin the relationship between physical activity levels and health remain unclear. Addressing this topic has been deemed vital within the field of human chronic diseases and aging, in order to help more adults reach old age in better health and maintain a good quality of life for longer.
Therefore, we are looking for adults aged between 55 to 65 years who are not actively involved in exercise training or do not have a regular physical activity regimen, but walk between 8,000 and 10,000 steps per day.
For six months, participants will be asked to reduce their daily physical activity to match the amount that most UK adults undertake. This is walking less than 4500 steps per day and increasing sitting time to 7hrs per day.Over this six month period, we will assess how body function, diet and activity levels.
At the end of the 6-month period we will provide supervised reconditioning exercise sessions to restore fitness levels.
The CHAIN II Study (in partnership with CHAIN I) is investigating how inactivity affects the way that the body works.
The biological processes that underpin the relationship between physical activity levels and health remain unclear. CHAIN II aims to identify changes that occur in the functioning of tissues and organs in the body and the time frame that these changes occur, in response to increasing and decreasing physical activity levels.
Therefore, the CHAIN II Study is looking for adults aged between 55 to 65 years who are not actively invovled in exercise training, do not have a regular physical activity regimen, walk less than 5,000 steps per day and sit for more than 8 hours per day.
For six months, participants will be asked to increase their daily physical activity by attending 3 supervised exercise sessions a week at the David Greenfield Human Physiology Unit within the University of Nottingham Medical School.Over this six month period, we will assess how body function, diet and activity levels.
The Menopause & Muscle Repair study aims to explore the influence of the menopause on the skeletal muscle's ability to repair itself following exercise induced muscle damage. Previous research suggests that oestrogen plays a critical role in muscle repair, but this connection has yet to be investigated specifically in relation to the menopause—a phase where oestrogen levels significantly decline. To study this, we will assess muscle repair in both pre- and post-menopausal women, who will engage in exercise targeting the quadriceps (front thigh muscles). Blood samples and muscle biopsies will be collected before and after exercise over a four-day period to observe muscle recovery patterns.
We are looking for pre- and post-menopausal women who meet the following criteria:
If interested, please click the link below to contact Marion Hanquet for more information.
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Sarcopenia describes the progressive decline of muscle mass and strength with advancing age and is associated with increased frailty and morbidity, and evidence suggests it develops earlier in women compared to men. The earlier development of sarcopenia in women appears to coincide with the menopause. Exercise is known to increase muscle mass, but this response reduces with aging. In this study we will examine the effect of menopausal status and exercise on muscle mass, strength, and fat mass.
We are looking for adult women who meet the following criteria:
For further details, please click on the study link above, or contact us via email below.
Muscle mass and strength decline with advancing age and is associated with increased frailty and morbidity; however, we do not currently have an effective treatment. We know protein feeding and exercise increase muscle mass, but we do not understand when the optimum time to ingest protein is to maximise muscle mass after exercise in older people. In this study we will examine the effect of feeding protein after exercise either with a meal or between meals.
We are looking to recruit 10 healthy males aged 65-75yrs who will be asked to:
Unfortunately, participants will be unable to take part if:
If you are interested to take part in the study, then contact Jo Mallinson for more details for more information using the email link below.
We are looking to recruit adults aged over 65 years to help us examine whether consuming the soluble dietary fibre, called pectin, affects appetite and food intake.
Participants will be asked to:
Unfortunately, participants will not be eligible to take part in the study if:
For participating in the study, participants will receive an Amazon voucher as a thank you.
The CRNitrateMRI study aims to investigate the combined effects of beetroot juice (dietary nitrate) plus a weight-loss diet (caloric restriction) on the brain and vascular functions in older adults (aged 60 - 75 years old). There is evidence to suggest that consuming beetroot juice, a good source of dietary nitrate, whilst restricting your energy intake may improves cognition (e.g., memory), brain blood flow, and blood vessel function with the results helping us to develop future studies to test the effects of combining dietary nitrate and energy restriction in people at a higher risk of developing diseases related to cognitive declines, like dementia.
The study will involve drinking beetroot juice and following a diet for 28 days. Participants will be required to have two brain MRI scans, along with measurements of cognitive and vascular function.
An inconvenience allowance will be paid and all food will be provided for the four week period.
To register your interest for the study, please fill in the form above (click on the photo), or you can email us at the email via the link below quoting the reference "CRNitrateMRI Study"
Eccentric exercise is used to prevent musculoskeletal injuries and assist with rehabilitation. However, unaccustomed eccentric exercise can result in the development of muscle soreness and a loss of muscle strength and power in the days following exercise. The cause of these negative effects remains poorly understood, but recent advances in sodium-MRI now allows us to assess the biochemical mechanisms that may underpin such phenomena. Therefore, this study aims to use sodium-MRI scanning to investigate differences that occur in the amount of sodium which is inside and outside of muscle cells (and their relationship to the loss and recovery of muscle power) the days following an eccentric exercise training session.
Requirements
If interested, please contact Charles Steward for more information using the email link below.
We are looking for students aged 18-30 AND women aged 52-65 to take part in an exciting research study on how a probiotic dairy drink and fibre supplement can support mental wellbeing and gut health. By the end of the study participants will receive a free gut microbiome report.
The study period is 6 weeks and participants will be asked to:
You may not be eligible if you are lactose intolerance or have gastrointestinal conditions like Crohn’s, IBS/IBD etc.
Please get in touch for more information regarding eligibility.
The REHIT-W Study aims to examine the effects of high-intensity interval exercise (HIIT) combined with muscle strength training on aerobic fitness and strength in women aged 60+.
The study period is 12-weeks and participants will be be asked to attend the University of Nottingham for three 30-minute exercise sessions per week.
If interested, please contact Dr Tasuku Terada for more information using the email link below.
David Greenfield Human Physiology Unit School of Life Sciences Medical School University of Nottingham Nottingham, NG7 2UH