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Fully funded PhD position in stair climbing (Liverpool, UK)

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  • Fully funded PhD position in stair climbing (Liverpool, UK)

    Why are non-uniform staircases so hazardous to older people and how can we intervene to reduce falls?

    Supervisory team: Dr Thomas O’Brien, Prof Costis Maganaris and Dr Mark Hollands

    This PhD studentship provides support to cover tuition fees, an annual stipend of £13,726 and experimental costs.

    Stair climbing is a hazardous activity for older people with more than 350,000 injuries and 550 deaths resulting from stair falls every year in the UK alone. These injuries are costly both for the individual in terms of mobility, independence and quality of life, and for Health Services. For reasons that we do not fully understand, many falls occur on steps with inconsistent dimensions. Consequently, evidence is currently lacking on how to intervene and what functional abilities to improve to tackle this problem. This project will combine eye-tracking and motion analysis to explore stair climbing strategies in older and younger adults when climbing stair cases of inconsistent step dimensions, with the purpose of developing novel interventions to improve stair-climbing safety and ability. Trialling such an intervention will form the second part of the programme of work.

    This project will be based at the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences of Liverpool John Moores University, which in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF2014) has been recognised as an internationally outstanding research centre and ranked 11th best academic department across all disciplines in the UK. Our research group brings together a multi-disciplinary team from biomechanics and motor control and the measurements will be taken using state-of-art equipment, including a purpose-built automated instrumented staircase.

    Entry requirements
    We are seeking excellent candidates who preferably have a Master’s degree in human movement sciences, or other bio-engineering related disciplines. Expertise in biomechanics and motion analysis is essential, and experience with eye-tracking will be advantageous. It is essential that candidates can demonstrate the personal skills to recruit older participants within the community and maintain engagement throughout interventions.

    Informal enquiries are welcome and should be addressed to Dr Thomas O’Brien.
    Applicants should send a CV and covering letter outlining their experience and suitability for this project to Dr Thomas O’Brien by email:
    e: T.D.OBrien@ljmu.ac.uk
    t: 0151 904 6259

    The closing date for applications is Midnight on Sunday 31st October 2015

    Interviews will take place in the second week of November
    It is hoped that the successful candidate will take post in December


    LJMU Biomechanics group: https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/faculties/faculty-of-science/school-of-sport-and-exercise-sciences/research/biomechanics-research-group




    Thomas D O'Brien,
    Senior Lecturer in Musculoskeletal Biomechanics,
    Liverpool John Moores University,
    England
    Last edited by Thomas D O'Brien; September 28, 2015, 08:34 AM.
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