Owen Tomlinson

Discipline: Sports and Health Sciences
Research Centre/Unit: Children's Health and Exercise Research Centre

Project Summary

The aim of my project is further the existing evidence base surrounding the use of exercise testing in young patients with CF. I will seek to validate outcomes measures, characterise longitudinal changes in exercise capacity, identify limitations to exercise and utilise exercise testing in assessing interventions.

Supervisory Team

Professor Craig Williams, Dr Alan Barker (University of Exeter)

Dr Patrick Oades (Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust Hospital)

Wider Research Interests

My main research interests lie within exercise physiology, notably in paediatric exercise physiology and the role of exercise in clinical populations. Key interests include:

  • Cardiopulmonary exercise testing
  • High-Intensity Exercise
  • Physical Activity patterns of young people
  • Exercise testing in clinical groups
  • Exercise in the treatment of chronic disease (Cystic Fibrosis, Congenital Heart Disease, Diabetes Mellitus)

Away from these predominant fields, I also hold a keen interest in environmental physiology, in particular the physiological and cognitive responses to hypoxia in humans.

I have also assisted on the following projects as a research assistant:

  • International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment (ISCOLE) - University of Bath; 2011-2012
  • Older Peoples Environment and Cardiovascular Risk (OPECR) - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; 2013-2014
  • Reducing Injury in Female Footballers (RIFF) - University of Gloucestershire/The Football Association; 2014

I also currently sit on the Sport & Health Science 'Health & Safety' committee as a PGR representative.

Authored Publications/Reports

Tomlinson, O. W., Barker, A. R., Oades, P. J., & Williams, C. A. (2016) Exercise capacity following a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in a young female with cystic fibrosis: a case report, Physiological Reports, 4 (16), e12904

Williams, C. A., Saynor, Z. L., Tomlinson, O. W. & Barker, A. R. (2014) Cystic fibrosis and physiological responses to exercise, Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine, 8 (6), 751-762

Cockcroft, E. J., Williams, C. A., Tomlinson, O. W., Vlachopoulos, D., Jackman, S. R., Armstrong, N. & Barker, A. R. (2015) High intensity interval exercise is an effective alternative to moderate intensity exercise for improving glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in adolescent boys, Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 18 (6), 720-724

Saynor, Z. L., Barker, A. R., Oades, P. J., Tomlinson, O. W., & Williams, C. A. (2016) Validity and Reliability Concerns Associated with Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing Young People with Cystic Fibrosis, Respiration, 92 (1), 61-62

Tomlinson, O. W., Barker, A. R., Oades, P. J., & Williams, C. A. (2017) Scaling the oxygen uptake efficiency slope for body size in cystic fibrosis, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, In Press

Williams, C. A., Saynor, Z. L., Tomlinson, O. W., Oades, P. J., & Barker, A. R. (2017) Skeletal muscle metabolic abnormalities in cystic fibrosis responses of the metabolic system relative to changes in exercise intensity. Comment in response to CrossTalk debate: ‘Skeletal muscle oxidative capacity is/is not altered in patients with cysti, Journal of Physiology, In Press