Professor Grant Abt

Professor Grant Abt

Professor of Exercise Physiology

+44 (0)1482 463397 | G.Abt@hull.ac.uk

Faculty and Department

  • Faculty of Health Sciences
  • School of Sport Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences

Related groups

  • Sport Health and Exercise Science (SHES)

Qualifications

  • PhD / DPhil

Summary

I am a Professor of Exercise Physiology in the Department of Sport, Health and Exercise Science. Originally from Queensland, Australia, I moved to the UK in 2000. From 2000 to 2007 I lectured in sport and exercise physiology at Cumbria University before moving to my current post at Hull.

My research is focussed on the use of consumer wearable technology for measuring physical activity, and I lead the Personal Technologies research group https://www.hull.ac.uk/work-with-us/research/groups/personal-technologies . This work includes examining the validity of wearable devices, such as the ability of the Apple Watch for measuring moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and the relationship between walking cadence and relative-intensity as measured by oxygen consumption reserve and heart rate reserve. Our latest studies (https://osf.io/j39fa) examine the efficacy of a novel Apple Watch app for measuring MVPA and for using haptic feedback (vibration and audio) to guide exercise intensity.

Prior to my current focus my research examined the performance and physiological responses to intermittent exercise, including methods of individualising player monitoring and match analysis, and elite football referees.

I am a Fellow of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

I am currently the module leader for:

Level 6 - Dissertation

Level 7 - Research Methods and Statistics

Recent outputs

View more outputs

Journal Article

Associations between physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and alcohol consumption among UK adults: Findings from the Health Behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic (HEBECO) study

Akwa, L. G., Smith, L., Twiddy, M., Abt, G., Garnett, C., Oldham, M., …Herbec, A. (2023). Associations between physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and alcohol consumption among UK adults: Findings from the Health Behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic (HEBECO) study. PLoS ONE, 18(10 October), Article e0287199. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287199

Maureen Twiddy Lesley Smith

Agreement and relationship between measures of absolute and relative intensity during walking: A systematic review with meta-regression

Warner, A., Vanicek, N., Benson, A., Myers, T., & Abt, G. (2022). Agreement and relationship between measures of absolute and relative intensity during walking: A systematic review with meta-regression. PLoS ONE, 17(11), Article e0277031. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277031

Natalie Vanicek

Raising the bar in sports performance research

Abt, G., Jobson, S., Morin, J. B., Passfield, L., Sampaio, J., Sunderland, C., & Twist, C. (in press). Raising the bar in sports performance research. Journal of sports sciences, https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2021.2024334

Perceptions of professional soccer coaches, support staff and players toward virtual reality and the factors that modify their intention to use it

Greenhough, B., Barrett, S., Towlson, C., & Abt, G. (2021). Perceptions of professional soccer coaches, support staff and players toward virtual reality and the factors that modify their intention to use it. PLoS ONE, 16(12), Article e0261378. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261378

Christopher McLaren-Towlson

The effect of bio-banding on technical and tactical indicators of talent identification in academy soccer players

Towlson, C., Abt, G., MacMaster, C., Gonçalves, B., Sampaio, J., Toner, J., … Myers, T. (in press). The effect of bio-banding on technical and tactical indicators of talent identification in academy soccer players. Science and Medicine in Football, https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2021.2013522

Christopher McLaren-Towlson John Toner

Research interests

I have a number of research interests:

1. The use of consumer wearable technology for measuring physical activity. Current projects include the validity of the Apple Watch for measuring moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and the relationship between walking cadence (intensity) and MVPA. Dr Abt leads the Personal Technologies research group at the University of Hull (https://www.hull.ac.uk/work-with-us/research/groups/personal-technologies.aspx).

2. The physiology of team sports. Current projects include a number of PhD and MSc studentships in collaboration with Hull City FC and projects related to maturation and the use of bio-banding in soccer.

3. Statistics in sport and exercise science. I have a keen interest in how statistics are used (and abused) in sport and exercise science, and how statistics are taught in sport and exercise science programmes.

Lead investigator

Project

Funder

Grant

Started

Status

Project

The dose response relationships between measures of training load and changes in fitness in professional youth soccer players

Funder

Hull City Tigers Ltd

Grant

£15,000.00

Started

1 July 2016

Status

Complete

Co-investigator

Project

Funder

Grant

Started

Status

Project

Digital delivery of lifestyle behaviour change in patients requiring cardiac surgery? A scoping exercise focusing on patients and healthcare professionals

Funder

British Heart Foundation

Grant

£7,850.00

Started

12 September 2022

Status

Ongoing

Project

TRANSFORM: The development of a mobile phone app to capture the journey time and patient experience throughout a day in the life of cancer patient attending hospital.

Funder

YCR Yorkshire Cancer Research

Grant

£25,088.00

Started

1 October 2021

Status

Complete

Project

Maturity-status ‘bio-banding’ as a tool for ongoing talent (de)selection of academy soccer players using a multi-disciplinary approach

Funder

UEFA Union of European Football Associations

Grant

£12,500.00

Started

1 June 2018

Status

Complete

Postgraduate supervision

I welcome PhD/MSc applications in the areas of:

1. Wearable technology - using consumer wearable technology (such as the Apple Watch) to monitor physical activity and health.

2. Sport physiology - various aspects of team sport physiology including the measurement of training response and wearable technology.

I also supervise postgraduate students in other fields (such as addiction) where there is a focus on physical activity and exercise.

Completed PhDs

1. Ibrahim Akubat (PhD, 2013)

2. Will Evans (PhD, 2017)

3. Dan Weaving (PhD, 2017)

4. James Bray (PhD, 2018)

5. Gallin Montgomery (PhD, 2018)

6. Alaa Khushhal (PhD, 2019)

7. Nikki Simpson (PhD, 2019)

Current PhD supervisions

1. Ashley Warner - The efficacy of heart rate and cadence-guided walking for measuring physical activity.

2. Aimee Evans - Examining player recovery kinetics in professional football.

3. Ben Greenhough - The efficacy of virtual reality in professional football.

4. Buse Apel - The effectiveness of physical activity for alcohol addiction reduction.

5. Lady Akwa - The effectiveness of physical activity for alcohol addiction reduction.

Journal editorial role

Executive Editor - Journal of Sports Sciences

2016

Section Editor - Journal of Sports Sciences

2012 - 2016

Membership/Fellowship of professional body

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

2021

Fellow of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences

2017

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