The ISEH - Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health

10/08/2026

ISEH’s Dr Theo Farley recently published a study, (which included Professor Mike Loosemore MBE and a dedicated team of researchers including ISEH UCL sports medicine students), whereby they investigated the effectiveness of two practical neck strengthening programmes designed to improve isometric neck strength in male and female amateur rugby players.

This study (involving 142 male and female amateur rugby players) is believed to be the first to demonstrate an effective neck strengthening intervention in female athletes and also explored links between neck strength, body measurements, training experience, and concussion history.

Swipe for some key insights.

The authors have developed two protocols that are low-cost, time-efficient, and require minimal equipment, making them easy to implement in team training environments.

Dr Farley shared: "It is fantastic to have had so many UCL Sports Medicine students work on this project and have them represented as authors..."

Keep reading: https://iseh.co.uk/news/latest-news/new-study-investigating-the-effectiveness-of-two-practical-neck-strengthening-programmes-in-improving-isometric-neck-strength-among-male-and-female-amateur-rugby-players

Patrick Hogben Lesley McBride Thomas Phillips Tom Williams
Huub Habets Emma Bellairs Baker Greg McHale Jai Gidwani Yazir Raza
Andrew Durham

04/08/2026

Last month marked an exciting milestone for the global exercise neuroscience community as the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH) and UCL hosted the inaugural international conference, Boosting Brain Health Through Lifestyle Interventions. Further highlights from the event are shared here.

A defining feature of the conference was its strong emphasis on cross-disciplinary and cross-sector collaboration, achieved through interactive panel discussions and workshops that brought together expertise from across research, clinical practice, and industry.

More than 200 delegates from five continents gathered in London to explore the latest advances in how physical activity and other lifestyle factors can support brain health across the lifespan.

The scientific programme covered a broad range of topics, including dementia prevention, clinical rehabilitation, exercise neurobiology, nutrition, mechanistic pathways, biomarkers, and lifestyle medicine.

Delegates heard keynote presentations from internationally recognised leaders in the field, including founding committee members Professor Kirk Erickson, Associate Professor Christiane Wrann, and Associate Professor Henriette van Praag, alongside an outstanding programme of invited speakers and high-quality submitted research presentations.

The four-day conference, developed and chaired by Professor Flaminia Ronca, brought together world-leading academics, clinicians, practitioners, and early career researchers to exchange knowledge, develop new collaborations, and help shape the future of exercise neuroscience.

Prof Ronca said “It was inspiring to welcome such a diverse group gathered with one common goal: improving people’s lives. Delegates across multiple sectors, disciplines and career stages connected to build something meaningful. I really look forward to developing this further together.”

We extend our sincere thanks to everyone whose dedication and support made this event possible - Keep reading: https://iseh.co.uk/news/latest-news/iseh-and-ucl-host-international-conference-on-boosting-brain-health-through-lifestyle-interventions

Founding Committee
Flaminia Ronca, Christiane Wrann, Henriette van Praag, and Kirk Erickson.

Scientific Committee
Raha Razin, Takeshi Hashimoto, Matthew Taylor, Liye Zou, Irene Esteban-Cornejo, Sina Rosenkranz, Evandro Fang, Mike Loosemore, Filip Swirski, Giselle Petzinger, Michael Jakowec, Lauren Oberlin, Swathi Gujral, Chinedu Momoh, Anthony Hannan, Andrew Ahn, Daphne van der Putte, Jaime Tartar, Benjamin Tari, PhD, Guido Orgs and Henning Boecker.

Hackathon Committee
Rebeca Gavrila (Chair), Jordan Masys, Abbie M. Terun Desai, Kate Rattley, Uzair Hakim, PhD, and Tim Morris.

Support and Organisation
Abbie Mason, Laura Robertson, Helen Bell, Sophie Flanagan, Sarah Thackray, Sophia Watson, and Aisha Abass.

Sponsors

TopTech – Jianchuang Technology, Labfront, Artinis NIRx, Xiel, and Heights.

28/07/2026

Last week, the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH) and UCL hosted the international conference on “Boosting Brain Health Through Lifestyle Interventions”, marking an exciting milestone for the global exercise neuroscience community.

More than 200 delegates from 5 continents came together in London to explore the latest advances in how physical activity and lifestyle factors can support brain health across the lifespan.

The four-day conference, developed and chaired by Prof Flaminia Ronca, brought together world leading academics, clinicians, practitioners and early career researchers to shape the future of the field together.

The pre-conference programme, hosted at the ISEH, included a Brain fNIRS workshop and a Hackathon with five winning teams.

The workshop was delivered in partnership with Artinis / NIRx, UCL and Birkbeck University, where attendees learned best practice in the application and processing in brain fNIRS imaging.

The hackathon was delivered by Labfront, Garmin and the ISEH, where interdisciplinary teams of newly acquainted early career researchers pitched for innovation projects, and winning teams were awarded funding to implement them. All projects sought to develop interventions to support brain health using wearable devices.

Across the main conference, delegates explored topics spanning dementia prevention, clinical rehabilitation, exercise neurobiology, nutrition, mechanistic pathways, biomarkers, and lifestyle medicine. Highlights included keynotes from internationally recognised experts, including founding committee members Prof Kirk Erickson, Assoc Prof Christiane Wrann and Assoc Prof Henriette van Praag.

We are grateful every delegate and invited speaker who travelled to London to contribute their expertise, enthusiasm and commitment to advancing exercise neuroscience.

We extend our sincere thanks to our founding committee, organising team, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and volunteers whose dedication made this inaugural meeting such a success.

Keep reading: https://iseh.co.uk/news/latest-news/iseh-and-ucl-host-international-conference-on-boosting-brain-health-through-lifestyle-interventions

19/07/2026

Ahead of this evening's World Cup final in New Jersey, air quality has become a growing concern. In the days leading up to the match, New York and the surrounding region experienced poor air quality as smoke from wildfires in Canada drifted across multiple major cities in the United States.

FIFA's communication to stakeholders is that the forecast for today is more favourable.

Professor James Hull, Consultant Respiratory Physician at ISEH, spoke to The Athletic, part of The New York Times, to share his expert insight on the issue.

In the days leading up to Sunday's final, New York has been hit with poor air quality as a result of wildfires in Canada.

17/07/2026

We’ve been delighted to welcome early career researchers to our central London facility today for the International Society for Exercise Neuroscience Hackathon with Labfront & Garmin; held as part of the ISENs pre conference programme - and ahead of the ISENs Inaugural Meeting: Boosting Brain Health Through Lifestyle Interventions (17th -19th July), taking place this weekend.

Hosted at ISEH today, the Hackathon brings together researchers to explore how wearable technology and real-world data can advance brain health through lifestyle interventions.

14/07/2026

Not to be missed...🧠 Very few places remain to be part of an event that will shape the future of the International Society for Exercise Neuroscience (ISENS) and advance basic and translational research in brain–body interactions that support human brain health through lifestyle-based interventions. The expert panel of speakers will include ISEH’s Dr Flaminia Ronca.

All delegates who register for the conference will receive complimentary ISENS membership as part of their registration.

Dates & venues
• 16 July 2026: Pre-conference workshop: Applying and analysing brain fNIRS by Artinis Medical Systems and NIRx Medical Technologies at Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH)
• 17 July 2026: Pre-conference Hackathon for Early Career Researchers, sponsored by Labfront, at Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH) (FREE)
• 18–19 July 2026 - Main Conference, UCL at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust

Learn more and join us:

This inaugural meeting will focus on collaboration, strategy, and knowledge exchange.

09/07/2026

Athlete Spotlight: Jemima Yeats-Brown…
Asthma had become part of everyday life for three-time British champion and Team GB Judo athlete, Jemima Yeats-Brown - but its impact on her training and performance was significant.

We were delighted to sit down with Jemima as she spoke about her experience of living with exercise-induced asthma, the specialist care she received from Professor James Hull at ISEH, and how the right diagnosis and treatment have made a real difference to her health and training.

Jemima is a British judoka competing in the -70kg category and is also a two-time Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, multiple Grand Prix and Grand Slam medallist and twice finished fifth at the World Championships and has consistently competed among the world's top athletes.

Her next major competition is the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where she will be competing on 1st August, and we wish her the very best!

Keep reading: https://iseh.co.uk/news/latest-news/athlete-spotlight-jemima-yeats-brown-on-asthma-treatment-and-performance

23/06/2026

Here we share some photographs capturing a special evening - the inaugural lecture of ISEH’s Professor Snehal Pinto Pereira that took place recently at UCL

In the lecture, Snehal, a Professor of Population Health and Applied Statistics at UCL, one of our partnering organisations, explored how physical and mental health develop across the life course and why when things happen can matter as much as what happens. Drawing on longitudinal research, it showed how early experiences become embedded, shaping health, wellbeing, and opportunity over time.

Interwoven with this is a personal academic journey across countries, disciplines, and critical periods; reflecting on how trajectories can be shaped and reshaped over time.

Snehal, a Professor of Population Health and Applied Statistics at UCL shared:

“It was a privilege to give my inaugural lecture, surrounded by colleagues, students, mentors, and family, marking an important milestone in my academic career. I am grateful to all of them for their support, which has made this possible.”

19/06/2026

Taking place soon; still chance to join us 🧠: The International Society for Exercise Neuroscience Inaugural Meeting, ‘Boosting Brain Health Through Lifestyle Interventions’ (17–19 July) at UCL, will bring together an international, interdisciplinary community of researchers, enabling collaboration, strategic development, and meaningful knowledge exchange among those working toward a shared goal of improving brain health.

This inaugural meeting will help shape the future direction of the society while advancing both basic and translational research on brain body interactions and lifestyle-based approaches to improving human brain health.


Dates & venues
• 16 July 2026: Pre-conference workshop: Applying and analysing brain fNIRS by Artinis Medical Systems and NIRx Medical Technologies at Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH)
• 17 July 2026: Pre-conference Hackathon for Early Career Researchers, sponsored by Labfront, at Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH) (FREE)
• 18–19 July 2026 - Main Conference, UCLat Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust

Please note: on 18 July, there will be a Chocolate Tasting (£40) held within the Seminar Rooms at ISEH | 18:30–20:00 (exclusively for registered delegates attending The International Society for Exercise Neuroscience Inaugural Meeting - 17–19 July).

Not to be missed - join us and be part of an event that will shape the future of the group and advance basic and translational research in brain–body interactions that support human brain health through lifestyle-based interventions. The expert panel of speakers will include ISEH’s Dr Flaminia Ronca.

All delegates who register for the conference will receive complimentary ISENS membership as part of their registration.
Learn more and join us: https://www.exercise-neuroscience.org/events/inaugural-meeting-boosting-brain-health-through-lifestyle-interventions

18/06/2026

Come and join us: Together with UCL we are currently recruiting a Lecturer in Clinical Exercise Physiology.

The successful candidate will play a key role in delivering teaching on the UCL MSc Clinical Exercise Physiology programme located at ISEH, with opportunities to contribute to the MSc Sport Medicine, Exercise and Health and the iBSc/BSc Sport and Exercise Medical Sciences programmes, helping to prepare graduates for careers at the forefront of exercise and health.

This position offers the opportunity to educate and support future Clinical Exercise Physiologists, with a strong focus on the clinical application of exercise and physical activity in the prevention and management of a broad range of health conditions.

Applications are encouraged from individuals with substantial experience in Clinical Exercise Physiology or a related discipline, alongside experience of teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. (Added bonus if you are an AHCS registered CEP).

- Application deadline: 23 June 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Interview date: 30 June 2026

Find out more and apply: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/search-ucl-jobs/details?nPostingId=18519&nPostingTargetId=45158&id=Q1KFK026203F3VBQBLO8M8M07&LG=UK&languageSelect=UK&mask=ext