PhD Profile
From nerve to muscle: understanding, adapting, and applying neurophysiology to characterise skeletal muscle across the life course
Sinéad Smith - PhD Student and Clinical Research Associate sinead.smith2@newcastle.ac.uk
About Sinéad
Sinéad graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2012 with a degree in Physiology. She also holds two Masters of Science degrees: Physiotherapy from the University of Northumbria and Clinical Science from Aston University, Birmingham. Prior to joining the AGE Research Group, Sinéad was based at the Department of Neurophysiology at the RVI in Newcastle as a Trainee Clinical Scientist, qualifying in September 2024.
About the Project
Sinéad’s PhD involves the development and application of new methods to examine skeletal muscle mass and function, including advanced neurophysiological techniques such as muscle velocity recovery cycles to assess skeletal muscle excitability. The aim of this work is to develop techniques suitable for clinical practice, to stratify and measure response in clinical trials designed for older people and larger scale population-based studies.
Why a PhD with AGE?
“My interest in ageing research stems from my background in clinical practice - I am passionate about service improvement to achieve the best outcomes for patients. The AGE Research Group’s strong commitment to patient-centred care, research excellence and meaningful clinical impact provides the ideal environment for my PhD, after which I hope to secure an Advanced Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship to continue integrating research with clinical practice.”
PhD Fact File
Funder: NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre
Dates: 2024 to 2028
Lead supervisor(s): Dr Karen Suetterlin
Supervisory team: Professor Rachel Cooper, Dr Christopher Hurst, Professor Andy Blamire