Transforming Lives PhD scholarship: Effect of cryotherapy interventions on the recovery kinetics of elite Premier League football players at the School of Sport and Physical Activity Sheffield Hallam University in United Kingdom

Applications are invited for a Transforming Lives PhD scholarship in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University and Aston Villa Football Club. The supervisory team has a track record of publishing applied sport nutrition research. Aston Villa are a leading Premier League football team and have qualified for the 2024/25 Champions League.

The scholarship is for three and a half years full-time study and covers home PhD fees, currently £4786, and pays an annual stipend at the living wage foundation rate of £ 20,116 per year in the academic year 2024/25. This stipend payment will increase annually based on the living wage rate for the duration of the scholarship.

In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), 88% of our research was rated as world-leading and internationally excellent (4* and 3*), with 80% of our research impact rated as world-leading (4* - the remaining 20% 3*) and 100% of our research environment judged to be 3* or 4*: https://www.shu.ac.uk/sport-physical-activity-research-centre .

We have a community of approximately 50 postgraduate students who are at the heart of contributing to our research output who are supported by a comprehensive programme of doctoral training. The researcher will be co-located at the world-leading Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre ( https://www.shu.ac.uk/advanced-wellbeing-research-centre ).

Project Title: : Effect of cryotherapy interventions on the recovery kinetics of elite Premier League football players

During periods of fixture congestion in professional football, players often participate in 2 games per week (Anderson et al., 2016) with less than or equal to 4 recovery days between two successive matches (Dupont et al., 2010). Consequently, players may experience acute and chronic fatigue resulting in underperformance and/or injury (Nedelec et al., 2012). Hence, it is crucial to be able to recover from matches rapidly in football; those who are able to do so could have a competitive edge (van der Does et al., 2015).

In order to accelerate recovery process, cooling therapies such as cold-water immersion (CWI) and more recently emerging applications such as whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) and phase change materials (PCM) (Kwiecien et al., 2020) are gaining considerable popularity. Whilst the use of cooling therapies has been used within elite sport for a considerable time, a recent survey highlighted the confusion in applications between practitioners, coaches and athletes (Allan et al. 2021). While there is growing evidence that post-exercise cryotherapy may accelerate recovery, inconsistency in experimental protocols and a dearth of research conducted on professional football players limit its practical application. Hence the overarching aim of this project would be to research the effects of cryotherapy modalities on the recovery of professional football players.

In addition to completing the PhD program of studies, successful candidates will be required to provide strength & conditioning support to first team players under the guidance of the Head of Strength & Conditioning at Aston Villa Football Club.

The successful candidate will be based at Aston Villa’s Training Ground (Bodymoor Heath Rd, Tamworth B78 2BB) and will also be required to regularly attend the Sport and Physical Activity Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University for meetings and analysis of biological samples.

Applicants should hold a BSc (1st or 2:1) honours degree (or equivalent) in sport or exercise science, nutrition or a related area. An MSc qualification in a related area is desirable, as would be experience of working with clients or athletes. We are offering this as a full-time PhD scholarship. We welcome applications from all members of our community and are particularly encouraging those from diverse groups, such as members of the LGBTQIA+, BAME and disabled communities.

We strongly advise applicants to contact the director of studies, Mayur Ranchordas: [email protected] prior to application.

International / EU applicants

Please see the funding notes section of this advert for important fee information.

Sheffield Hallam has a mandatory English language requirement of IELTS 7, or equivalent language qualification, for all applicants from Countries not included in the UKVI exemption list here: https://www.gov.uk/english-language/exemptions . This qualification must have been taken within the last two-years, with a score of at least 6.5 in all test areas and may be required even if you have previous qualifications gained at UK institutions. Please do check with the Postgraduate research team: [email protected] prior to application as this qualification must be submitted as part of the scholarship application.

How to Apply

Please complete and submit an application form available at the following link: https://www.shu.ac.uk/courses/sport-and-physical-activity/phd-sport-and-physical-activity/full-time/2025

You must provide a detailed 1,500-word research proposal addressing the project title with your application. We do not accept proposals setting out an applicant's own research and cannot consider applications where a research proposal addressing this specific project has not been submitted.

When completing the application form, please add the project title within the Personal Statement field and ensure that all attachments have been uploaded to the application system before submission.

If you experience issues submitting your online application, or for general enquiries please contact: [email protected]

The closing date for applications is 2nd April, 2025 at 12 noon (BST) . Late applications will not be accepted

Interviews – 11th April, 2025. Please note, we are unable to offer alternative interview slots once allocated to shortlisted candidates.