Dr Chris Pugh
Reader in Exercise & Cardiovascular Physiology
Cardiff School of Sport & Health Sciences
Overview
Chris is a Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology within the School of Sport and Health Sciences, who joined Cardiff Metropolitan University in 2014. He spent 6-years at Liverpool John Moores University where he completed his undergraduate degree and PhD entitled "Vascular and Metabolic Adaptations to Exercise in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease". In 2012, Chris moved to Australia for a Post-Doctoral research fellowship at the University of Western Australia, where he utilised cutting-edge techniques to investigate acute and chronic vascular adaptations to exercise. As part of his role at Cardiff Metropolitan University, Chris continues to utilise these techniques to conduct novel research and deliver a research-lead exercise science syllabus.
Chris' global research agenda focusses on how regular exercise and physical activity can effectively prevent and treat cardiovascular and metabolic diseases across the lifespan. He has technical expertise in numerous cutting-edge physiological techniques, which he uses to assess cardiovascular function in paediatric, elite athletic, ageing and high-risk clinical populations. These techniques include non-invasive assessment of vascular function and structure via high-resolution ultrasound, indices of cerebral blood flow via transcranial Doppler, measurement of microvessel endothelial function using intradermal microdialysis and indices of vascular sympathetic baroreflex function via microneurography.
Chris supervises a team of PhD candidates who explore various aspects of his research programme and he has received in excess of £2million of competitive funding to support his research, most notably from the National Institute for Health Research, Health & Care Research Wales and the Waterloo Foundation. Chris is also the deputy lead of the Cardiovascular Physiology Research Group, as well as a member of the Centre for health, Activity & Wellbeing Research (CAWR) management committee and the School of Sport and Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee. In addition, he is the Programme Director of the Intercalated Sport & Exercise Science BSc degree and the Physiology Dissertation Co-ordinator.
Research Publications
Passive heating in sport: context-specific benefits, detriments, and considerations
Menzies, C., Clarke, N. D., Pugh, C., Steward, C. J., Thake, C. D. & Cullen, T., 13 Jan 2025, In: Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism. 50, p. 1-15 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Centenarians—the way to healthy vascular ageing and longevity: a review from VascAgeNet
Summer, S., Borrell-Pages, M., Bruno, R. M., Climie, R. E., Dipla, K., Dogan, A., Eruslanova, K., Fraenkel, E., Mattace-Raso, F., Pugh, C. J. A., Rochfort, K. D., Ross, M., Roth, L., Schmidt-Trucksäss, A., Schwarz, D., Shadiow, J., Sohrabi, Y., Sonnenberg, J., Tura-Ceide, O. & Guvenc Tuna, B. & 2 others, , 27 Dec 2024, In: GeroScience.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Aortic-Femoral Stiffness Gradient and Cardiovascular Risk in Older Adults
Stone, K., Fryer, S., McDonnell, B., Meyer, M. L., Faulkner, J., Agharazii, M., Fortier, C., Pugh, C., Paterson, C., Zieff, G., Chauntry, A., Kucharska-Newton, A., Bahls, M. & Stoner, L., 7 Oct 2024, In: Hypertension. 81, 12, p. e185-e196Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Resistance and endurance trained young men display comparable carotid artery strain parameters that are superior to untrained men
Hornby-Foster, I., Richards, C. T., Drane, A. L., Lodge, F. M., Stembridge, M., Lord, R. N., Davey, H., Yousef, Z. & Pugh, C. J. A., 3 Oct 2024, In: European Journal of Applied Physiology. 125, 1, p. 131-144 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Impact of Ultrasound Scanning Plane on Common Carotid Artery Longitudinal Wall Motion
Bryans, C. G., Cohen, J. N., Athaide, C. E., Pugh, C. J. A. & Au, J. S., 14 Sept 2024, In: Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. 50, 12, p. 1849-1853 5 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Flow-mediated dilation is modified by exercise training status during childhood and adolescence: preliminary evidence of the youth athlete's artery
Talbot, J. S., Perkins, D. R., Dawkins, T. G., Lord, R. N., Oliver, J. L., Lloyd, R. S., McManus, A. M., Stembridge, M. & Pugh, C. J. A., 15 Jul 2024, In: American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology. 327, 2, p. H331-H339Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Post‐exercise hot or cold water immersion does not alter perception of effort or neuroendocrine responses during subsequent moderate‐intensity exercise
Menzies, C., Clarke, N. D., Pugh, C. J. A., Steward, C. J., Thake, C. D. & Cullen, T., 6 Jul 2024, In: Experimental Physiology. 109, 9, p. 1505-1516 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Exercise improves surrogate measures of liver histological response in metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease
Cuthbertson, D. J., Keating, S. E., Pugh, C. J. A., Owen, P. J., Kemp, G. J., Umpleby, M., Geyer, N. G., Chinchilli, V. M. & Stine, J. G., 7 Jun 2024, In: Liver International. 44, 9, p. 2368-2381 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
May Measurement Month 2021: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from the UK and Republic of Ireland
Lee, S. C., Warrington, D., Beaney, T., Cockcroft, J. R., Pugh, C. J. A., Williams, A., Olding, T., Dolan, E., O'Brien, E., Hynes, L., Rabbitt, M., Cunnane, P., Schutte, A. E., Poulter, N. R. & McDonnell, B. J., 1 Jun 2024, In: European Heart Journal, Supplement. 26, Supplement_3, p. iii96-iii98Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
The effect of underwater massage during hot water immersion on acute cardiovascular and mood responses
Cullen, T., Steward, C. J., Menzies, C., Pugh, C. J. A. & Thake, C. D., 25 Apr 2024, In: Journal of Thermal Biology. 121, p. 103858 103858.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review