Students take part in Warriors' pre-season tests

UCLan SENS undergraduate and postgraduate students have been helping Wigan Warriors prepare for Super League 2015.

First year students attended the session to observe testing carried out by their colleagues from our MSc Sports Science course. Senior Lecturer Dr Steph Dillon coordinated the session.

She commented: "It was a fabulous opportunity for some of our first year undergraduate students to observe the high-performance testing of Wigan Warriors' athletes.

"One of the students actually stated this was the primary reason he came to the University, as an ex-student told him he would get lots of opportunities like this at UCLan.

"The group were exposed to an environment where exercise science was being directly applied by Master's students which not only brought the subject to life, but also stimulated a strong desire to be involved in future testing. This is all part of our commitment to provide an excellent student experience."

Warriors' squad are scheduled to return to UCLan in the New Year to continue their build-up to the new campaign.

UCLan SENS graduate aims for the top

Sports Science graduate Lewis Seville has secured a role with one of the top names in British and European Motorsport.

After leaving UCLan with a First Class Honours degree, Lewis has now taken his first step onto the career ladder after being appointed as a Data Analysis Engineer for AIM Motorsport.

AIM has been a formidable force for many years, competing in Karting, Superbikes, Formula Cars and Power Boats.

Lewis will work with AIM's International Kart Racing Team, with the principal role of processing information from data acquisition products fitted to the Karts to identify areas each driver can improve on in order to gain a faster lap time. He will also assist with the general logistics of the race team by helping prepare equipment for the next race.

He commented: "With this job I'm able to combine my passion for motorsport with my interest in Data Analysis learned through my Sports Science degree.

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time at UCLan. I was able to gain invaluable practical experience within the real world which has enabled me to develop my skills and expertise, allowing me to progress into a career I love with the dream of working within Formula 1 – perhaps with McLaren.

"The staff at UCLan could not have been any more helpful and supportive of me, and I honestly believe they were a significant factor in getting me to where I am now."

Food safety expert appointed Professor

Following her successful application to the Professorial and Readership Committee and external review, Carol Wallace has been confirmed as Professor of Food Safety Management Systems.

Professor Wallace's background is in microbiology/applied food safety and her career spans 30 years in the food industry and food safety education.

Her research interests include food safety system effectiveness from farm to fork and food safety support needs of SMEs and Consumers. She is currently Co-Director of the International Institute of Nutritional Sciences and Applied Food Safety Studies at UCLan.

Professor Wallace commented: "This year's Dubai International Food Safety Conference was especially memorable for me as I received the confirmation of my appointment as Professor of Food Safety Management Systems shortly after arriving in Dubai.

"I'm really looking forward to the challenges of this new role, working with the food industry and other researchers to continue striving for effective and practical food safety control strategies.

"The Dubai conference is a really good example of this type of work, bringing together industry practitioners, regulatory/government personnel and academics to improve consumer protection through strengthening food safety systems."

For more information about Professor Wallace please click here.

Research Institute presents at World Congress

Professor Lowe & Dr Warthon-Medina

Members of the International Institute of Nutritional Sciences and Applied Food Safety Studies (iINSAFSs) recently attended the World Congress of Public Health Nutrition 2014 (WCPHN), in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.

Dr Marisol Warthon-Medina and her PhD Director of Studies, Professor Nicola Lowe, travelled to the four-day event where prestigious nutritionist scientists from around the world met and presented new advances in Human Nutrition and Public Health.

Collaborative research entitled 'The study of the long term impact of micronutrient supplementation during infancy on growth, anaemia and zinc status in pre-school children' was unveiled by Dr Warthon-Medina on the final day of the Congress.

The research was carried out by iINSAFSs and the Instituto de Investigación Nutricional, Lima, Perú.

Dr Warthon-Medina commented: "This was an incredible experience, providing a great opportunity to not only gain a good understanding of other research, but also to make valuable contacts. This was possible thanks to a travel grant from the Nutrition Society and support from the International Institute of Nutritional Sciences and Applied Food Safety Studies at UCLan."

Division attends Zinc-Net event

UCLan SENS staff and students attended the latest gathering of contributors to the 'Zinc-Net' project.

Professor Nicola Lowe chaired the Management Committee and Steering Group meeting in London for the European Commission funded research which is looking into the role of zinc in human biochemistry and physiology.

Forty delegates from across Europe attended the meeting which was a combined conference and workshop for early stage researchers that will provide training in the latest technology for imaging zinc at the cellular and subcellular level.

Lecturer Marisol Warthon-Medina attended the workshop, along with 33 other young European researchers. Master's student Suruchi Pradhan also presented research at the conference.

Graduate's fitness company continues to grow

UCLan SENS graduate Sam Marsh's business Jigsaw Fitness continues to go from strength-to-strength.

Sam started the company during his second year at UCLan in 2012 with the help of the University's Northern Lights Business Support team, and they have gone on to develop an impressive array of clients.

Sam commented: "We are very excited to be working closely with companies such as Fitness First, Xercise 4 Less and Under Armour to design and build some truly exciting and engaging fitness and conditioning equipment.

"We've installed our latest product at Fitness First's new offering, 55 Bishopsgate in London. This was our RUNWAY, and has now been taken for two new sites being fitted before Christmas.

"Our products, including our new SQYRE (square tyre) which allows users to flip a tyre in a straight line, have soft tactile surfaces will not damage gym flooring.

"We've also gone into partnership with Exigo, one of the largest manufacturers in the United Kingdom. We are extremely proud of this as it means we can now manufacture at a high volume whilst maintaining out high standards of quality.

"As a company we are really starting to make waves and get noticed, and have people buy into the fact that we are moving to make the industry more fun, and more engaging and to allow gyms to offer exciting, innovative fitness classes."

To find out more about Northern Lights, please click here.