Derek Ball

My research interests cover the areas of exercise, nutrition and metabolism, thermal stress and human performance, and exercise and disease. I have a wide publication history (>50 papers in peer-reviewed journals) that cover aspects of exercise physiology,/biochemistry. I have studied muscle physiology from the whole organism to understanding molecular changes that influence muscle function, the cardiovascular consequences of prolonged exhaustive exercise, diet manipulation on exercise performance through to research examining the consequences of disease (e.g. renal failure, diabetes and obesity) on whole body and cellular physiology. I am fellow of the Physiological Society, Royal Society of Biology, and the Chair of the Scottish Section of the Nutrition society. We are currently supported by the orthopaedic trauma association on work utilising novel biomarker technologies to assess cellular viability in ischaemic and compartment syndrome patients undergoing emergency and routine surgery.

A graduate in Sports Science, I completed a PhD in Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen in 1993. I have held post-doctoral positions at the University of St Andrews and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and lecturing positions at the University of Aberdeen, MMU and Heriot-Watt University. I moved back to the University of Aberdeen in 2016 as the academic Head of Sport Science. I lecture aspects of cardiovascular function and exercise, exercise biochemistry and whole body human metabolism and support the applied sport science activities with our partners in the Aberdeen Sports Village.