Dr Paul Ansdell

My research focuses on how age, sex, and hormonal status interact to determine physiological function in health and disease.

Examples of our work include studies of how the menstrual cycle and menopause influence central nervous system function in healthy females, as well as females with multiple sclerosis; as well as studies of how the physiological responses to exercise differ between males and females.

Currently my work is funded by research councils (BBSRC), charities (MS Society) and industry, and our group is made up of postgraduate students, Ph.D candidates, and postdoctoral researchers. 

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Assessing the accuracy, reliability, and validity of menstrual cycle phase tracking equations in an applied sport setting, Greenwalt, C., Ansdell, P., Thomas, K., McNulty, K., Howatson, G., Mutuwa, A., Munro, O., Hicks, K. 10 Apr 2026, In: European Journal of Applied Physiology
• Corticospinal, reticulospinal, and motoneuronal contributions to fatigability during a sustained contraction of the elbow flexors, Hayman, O., Brownson-Smith, R., Atkinson, E., Spillane, P., Baker, S., Goodall, S., Howatson, G., Thomas, K., Ansdell, P. 1 Apr 2026, In: Experimental Physiology
• Female cyclists' experiences of saddle sores and their effect on cycling, Burnie, L., Burt, P., Lindsay, K., Heron, N., Ansdell, P., Pastorio, E., Hicks, K., Brown, N. 3 Feb 2026, In: Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
• Menstrual cycle phase alters corticospinal excitability and spike-timing-dependent plasticity in healthy females, Spillane, P., Pastorio, E., Nédélec, E., Piasecki, J., Goodall, S., Hicks, K., Ansdell, P. 1 Feb 2026, In: Journal of Neurophysiology
• Motor unit adaptations contribute to the repeated bout effect following damaging resistance exercise, Hayman, O., Ansdell, P., Angius, L., Thomas, K., Howatson, G., Kidgell, D., Škarabot, J., Martinez-Valdes, E., Goodall, S. 12 Feb 2026, In: Journal of Applied Physiology
• Sex differences in durability following heavy intensity cycling exercise in trained athletes, Pastorio, E., Spillane, P., Squires, E., Benyahia, L., Wilson, H., Swain, P., Colosio, M., Felles, C., Menditto, A., Clarke, S., Minion, B., Pearmain, W., Brownstein, C., Porcelli, S., Ansdell, P. 9 Apr 2026, In: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports
• Submaximal 2‐day cardiopulmonary exercise testing to assess exercise capacity and post‐exertional symptom exacerbation in people with long COVID, Thomas, C., Kudiersky, N., Ansdell, P., Ashton, R., Brown, C., Bewick, T., Carr, J., Hume, E., Spillane, P., Pastorio, E., Owen, R., Maden‐Wilkinson, T., McNeil‐Angopa, E., Parkington, T., Arena, R., Ozemek, C., Formenti, F., Veluswamy, S., Gururaj, R., Faghy, M. 1 Feb 2026, In: Experimental Physiology
• The effect of intensity on metabolic and ventilatory responses to steady-state exercise in women across the adult lifecycle, Rattley, C., Ansdell, P., Armstrong, M., Felton, M., Dewhurst, S., Yendole, K., Neal, R. 1 Feb 2026, In: European Journal of Applied Physiology
• The menstrual cycle and sports performance, McNulty, K., Taim, B., Ansdell, P., Hicks, K. 17 Apr 2026, Menstruation and the Menstrual Cycle in Sport, Exercise, and Physical Activity, New York, United States, Taylor & Francis
• Travel Distance and Direction Negatively Impact Expected Goal Differential: A Retrospective Analysis of 2018–2023 National Women’s Soccer League Data, Munro, O., Norris, D., Thomas, K., Ansdell, P., Howatson, G., Lee, S., Hocken, J., Hicks, K. 1 Feb 2026, In: International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance

• Peter Higgins Sex differences in the physiological and molecular responses to high-intensity exercise Start Date: 01/03/2026
• Padraig Spillane The effects of endogenous and exogenous sex hormones on female cortical and motoneuronal neurophysiology Start Date: 01/10/2022

I am a co-lead of the Women's Sport and Wellbeing Interdisciplinary Research Theme.

I am also the Theme Lead for Human, Environmental, and Exercise Physiology within the Physiological Society.