Prof. Alan Donnelly

Faculty Of Education & Health Sciences

Office Of The Dean Education & Health Sc

Dept. Of Physical Education & Sport Scie

Position: Associate Professor

Email: alan.donnelly@ul.ie

Tel: +353 61 202808

Address(es)

Department of Physical Education & Sport Sciences

University of Limerick

Limerick

Ireland

Biography

Professor Alan Donnelly is Associate Professor of Exercise Physiology. He is Director of UL's Health Research Institute (HRI), and a member of the HRI's "Physical Activity for Health" research cluster. A graduate of Strathclyde and Aberdeen Universities, he has worked in Ireland, the UK, USA and Australia. His research encompasses the objective measurement of sedentary behaviour, physical activity and health. His current research projects focus on accurate measurement of physical behaviours, including sedentary behaviour, physical activity and standing. His current projects include both cross sectional and activity intervention studies. He works on populations including adolescents and older adults, where his team uses worn devices to explore the relationship between physical behaviours and health outcomes. Current projects include the large scale cross-European project "WEALTH" funded in Ireland by the HRB under the Joint Programme Initiative "Healthy Diet Healthy Life" where he is project coordinator, the "DE-PASS" COST ACTION where he is Task Leader on a cross European surveillance project and the Horizon 2020 project "GoGreenRoutes" where he is Work Package Leader.

Research Interests

Alan Donnelly's Core research interests include:

The objective measurement of sedentary behaviour and physical activity in adolescents and adults, and the consequences for health of these behaviours. This work includes developing and validating measurement systems, in addition to measurement of sedentary behaviour, standing time, and time spent in light, moderate and vigorous physical activity. This is linked to measures of adiposity and of health, to determine how behaviour patterns and health outcomes are associated. One large, cross-sectional study of adolescents is underway, and I am collaborating with UCC on a large cohort study "The Mitchelstown Cohort Study" where we are measuring sedentary behaviour and physical activity in the population. Similar work is also progressing in clinical populations.

As a part of the European "DEDIPAC Knowledge Hub" we have systematically reviewed methodologies for measurement of both physical activity and sedentary behaviour.

Skeletal muscle physiology, particularly the physiology of exercise-induced muscle damage. I have developed specific methods for safely inducing muscle soreness using an isokinetics system, and have employed this method to evaluate correlates of muscle damage, including changes to connective tissue and muscle antioxidant status. The same methodology has been employed by my group to evaluate treatments, including cold water cryotherapy and whole body cryotherapy.

Peer Reviewed Journals

2017

Minimum Wear Duration for the activPAL Professional Activity Monitor in Adolescent Females

Dowd, KP,Purtill, H,Harrington, DM,Hislop, JF,Reilly, JJ,Donnelly, AE (2017) Minimum Wear Duration for the activPAL Professional Activity Monitor in Adolescent Females. Pediatric Exercise Science :427-433

Biography

Research Interests

Publications

Peer Reviewed Journals

Minimum Wear Duration for the activPAL Professional Activity Monitor in Adolescent Females

Simultaneous validation of five activity monitors for use in adult populations

Determinants of diet and physical activity (DEDIPAC): a summary of findings

The accuracy of the SenseWear Pro3 and the activPAL3 Micro devices for measurement of energy expenditure

Results From Ireland North and South's 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

Are Self-report Measures Able to Define Individuals as Physically Active or Inactive?

Comparing the effects of whole-body vibration to standard exercise in ambulatory people with Multiple Sclerosis: a randomised controlled feasibility study

The Development of Activity Profiles in Adolescent Females and their Association with Adiposity

The Development of Activity Profiles in Adolescent Females and their Association with Adiposity.

Pilot Randomized Trial of Progressive Resistance Exercise Augmented by Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation for People With Multiple Sclerosis Who Use Walking Aids

Comparing the effects of whole-body vibration to standard exercise in ambulatory people with Multiple Sclerosis: a randomised controlled feasibility study

Eaten up by boredom: Consuming food to escape awareness of the bored self

Treadmill Stimulation Improves Newborn Stepping

Results From Ireland's 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity in Children and Youth

Effects of Whole Body Cryotherapy and Cold Water Immersion on Knee Skin Temperature

Light-Intensity Physical Activity Is Associated with Adiposity in Adolescent Females

The Simon Task and Aging: Does Acute Moderate Exercise Influence Cognitive Control?

Towards the integration and development of a cross-European research network and infrastructure: the DEterminants of DIet and Physical ACtivity (DEDIPAC) Knowledge Hub

A Steps/Minute Value for Moderate Intensity Physical Activity in Adolescent Females

Muscle, Skin and Core Temperature after-110 degrees C Cold Air and 8 degrees C Water Treatment

Criterion and Concurrent Validity of the activPAL (TM) Professional Physical Activity Monitor in Adolescent Females

The use of thermal imaging in assessing skin temperature following cryotherapy: a review

Effects of whole-body cryotherapy (-110 degrees C) on proprioception and indices of muscle damage

Cross-Sectional analysis of levels and patterns of objectively measured sedentary time in adolescent females

Effects of cold water immersion on knee joint position sense in healthy volunteers

Validation of MET estimates and step measurement using the ActivPAL physical activity logger

Changes in human skeletal muscle length during stimulated eccentric muscle actions

Does Antioxidant Vitamin Supplementation Protect against Muscle Damage?

Progressive resistance training temporarily alters hamstring torque-angle relationship

Effect of walking speed changes on tibialis anterior EMG during healthy gait for FES envelope design in drop foot correction

Tibialis anterior EMG activation pattern changes with walking speed during over ground and treadmill walking.

The effects of impact and non-impact exercise on circulating markers of collagen remodelling in humans

Rectus femoris surface myoelectric signal cross-talk during static contractions

Rectus femoris surface myoelectric signal cross-talk during static contractions.

Muscle connective tissue content of endurance-trained and inactive individuals

Effects of dietary supplementation with vitamins C and E on muscle function during and after eccentric contractions in humans

Skeletal muscle collagen content in humans after high-force eccentric contractions

The development of a potential optimized stimulation intensity envelope for drop foot applications

The development of an optimised stimulation intensity envelope for drop foot applications.

Stimulus artifact removal using a software-based two-stage peak detection algorithm

Changes in human knee angle-knee extensor force relationship during eccentric muscle actions.

The Effect of Eccentric Contractions on Indirect Markers of Skeletal Muscle Connective Tissue Turnover in Humans.

Changes in indices of antioxidant status, lipid peroxidation and inflammation in human skeletal muscle after eccentric muscle actions

Indirect evidence of human skeletal muscle damage and collagen breakdown after eccentric muscle actions

Manipulation of knee extensor force using percutaneous electrical myostimulation during eccentric actions: Effects on indices of muscle damage in humans

Electromyogram activity and mean power frequency in exercise-damaged human muscle

The effect of severe eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage on plasma elastase, glutamine and zinc concentrations.

Comparison of eccentric knee extensor muscle actions at two muscle lengths on indices of damage and angle-specific force production in humans

Elevated serum antioxidant capacity and plasma malondialdehyde concentration in response to a simulated half-marathon run

Functional and biochemical changes in indices of muscle damage , lipid peroxidation and lysosomal enzyme release following eccentric exercise in humans.

Exercise - induced skeletal muscle damage and adapatations following repeated bouts of eccentric muscle contractions.

Indices of skeletal muscle damage and connective tissue breakdown following eccentric muscle contractions.

Characterization of the physical and molecular structure of thermally elongating poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers

Changes in human muscle contractile function following stimulated eccentric exercise.

Length - specific impairment of skeletal muscle contractile function after eccentric muscle actions in man.

Elevated muscle b-glucuronidase and G6PDH activity as biochemical markers of exercise induced muscle damage in humans.

Effect of eccentric exercise on human skeletal muscle damage and indices of collagen breakdown.

Spectral analysis of electromyogram during repeated bouts of eccentric exercise in man.

Neuromuscular dysfunction following eccentric exercise.

Effects of stimulated eccentric exercise on indices of human muscle contractility.

The role of eccentric exercise duration in experimental skeletal muscle damage in man.

Spectral analysis of electromyogram from eccentrically exercised muscle in man.

Effects of stimulated eccentric muscle actions at 20 and 100 Hz on indices of muscle damage in man.

Characteristics of impaired voluntary torque generating capacity after maximum voluntary eccentric work in man.

Long lasting effects of eccentric work on muscle force production in man.

Indices of free radical mediated damage following maximum voluntary eccentric and concentric muscular work.

The effects of light concentric work on exercise - damaged muscle in man.

Exercise induced muscle damage : effects of light exercise on exercise damaged muscle.

The effects of Ibuprofen on exercise induced muscle soreness and indices of muscle damage.

Serum creatine kinase activity and muscle soreness during and after prolonged walking in man.

Effects of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug on delayed onset muscle soreness and indices of damage.

Delayed onset rise in serum lipid peroxide concentration following eccentric exercise in man.

Books

Book Chapters

Cellular fatigue, muscle stiffness and free radicals.

Edited Books