The close link between BCUHB & SSHES highlighted at Canolfan PAWB Centre Launch

Last week saw the launch of the Canolfan PAWB Centre on the Normal site. It is a new £1m state-of-the-art facility for the enhancement of research and teaching in Health, Exercise and Rehabilitation at Bangor University.  

These new, highly flexible spaces provide a unique opportunity to create a step-change in health and medical research in Bangor University related to important health issues, such as: 

  • Sleep apnoea due to obesity
  • Loss of muscle and obesity in patients with catabolic conditions
  • Exercise during kidney dialysis
  • Exercise therapy in cancer sufferers
  • Cardiovascular disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
  • Identification of dehydration in elderly patients   

Many problems in health and healthcare are complex, and require new approaches to research, with ideas from different professional and scientific disciplines. The new Centre provides a platform to create new connections across health disciplines and scientists, and to promote interdisciplinary research in the area of health, exercise and rehabilitation sciences and is unique in terms of its emphasis on physical activity. 

Did you know?

  • SSHES has had over 2 decades of collaboration with BCUHB to date
  • 20 postgraduate students from the School have successfully completed PhDs in research projects involving BCUHB staff and/or patients
  • Over 100 Research Papers from collaborative research with BCUHB
  • SSHES Research has directly informed changes in clinical practice in rheumatology clinics in BCUHB and in other NHS trusts in the UK. (Benefits of high intensity exercise)
  • Many SSHES graduates have been successfully employed at BCUHB
  • Several ongoing examples of collaborative research projects e.g. Our involvement in NIHR funded trials PEDAL (PrEscription of intraDialytic exercise to improve quAlity of Life in patients with chronic kidney disease.)    

This new facility ensures the best learning experience for students by co-locating new teaching spaces with the physiology testing and rehabilitation labs. This re-enforces the crucial link between the research being delivered by the School and its teaching activities.  

The potential importance of this for Bangor and beyond was summed up by Prof. Nicky Callow during her opening address:

“If we think of the physical activity spectrum from the physical literacy of our children, to getting us up from our sedentary technology driven lifestyles embedded at our work-desks and in our sofas, through to improving quality of life into older age and for those with chronic disease, the research and teaching in the centre is far-reaching for the health and well-being of individuals, across the life span, within our community and beyond.” 

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Publication date: 21 March 2017