Julian is an applied physiologist with expertise in sport injury epidemiology. He has a BSc in Biochemistry and a MSc and PhD in Exercise Physiology. Before arriving in Bangor, he spent 8 years working as a physiologist and sport scientist within various sport performance pathways and professional sports (football, rugby union and hockey). Julian is also a member of the Institute for Applied Human Physiology and Director of the Rugby Knowledge Exchange within the School. The aim of the exchange is to deliver real-world solutions to rugby, through cutting edge research and impact, high quality education and applied enterprise solutions, particularly within the area of player welfare.

Keywords: Physiology, Sport Injury, Concussion, Rugby

Position: Senior Lecturer.

Email: j.owen@bangor.ac.uk

Telephone: (01248) 38 2197

Twitter: @julianowenPhD

Location: George Building, Normal Site

  • PhD: Exercise Physiology
    2015
  • MSc: Exercise Physiology
    Liverpool John Moores University, 2008
  • Professional: PGCE
    Manchester Metropolitan University, 2006
  • BSc: Applied Biochemistry
    Liverpool John Moores University, 1995

Julian supervises research projects for both undergraduate and postgraduate students and teaches applied physiology in the context of physical preparation of athletes and applied practice.

  • Advanced Strength & Conditioning (Level 6 BSc)
  • Research Project (Level 6 BSc & Level 7 MSc)
  • Dissertation (Level 6 BSc & Level 7 MSc)
  • The Sport & Exercise Science Practitioner (Level 7 MSc)

Current Research Supervision

Subhan Nazir (PhD, 2025 to present) - Effects of subconcussion, post-concussion exercise intolerance and post-concussion syndrome on brain chemistry. Funding: Bangor University.

Eloise Kirby (PhD, 2023 to present) - Welsh Injury Surveillance in Girls' Youth Rugby (WISGYR Project). Funding: World Rugby.

Steffi Studt (PhD, 2023 to present) - Head Sense: Prevention of sport-related brain trauma in community youth rugby union. Funding: Academy for Health Equity, Prevention and Wellbeing.

Jack Bickley (PhD, 2021 to present) - Development of elite performance in rowing. Funding: Bangor University and Welsh Rowing.

Marco Martin (PhD, 2020 to present) - Efficacy of triaxial accelerometry in soccer. Supported by MAPEI Sports Institute.

Previous research students

George Lowe (PhD, under examination) - Optimising Talent Pathways in Rugby Union: A Multidisciplinary, Mixed-Methods Approach to Talent Detection, Identification, Development, and Selection. Funding: ESF Knowledge Exchange Scholarship Scheme (KESS II) with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).

Ersagun Kepir (PhD, under examination) - Muscle arcitecture, activity and strength related to lower leg injury. Funding: Turkish Education Ministry.

Dr Tom Chandy (Masters by Research, completed 2025) - Injury surveillance in female youth rugby union: A pilot study in the community sport setting. Funding: British Association of Sport & Exercise Medicine (BASEM).

Seren Evans (PhD, Completed 2023) - From surveillance to prediction: a multifactorial approach to injury risk in Senior Academy Rugby Union. Funding: Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlathol and Bangor University.

Gokhan Yagiz (PhD, Completed 2023) - Muscle architecture of vastus lateralis and bicep femoris long head: implications for injury. Funding: Turkish Education Ministry.

Jessica Hughes (Masters by Research, Completed 2021) - Psychological and physical determinants of regional age-grade rugby players. Funding: ESF Knowledge Exchange Scholarship Scheme (KESS II) with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).

Davide Mondin (Masters by Research, Completed 2021) - Athlete monitoring in rugby union: inter- and intra-week associations of training markers with load during an entire Rugby Union Season. Funding: ESF Knowledge Exchange Scholarship Scheme (KESS II) with the Rygbi Gogledd Cymru (RGC).

Claire Griffith-McGeever (PhD, completed 2020) - Factors In Obstructive Sleep Apnoea: Chemosensitivity and Perception of Effort Before and After Loading of Respiratory and Locomotor Systems. Funding: Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlathol.

Julian's primary research focus is sport injury epidemiology. This research includes understanding the causes of sport injury, quantifying injury risk and developing strategies to reduce injury in sport. He has a particular interest in sport-related brain injury (concussion), and from a public health perspective, the prevention of injury in community sport settings.

Current externally funded research projects include:

  • Establishing injury risk in girls community youth rugby - Welsh Injury Surveillance in Girls Youth Rugby (WISGYR) project funded by World Rugby
  • Prevention of sport-related brain injury in community rugby union - Head Sense project funded by the Academy for Health Equity, Prevention and Wellbeing (AHEPW)
  • Mechanisms of exercise intolerance following sport-related brain injury - funded by Bangor University
  • Effects of a season of rugby on brain function and brain chemistry / Pitch-side detection of concussion in Rugby Union - Tackling Rugby Union's Headache project in collaboration with Head Diagnostics and funded by Research Wales Innovation Fund (RWIF)
  • Hamstring injury risk and prevention in team sports - Funded by the Turkish Education Ministry

Julian is also the Director of the Rugby Knowledge Exchange who's mission is to deliver real-world solutions to rugby, through cutting edge research and impact. A key objective of the group is to contribute to player welfare and safety within the game.

In addition he also contributes to research in the following areas:

 

Editorial Duties

Julian is currently a member of the Editorial Board for the International Journal of Strength and Conditioning, and a Review Editor for Frontiers in Sport and Active Living within the injury prevention and rehabilitation section. Julian is also a Topic Editor for Frontiers on an edition titled Multidisciplinary Approaches to Youth Rugby Talent Development.

He also regularly reviews for journals including International Journal of Sport Medicine, European Journal of Sport Sciences, Journal of Sport Sciences, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport and International Journal of Spport Physiology and Performance, and reviews grant application for UKRI e.g., Medical Research Council (MRC)

Self-funded (inc. agency-funded) projects: I welcome informal enquiries from prospective PhD students interested in projects related to [insert topics here]. Please submit a draft research proposal (1-2 pages) to the above email address. Funded projects: Studentship opportunities within the school can be found at https://www.bangor.ac.uk/studentfinance/postgraduate/funding#psychology My research is currently funded by agencies such as: World Rugby, ALPHAcademy/BCU Health Board, ESF Knowledge Exchange Scholarship (KESS) scheme, Welsh Rugby Union and Welsh Rowing.

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2019

2018

2017

2015

2014

2013

2012

2025

  • University of Limerick

    Our Rugby Knowledge Exchange group were invited to the University of Limerick to visit the Irish Rugby Injury Surveillance (IRIS) group and staff from the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to present our latest research in player welfare in rugby union.

    20 Jan 2025 – 23 Jan 2025

    Activity: Visiting an external academic institution (Visiting researcher)

2024

2023

  • Injury surveillance in female youth rugby union: A pilot study in the community sport setting

    BASEM Research Bursary Prize Presentation.

    6 Oct 2023

    Activity: Invited talk (Speaker)
  • Member of a sport science steering group for GB beach sprint rowing

    Providing physiology input on the GB Rowing panel to develop applied practice for beach sprint rowing after acceptance as a Commonwealth Games sport.

    1 Sep 2023 →

    Activity: Consultancy (Consultant)
  • Welsh Injury Surveillance in Girls Youth Rugby Engagement Film

    As part of the World Rugby funded research project examining injury risk, staff at the School of Psychology and Sport Science engaged with some 300 female rugby players across the nine Welsh Rugby Union female hubs in north Wales and commissioned a bilingual film to capture the spirit of female youth rugby in the region. The follow-on project resulting from this collaboration will be the World Rugby funded Welsh Injury Surveillance in Girls Youth Rugby project (WISGYR).

    1 Jul 2023 – 30 Sep 2024

    Links:

    Activity: Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition (Contributor)
  • Frontiers in Sports and Active Living (Journal)

    Review Editor within Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation:

    The Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation section of Frontiers in Sports and Active Living publishes high quality experimental, applied, clinical, and translational (i.e. knowledge translation) research across the fields of sports medicine, rehabilitation, sports science, strength and conditioning, and with a multidisciplinary approach including but not limited to physiological, biological, biomechanical, lifestyle (e.g. nutrition, sleep), psychological and societal aspects. The areas covered in this section inform contemporary scientific and practical knowledge of injury prevention and rehabilitation aimed at keeping individuals active and involved in sports.

    29 Jun 2023

    Activity: Editorial activity (Editorial board member)
  • External Examiner

    External examiner for the School of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Brighton.

    2 Apr 2023 – 1 Jun 2027

    Activity: Consultancy (Consultant)

2022

  • BU-IIA Funded Project: Life’s a beach: Anthropometric and psychological profiles of the World’s best Beach Sprint Rowers to determine future talent identification and selection protocols

    Anthropometric and psychological profiles of the World’s best Beach Sprint Rowers to determine future talent identification and selection protocols - research carried out by BU at 2022 World Coastal Rowing Championships.

    Rees et al.’s (2017) review of current knowledge on the development of the World’s best sporting talent, recommends practitioners adopt anthropometric profiling for talent selection protocols and psychological profiling for talent development purposes. Of note, Hardy et al. (2017) state anthropometric and psychological profiles are almost certainly sport specific. This also builds on Gottwald et al. 2022 work with Weightlifting Wales (KESS II funded).

    Project outcomes will be fourfold: (1) inform the development of talent selection and development protocols within British Rowing and globally; (2) contribute to research excellence via two high calibre REF returnable manuscripts and contribution to an impact case study (REF 2028); (3) strengthen industry partnerships via fostering relationships with Welsh, British, and World Rowing; and (4) enhance the student experience by providing skill development and employability opportunities for BU students. (1)Aligned with BU’s economic, social and civic impact, data will be used to inform talent identification, selection, and development protocols. Beach sprint rowing remains in its infancy and researchers and practitioners are yet to determine the optimal anthropometric and psychological profile for successful performance at the highest level of this sport. Having this unique data set will allow us to have genuine impact and raise the profile of the sport by enhancing the calibre of athletes competing within it. Similarly, data will contribute to enhanced inclusivity in rowing. Where traditionally, rowing has relied upon selection protocols biased towards ‘tall and talented’, the different physical demands of beach sprints will likely suit a smaller stature retaining a broader range of athletes within the sport. However, this shift is unlikely to happen without the proposed data to support it. (2)Aligned with research excellence, this work will contribute to a likely 4* rated REF impact case study (ICS) surrounding talent identification and development, continuing the School’s successful track record of this type of activity (1 x 3.5* and 1 x 4* REF 2020 ICS). It is well aligned with other talent related projects culminating within the current REF 2028 period, so would contribute to create some critical mass in this area (e.g., work with Weightlifting Wales / UK Sport Pathway to Podium / ECB). As testament to the potential calibre of this applied project, it has been supported in principle by the Welsh Institute of Performance Sciences; a three-way partnership between Sport Wales, Wales’ leading academic sport scientists, and relevant industry partners to support multi-disciplinary, world-leading, applied science projects that enhance the performance of Welsh athletes and businesses. The project will aim to culminate in one strong REF returnable output investigating the anthropometric and psychological determinants of expertise in beach sprinting; based largely on this being the first dataset of its kind and the unique nature of the elite sample. Data will also contribute to a second talent transfer oriented dataset (funded by Welsh Rowing) investigating differences in anthropometric and psychological profiles of beach sprinters transferring from traditional flat-water backgrounds to coastal rowing (the most common pathway rowers currently progress to elite levels within the sport). This will likely be another strong output due to talent transfer being a relatively novel aspect of the talent literature and the cutting-edge analytic techniques (i.e., pattern recognition analysis) we will utilise. Outputs produced by all the authors were entered in REF 2021 and were of at least 3* quality. (3)Our involvement in this event will support the primary research team to strengthen existing research collaborations with Welsh Rowing whilst developing new collaborations with British Rowing and the World federation, increasing the scale and scope of our research partnerships. This is consistent with the BU research strategy to increase visibility and impact of its world-leading research by fostering relationships with industry partners. We anticipate that this will help set the scene for future impact related work; one initiative World Rowing have already shown a keen interest in is the development of a new contemporary GPS-based timing system for the sport, which would have global impact and potential enterprise opportunities.

    Funding awarded through the Bangor University Innovation and Impact Award (Research Wales Innovation Funding). Value = £8,783

    4 May 2022 – 30 Apr 2023

    Activity: Other (Contributor)
  • BU-IIA Funded Project: Tackling Rugby Union’s Headache: Validity of a handheld medical device for the rapid assessment and evaluation of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI).

    Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) or ‘concussion’ affects 42 million people globally per year, with evidence emerging of an increased risk associated with history of repeated mTBI in the development of neurodegenerative disease. Therefore, accurate diagnosis is a priority, particularly in populations who are at a higher risk of acute and repeated mTBI, such as those participating in high-risk sports like Rugby Union. In practice, diagnosis is complex and relies on subjective clinical evaluation. Advances in brain imaging may provide a solution for misdiagnosis but has time and cost related barriers when rapid or repeated head injury assessment is required. Therefore, the primary aim of this study will be to evaluate the utility of an innovative handheld device that provides a rapid assessment of mTBI via changes in ocular micro-tremor (OMT). The study will assess the validity of the device in the Rugby Union setting to diagnose (i) acute pitch-side mTBI, (ii) mTBI 48-hours following a suspected injury when symptoms can be more pronounced and assess (iii) the long-term effects of a competitive Rugby Union season on brain function using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and assess potential correlates of brain imaging and OMT.

    If successful, this proof of concept study will likely be expanded to an International research project possibly within the URC European professional league. It is linked to ongoing research within HBS regarding concussions, particularly related to sports injuries.

    Involvement of Welsh Rugby Union Medical and Player Welfare Department, Rygbi Gogledd Cymru, Head Diagnostics Ltd,

    Funding awarded through the Bangor University Innovation and Impact Award (Research Wales Innovation Funding). Value = £33,133

    4 May 2022 – 30 Apr 2023

    Activity: Other (Contributor)

2021

2019

  • Squash Wales (External organisation)

    Independent board member with strategic responsibility for athletic performance.

    1 Aug 2019 – 6 Apr 2021

    Activity: Membership of board (Director)

2016

Grants

Owen, J.A., Studt, S. & Mullins, P.G. Head Sense (Synwyr Pen) - Concussion Prevention Workshop Development for Community Sport. Academy for Health Equity, Prevention and Wellbeing. March 2025.
 
Gottwald, V., Harrison, S & Owen, J.A. (collaboration with Welsh Weightlifting). Stronger Together Programme. Actif North Wales - Innovation Fund 2024-25. March 2025.
 
Owen, J.A. Stakeholder engagement with female youth rugby in North Wales for WISGYR Project. Bangor University Community Engagement Fund, June 2023

Owen, J.A. Evans, S.L. Gottwald, V. WISGYR – Welsh Injury Surveillance in Girls' Youth Rugby. World Rugby. December 2022.

Owen, J.A. Mullins, P.G. Head Sense: Prevention of sport-related brain trauma in the North Wales education sector. Applied Learning for Preventative Health Academy (ALPHAcademy), December 2022.

Owen, J.A. Mullins, P.G. Davis, O-E. Dardis, R. van Zuydam, D. Tackling Rugby Union’s Headache: Validity of a handheld medical device for the rapid assessment and evaluation of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI). Bangor University Impact and Innovation Award. August 2022.

Gottwald, V. Owen, J.A. Fella, D. Hardy, J. Life’s a beach: Anthropometric and psychological profiles of the World’s best Beach Sprint Rowers to determine future talent identification and selection protocols. Bangor University Impact and Innovation Award. August 2022.

Owen, J.A. Gottwald, V., Jones, E.S. Enhancing talent systems in rugby union. ESF Knowledge Exchange Scholarship Scheme (KESS II) Masters by Research Grant. April 2021.

Martin, R., Gottwald, V., Owen, J.A. The role of puberty in the relationship between relative age effects and sports injury. British Association of Sport & Exercise Medicine (BASEM). April 2021

Owen, J.A. and Jones, E.S. Psychological and physiological determinants of regional age-grade rugby players. ESF Knowledge Exchange Scholarship Scheme (KESS II) Masters by Research Grant.  November 2019.

Owen, J.A., Hardy, J.T., Mellalieu, S. Injury Risk in in Pre-Professional and Semi-Professional Regional Rugby Union. Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol PhD Studentship. July 2018.

Owen, J.A., Jones, E.S. and Hardy, J.T. Markers of athlete readiness in rugby union. ESF Knowledge Exchange Scholarship Scheme (KESS II) Masters by Research Grant. April 2018.

Blanchfield, A.W., Owen, J.A., and Griffiths, G. Development of a mindful-exercise training framework. ESRC Impact Acceleration Account. March 2016.

Earing, C.M.N., McKeon, D., Owen, J.A. and Kubis, H.P. Purchase of a pneumotachometer for research within the field of respiratory physiology in health and obstructive sleep apnoea. BCUHB Small grant scheme. February 2016

Owen, J.A., Moore, J.P., and Kubis, H.P.Pathophysiology of obstructive sleep apnoea. Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol PhD studentship. April 2015.

Owen, J.A. Conference and travel grant. European Hydration Institute. October 2012.

Owen, J.A., Walsh, N.P., and Oliver, S.J. Hypertonic and isotonic dehydration: effects on hydration marker utility and human performance. European Hydration Institute: Graduate research grant for the study of Human Hydration. January 2012.

Projects

North Wales Rugby Research Project. June 2018 to present.

Inspiratory effort perception and interoception to breathlessness in health and obstructive sleep apnoea. October 2015 to May 2020.

Methods of dehydration assessment and effects on subjective discomfort, well-being and exercise performance. October 2010 to September 2015.