The first wave of PhD students funded by the NIHR Exeter Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) are now publishing their research, marking an important milestone for the centre’s investment in developing future clinical and academic leaders.
The NIHR Exeter BRC has now funded 21 PhD students since its launch, supporting early-career researchers to tackle health challenges through collaborative research across the South West.
Among the first wave of BRC-funded PhD students, Ben Bowhay has published new findings which highlight the need for more personalised exercise programmes for people living with interstitial lung disease (ILD). Thousands of people in the UK are affected by ILD, a group of around 200 lung conditions, including pulmonary fibrosis, that cause scarring of the lungs and make breathing increasingly difficult. Pulmonary rehabilitation is a key part of treatment, helping people manage breathlessness, increase activity levels, and improve quality of life.
Ben’s systematic review, published in Clinical Rehabilitation, found that while cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) can be used to tailor rehabilitation and improve outcomes, current clinical practice is highly inconsistent. The study was carried out in collaboration with clinicians at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and forms part of Ben’s PhD at the University of Exeter Medical School.
Ben said: “I am pleased to have explored this important area of research; the systematic review underscores the need for greater precision in exercise prescription to benefit individuals living with interstitial lung diseases. Looking ahead, I am keen to integrate CPET into my future PhD studies to advance personalised, evidence-based approaches for exercise prescription in ILD management.”
The review analysed 11 studies that used CPET to guide pulmonary rehabilitation in ILD. The team found that personalised exercise programmes based on CPET measures, such as heart rate and oxygen uptake, led to improvements in exercise capacity, including aerobic fitness and peak work rate. However, the review also found substantial variation in how rehabilitation programmes were designed, delivered, and reported, making it difficult for clinicians to follow a standard approach.
Professor Chris Scotton academic supervisor said: “Pulmonary rehabilitation is an important part of the holistic care package for patients with interstitial lung disease. As Ben’s study shows, it is feasible to tailor the pulmonary rehab to an individual patient’s needs, based on the outcome of doing cardiopulmonary exercise testing – but it also highlights some of the barriers that remain. His ongoing work through the BRC will help to address this knowledge gap for patient benefit.”
Ben’s next phase of research, supported by the NIHR Exeter BRC and Royal Devon colleagues, will focus on people with pulmonary fibrosis. The team will test new CPET-based methods to help clinicians personalise and standardise exercise programmes more effectively.
Professor Michael Gibbons, Senior Investigator Fellow at the NIHR Exeter BRC and Lead Consultant ILD Physician at Royal Devon and University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (RDUH) said: “It is wonderful to see our post-graduate students undertaking not just novel research, but importantly research which aims to provide fast and tangible benefits to our patients. We are highly optimistic that Ben’s PhD we will create a personalised approach to symptom support of patients with pulmonary fibrosis, a life-limiting condition. The equipment Ben will be using has been wholly funded by the NIHR and supported by the NIHR Exeter BRC in partnership with the RDUH.”
Professor Craig Williams, Director of the Children’s Health and Exercise Research Centre added: “This review comprehensively details pulmonary rehabilitation programmes and shows that while aerobic fitness improved in people with interstitial lung disease, how fitness was measured and reported was inconsistent and needs greater uniformity. Ben’s ongoing work, supported through the BRC, will help inform more standardised practice and improve reporting and follow-up.”
This paper forms part of the growing body of research from NIHR Exeter BRC’s first cohort of PhD students, demonstrating the centre’s commitment to developing future clinical and academic research leaders.
The paper, titled “Utilisation of cardiopulmonary exercise testing for tailored pulmonary rehabilitation in people with interstitial lung diseases: A systematic review,” is published in Clinical Rehabilitation (SAGE).
For more information, contact Dr Owen Tomlinson, senior author on the study, at O.W.Tomlinson@exeter.ac.uk.
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