Dr Ross Pollock is a Senior Lecturer in Aerospace Physiology in the Centre of Human & Applied Physiological Sciences (CHAPS) within the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine. His multidisciplinary research spans several of the Centre’s core themes, including Muscle Form & Function, Aerospace Medicine and Physiology, Movement Function & Behaviour, and Respiratory Physiology & Medicine. He is also Co-Director of the postgraduate Aerospace Medicine courses, and contributes to teaching on the MSc in Human and Applied Physiology and the BSc in Sport and Exercise Medical Sciences.

Ross holds a BSc, First Class Honours, in Sport and Exercise Science and an MSc in Bioengineering from the University of Strathclyde. He completed his PhD, entitled “Physiological and Clinical Studies on the Effects of Whole Body Vibration”, at King’s College London. His postdoctoral research investigated healthy ageing through the study of highly active older adults. Following his postdoctoral work, Ross spent four years at QinetiQ within the Human Performance and Flight Physiology Groups. During this time, he worked primarily on projects investigating the physiological effects of long-duration acceleration using the Farnborough human centrifuge. He also contributed to studies of aircrew performance in altitude and thermal environments, as well as research seeking to understand and reduce musculoskeletal injury risk in aircrew.

Ross’s research interests focus on aerospace physiology research investigating how acceleration, altered gravity and other environmental stressors affect the human body. His current interests include the physiological challenges associated with fast jet flight, suborbital spaceflight and the effects of microgravity on musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and general health. This work is particularly relevant as access to spaceflight expands beyond traditional career astronauts to members of the public, creating new questions around human performance, health screening, countermeasures and the protection of diverse spaceflight participants.

Alongside this Ross is also interested in human physiological function across the lifespan and in extreme environments. A central theme of his work is understanding how ageing, exercise and inactivity influence muscle mass, physical function and performance. This includes research involving master athletes, who provide a valuable model for studying successful ageing and the extent to which lifelong physical activity can preserve physiological function.