Dr Joseph Welch

Supervisor Details

Contact Details

School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences , University of Birmingham

Scientific Background

Research Interests

Dr Joseph Welch is a respiratory physiologist with expertise in the neural control of breathing, respiratory neuroplasticity, respiratory muscle fatigue, and the mechanics of breathing during exercise.

Research theme: Rehabilitation and Motor Control

Special interest research groups: Integrative Physiology of Exercise, and Neuroscience and Brain Health

Research interests:

Control of breathing
Respiratory muscle fatigue
Exercise physiology
Neuroplasticity
Phrenic nerve stimulation
Intermittent hypoxia

Supervision Style

In three words or phrases: detail-oriented, data-driven, teaching.

Provision of Training

I will provide specific training in technical lab-based skills in respiratory physiology/neurophysiology, and oversee more general training of fundamental academic skills such as writing and analysing data. You will also be trained by experienced fellow lab members and a team of supporting academic supervisors.

Progression Monitoring and Management

You will be independent but guided by mentors. You will be expected to take the initiative and show leadership in all aspects of your research. If necessary, together we will generate a formal training plan and set deadlines for various activities to ensure you are developing core skills/competencies and are on-track to meet the requirements of successful degree completion.

Communication

My door is always open. Whilst you should manage your time effectively without the need for oversight, I expect to interact with you regularly and be kept informed of progress, including successes, failures, obstacles etc.

Meetings

PhD Students can expect scheduled meetings with me at least once per month. These meetings will be face-to-face. I am usually contactable for an instant response every working day.

Work Patterns

The timing of work in my lab is completely flexible, and (other than attending pre-arranged meetings), I expect students to manage their own time.

Notice Period for Feedback

I need at least 1 week’s notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5000 words.

MIBTP Project Details

Primary supervisor for:

Cerebellar Contributions to Respiratory Motor Learning

See the PhD Opportunities section to see if this project is currently open for applications via MIBTP.

Please Note: The main page lists projects via BBSRC Research Theme(s) quoted and then relevant Topic(s).

Cerebellar Contributions to Respiratory Motor Learning

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Katja Kornysheva

University of Registration: University of Birmingham

BBSRC Research Themes:

Understanding the Rules of Life (Systems Biology)

Project Outline

Plasticity, defined as a persistent change in structure and/or function based on experience, is a fundamental property of robust biological neural systems to maintain homeostasis (Mitchell & Baker, 2022). Respiration is a vital movement that facilitates tissue oxygenation. Whilst the neural control of breathing was once considered fixed and inflexible, it is now widely appreciated that respiration is adaptive and expresses profound capacity for neural plasticity. One example of respiratory motor plasticity is ventilatory long-term facilitation, defined as an increase in the volume of air breathed every minute that lasts hours after exposure to repeated short bouts of breathing low oxygen air, termed acute intermittent hypoxia (Dempsey & Welch, 2023).

Little is known about the mechanisms underpinning ventilatory long-term facilitation in humans. However, removal of the cerebellar vermis completely abolishes phrenic long-term facilitation in rats (Hayashi et al., 1993), suggesting that the cerebellum is necessary for this learned response. Unlocking the mechanisms that contribute to respiratory motor learning is important in understanding how the respiratory control system changes over time and when faced with various permanent or recurrent physiological challenges, such as ageing, onset of disease or injury, pregnancy, exposure to hypoxia, exercise etc. Failure to adapt to these challenges will result in respiratory failure, potentially leading to death.

To that end, three specific aims are proposed. Aim 1 tests the hypothesis that cerebellar stimulation alters the magnitude of ventilatory plasticity induced by acute intermittent hypoxia in healthy humans. Aim 2 tests the hypothesis that ventilatory plasticity is impaired in people with spinocerebellar ataxia. Aim 3 tests the hypothesis that ventilatory plasticity is associated with increased cerebellar activity, as measured using magnetoencephalography (MEG or OPM-MEG).

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