Dr Mike Price

Supervisor Details

Contact Details

Centre for Physical Health and Exercise Sciences, Coventry University

Scientific Background

Research Interests

Thermoregulation; Upper Body Exercise; High-Intensity Exercise; Sodium Bicarbonate Ingestion; Exercise and Spinal Cord Injury

Dr Mike Price has published in this area continually over twenty years presenting a number of international keynote lectures and is a member of the American Spinal Injuries Association (ASIA) thermoregulation subcommittee. As well as other thermal physiology interests Mike also researches in the areas of upper body exercise and sodium bicarbonate ingestion, both of which have culminated in authoring British Association of Sport and Exercise Science (BASES) Expert Statements. At present he is examining the application of upper body exercise regimes to aspects such as fall prevention and ageing. He is the current chair of the Physiology and Nutrition Division of BASES.

Scientific Inspiration

I remember being taught about the history of medicine at school and learning about William Harvey who described circulation through the heart and around the body. I wondered how this could have been achieved without modern microscopes and instruments, but more simply from hundreds of dedicated measurements and theorizing – which has stayed with me.

Supervision Style

In three words or phrases: Supportive, detail-oriented, student-centred.

Provision of Training

I enjoy teaching the initial techniques required to get the student started and seeing the student’s technical skills and research understanding develop as the project does. Ultimately, the aim is for the student to be technically independent, demonstrating research integrity and scientific curiosity.

Progression Monitoring and Management

Monitoring progression is of key importance throughout the research journey. It is important to have an overview of the whole project from day one, and to see how the individual components contribute to this. Students will take ownership of their progression but with the support of the supervisory team. Regular writing and discussion of outputs in supervisory meetings facilitates development and keeps the thesis on track.

Communication

I expect communication to be a two-way process. Depending on the stage of the research, this may be led more by myself or the student. I will expect to know what is happening in the study with regular updates but would hope that the student feels they can always contact me for any reason.

PhD Students can expect scheduled meetings with me:

In a group meeting

At least once a month

In year 1 of PhD study

At least once a week

In year 2 of PhD study

At least once a week

In year 3 of PhD study

At least once a week

These meetings will be a mixture of face to face, via video chat or telephone, and I am usually contactable for an instant response 3 or 4 days per week.

Working Pattern

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 2 weeks' notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5000 words.

MIBTP Project Details

Current Projects (2025-26)

Primary supervisor for:

The effect of immunosuppression therapy on immune system responses to exercise

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).

The effect of immunosuppression therapy on immune system responses to exercise

Secondary Supervisor(s): Professor Lettie Bishop (Loughborough)

University of Registration: Coventry University

BBSRC Research Themes: Understanding the Rules of Life (Immunology)

Project Outline

Regular moderate exercise reduces the risk of infection compared with a sedentary lifestyle, but very prolonged bouts of exercise and periods of intensified training are associated with an increased infection risk (Gleeson and Walsh, 2011). Exercise and training can therefore have positive and negative effects on the immune system.

A novel approach to advance understanding the immune systems responses to exercise is examining individuals with immune system suppression, such as solid organ transplantees (SOT). Uniquely, SOT undergo deliberate immunosuppressive therapy to prevent organ rejection. Thus, immune suppression is a result of medication rather than primary pathology per se. Few studies have examined immune responses of SOT in relation to exercise. Cappuccilli et al, (2016) observed immune responses of SOT cyclists before and after a 130 km race. Responses of inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-a and interferon (IFN)-g paralleled those of non-SOT cyclists in the same race, however, greater values were observed for the SOT at rest, at the end of the race (IL-6) and 18-24 hours post-race (TNF-a), indicating dysregulated immune responses. Examining immune responses, infection rates and perceived wellbeing in SOT will help to further understand the ‘window of infection’ observed post exercise.

Objectives

The proposed research aims to determine the effects of exercise on immunological responses and infection rates in suppressed and non-suppressed immune systems and in relation to training status. Specific objectives are; to assess immune responses in compromised and non-compromised immune systems to 1) a resting immune challenge, 2) a standardised exercise challenge, 3) a period of intensified exercise training, and 4) to determine infection rates and participant wellbeing following each of objectives 1 to 3.

Methods

Participants will involve groups of individuals with SOT (immune suppressed group) and those without SOT (control group) and different training status. As the most common SOT undertaken is kidney transplantation, it is assumed that these individuals will be the target population, however, other SOT types will be considered. The following proposed methods to examine resting and exercise immune function challenges are similar. In assessing responses to acute exercise participants would be invited to the laboratory to undertake standardised acute exercise bout representative of typical exercise sessions (e.g. steady state aerobic exercise, 30-60 min). Immune function markers (such as; IL-6, TNF-a, IFN-g, immunoglobulin A [Ig-A]) and cortisol would be determined from blood samples at baseline, post exercise and at 24 and 48 hours of recovery. The number and function of the immune cells (e.g. toll-like receptors, regulatory T cells) and other biomarkers will be correlated with susceptibility to infection. Measures of kidney function will be taken at baseline and the same time points as immune system measures. Conventional exercise physiology techniques will be incorporated to determine the intensity of exercise undertaken (i.e. oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, respiratory exchange ratio, blood lactate concentration, heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion). These markers will be taken in conjunction with detailed self-reported incidences of infection and wellbeing diaries and conventional quantitative measures of physical activity (i.e. duration, heart rate and ratings of perceived exertion etc.). A similar approach can be utilised to determine changes pre and post a period of intensified exercise or repeated bouts of exercise.

References

Cappuccilli, M., et al. (2016). Inflammatory and Adipose Response in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients After a Marathon Cycling Race. Transplantation proceedings, 48(2), 408–414.

Gleeson, M., Walsh, N. P. (2012). The BASES expert statement on exercise, immunity, and infection. Journal of sports sciences, 30(3), 321–324.