Tom holds a BSc (Hons) in Sports and Exercise Science from Brighton University (2010) and an MSc in Sports Performance from Portsmouth University (2012). After working for the NHS and Nuffield Health for 2 years, Tom returned to education and completed a PhD in Exercise and Health Nutrition at Northumbria University. Upon completion of this PhD (2017), Tom took a job at Newcastle University as a Teaching Fellow and subsequently a Lecturer in Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism at Newcastle University. In October 2019, Tom joined Loughborough University as a Lecturer in Physiology and Nutrition.
Tom is a British Association of Sports and Exercise Sciences Accredited Practitioner and Registered Sports and Exercise Nutritionist.
Tom has a wide range of research interests, including:
- How nutrition can expedite recovery following exercise in younger and older adults,
- The effect of nutritional supplements on bioavailability, immune responses, and gut health during and after exercise,
- The health and wellbeing of elite soccer players.
Tom has performed as a nutrition consultant for a number of elite sports teams and organisations, including Newcastle Falcons R.F.C, British Paralympic Swimming and Brighton and Hove Albion F.C.
Featured publications
- Clifford, T., Ventress, M., Allerton, D. M., Stansfield, S., Tang, J. C., Fraser, W. D., ... & Stevenson, E. (2019). The effects of collagen peptides on muscle damage, inflammation and bone turnover following exercise: A randomized, controlled trial. Amino Acids, 51(4), 691-704.
- Abbott, W., Brownlee, T. E., Harper, L. D., Naughton, R. J., Richardson, A., & Clifford, T. (2019). A season long investigation into the effects of injury, match selection and training load on mental wellbeing in professional under 23 soccer players: A team case study. European journal of sport science, 1-7.
- Abbott, W., Brett, A., Cockburn, E., & Clifford, T. (2019). Presleep casein protein ingestion: acceleration of functional recovery in professional soccer players. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 14(3), 385-391.
- Clifford, T., Wood, M. J., Stocks, P., Howatson, G., Stevenson, E. J., & Hilkens, C. M. (2017). T-regulatory cells exhibit a biphasic response to prolonged endurance exercise in humans. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 117(8), 1727-1737.
- Clifford, T., Bowman, A., Capper, T., Allerton, D. M., Foster, E., Birch-Machin, M., ... & Stevenson, E. J. (2017). A pilot study investigating reactive oxygen species production in capillary blood after a marathon and the influence of an antioxidant-rich beetroot juice. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 43(3), 303-306.
- Clifford, T., Constantinou, C. M., Keane, K. M., West, D. J., Howatson, G., & Stevenson, E. J. (2017). The plasma bioavailability of nitrate and betanin from Beta vulgaris rubra in humans. European Journal of Nutrition, 56(3), 1245-1254.
- Clifford, T., Howatson, G., West, D., & Stevenson, E. (2015). The potential benefits of red beetroot supplementation in health and disease. Nutrients, 7(4), 2801-2822.