Postgraduate Teaching Assistant opportunities

Find opportunities to gain teaching experience alongside your PhD.

Combining a teaching role with postgraduate research, PGTA positions are an exciting opportunity to complete a PhD under the supervision of Loughborough University's expert staff while gaining invaluable experience in the delivery of learning and teaching.

Postgraduate Teaching Assistant (PGTA)

  • PGTA roles are available in the following areas: Biomechanics and Motor Control; Sport Physiology and Nutrition / Physiology; Clinical Exercise Physiology; Biosciences; and Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy.
  • Job Family and Grade: Specialist and Supporting Academic (SSA) Grade 5.
  • Fixed-term for five years, or until completion of a PhD, whichever is sooner.

The School is currently recruiting for several PGTAs to support discipline-led teaching.

This teaching role will include:

  • Demonstrating/Seminars/Tutorials
  • Supervision
  • Mentoring/tutoring
  • Highly moderated marking
  • Answering student enquiries on behalf of the module leader, and escalating these to the module leader, where necessary.

Applicants will have a strong academic background in a relevant academic area, combined with experience of undertaking a research project and the ability to pursue a substantial independent research project over a sustained period.

Studentship tuition fees will be paid by the University, but as the post will attract a full-time SSA Grade 5 salary (£25,627 - £30,497 per annum), no additional studentship stipend will be paid. Progression opportunities exist within the post as there is the potential to progress to SSA Grade 6 on gaining Associate Fellow status of the Higher Education Academy (or other such body) plus meeting additional criteria after no less than two years of employment.

Only individuals with existing rights to work and study in the UK can be considered, as the role does not meet the requirements for visa sponsorship under UK immigration regulations.

Application and Interview:

  • Biomechanics (REQ220934)
  • Sport Physiology and Nutrition / Physiology (REQ220936)
  • Clinical Exercise Physiology (REQ220933)
  • Biosciences (REQ220935)
  • Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy (REQ220937)

The closing date for receipt of PGTA employment applications is: Thursday, 18 August 2022

Interviews will be held in September 2022.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Only those candidates who are invited to attend for interview will be required to complete an application form for PhD study, therefore applications should only be submitted by the invited candidates, when asked.
Within the ‘Supporting Statement’ of their application for employment, applicants should indicate their interest in a maximum of three PhD projects, in order of preference (see list below)

PhD Projects:

Biomechanics

Project Proposal
 
Project Title 
 
Supervisory Team 
 
Energy dissipation in human soft tissue during impacts 
Dr Matt Pain
Dr Sam Allen
Dr Stuart McErlain-Naylor 
Exploring, preventing and rehabilitating chronic ankle instability 
Dr Daniel Fong

Ankle joint moments and Achilles tendon forces from wearable technology: development and application of internal biomechanical training load measures 
Dr Stuart McErlain-Naylor
Dr Daniel Fong 
To determine the underlying control strategy employed in human locomotion 
Dr Michael Hiley
Dr Sam Allen 
Computer simulation modelling: Applications to optimal technique and motor learning 
Dr Michael Hiley
Dr Sam Allen 
Modelling of musculoskeletal function during maximal velocity sprinting 
Dr Sam Allen
Dr Glen Blenkinsop 

Biosciences

Project Proposal 
Project Title
Supervisory Team
Investigating relationships between early life antibiotic prescriptions and health outcomes using longitudinal datasets 
Dr Emily Petherick
Prof Emily Rousham 
LEAF: Linking Environment, Adaptation and Function 
Dr Daniel Longman
Professor Lettie Bishop
Dr Colin Shaw, University of Zurich 
Muscle-bone crosstalk: The role of soluble factors released during exercise in musculoskeletal health 
Dr Owen Davies
Dr Andy Capel
Prof Mark Lewis 
Assessing the threat of advanced drug delivery systems for sports doping
Dr Owen Davies
Dr Liam Heaney
Dr Guido Bolognesi
Prof Mario Thevis (WADA-accredited Lab Director, Cologne) 
Non-invasive mass spectrometry discrimination of critical threat antimicrobial-resistant chronic wound infection diagnosis 
Martin R. Lindley (SSEHS)
Elizabeth Radcliffe (Chem Eng) 
Vitamin D, immune function and general health 
Dr Martin R. Lindley
Dr Sarabjit Mastana 
Gut microbiome-derived metabolites and their protective effect on metabolic health and immunity 
Dr Liam Heaney
Dr James King
Dr Marilyn Ong
External Collaborator: Dr Andrea Salzano (Cardarelli Hospital, Naples, Italy) 
Investigating the effects of exercise and disease on telomere biology 
Dr Sarabjit Mastana
Dr Martin R. Lindley 
How does nutrition and exercise influences epigenetic signatures in diverse populations (endurance/ resistance athletes and cardiometabolic diseases)? 
Dr Sarabjit Mastana
Dr Martin R. Lindley 
Nutrigenomic and epigenetic contributions to BAME pregnancy health outcomes   
Dr Martin R. Lindley
Dr Sarabjit Mastana 

Clinical Exercise Physiology

Project Proposal
Project Title 
Supervisory Team 
Interruptions to sitting time: Impact on cardiometabolic and inflammatory profiles 
Dr Nicola Paine
Dr Christof Leicht 
Sedentary behaviour, physical activity, psychological stress and vascular health - implications for cardiovascular disease 
Dr Nicola Paine
Dr Emma O’Donnell 
QRM62 Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: evaluating the efficacy of non-surgical treatment approaches Dr Tom Balshaw
Dr Jakob Skarabot
QRM2 LEAF: Linking Environment, Adaptation and Function Dr Daniel Longman
Professor Lettie Bishop
Dr Colin Shaw, University of Zurich

PE and Sport Pedagogy

Project Proposal
Project Title 
Supervisory Team 
Investigating and developing coaches’ use of dialogic pedagogy 
Dr Ed Cope
Prof Chris Cushion 
Caring in the coach-athlete dyad: Developing relational coaching that is caring 
Prof Sophia Jowett
Dr Ed Cope 
Coach behaviour analysis and collaborative action research: Investigating pedagogical tools as catalysts for coaches’ learning and development 
Prof Chris Cushion
Dr Ed Cope 
Reimagining Physical Education and School Sport for Inclusion 
Dr Janine Coates
Dr Oliver Hooper
Dr Rachel Sandford 
Co-constructing ‘Pedagogies for Voice’ within Physical Education 
Dr Oliver Hooper
Dr Rachel Sandford 
Examining the potential of Physical Education for promoting Social and Emotional Learning 
Dr Rachel Sandford
Dr Oliver Hooper 
What’s the point of PE? Exploring young people’s experiences of PE curricula within the UK to promote curriculum development 
Dr Julie Stirrup
Dr Rachel Sandford
Dr Oliver Hooper 
Teacher - pupil health and well-being and the role of schools in enhancing both 
Dr Julie Stirrup
Prof Lorraine Cale 
Physical Education teachers’ understandings of and engagement with Physical Literacy in practice 
Dr Julie Stirrup
Prof Lorraine Cale 

Sport Physiology and Nutrition / Physiology

Project Proposal
Project Title 
Supervisory Team 
Field testing in Wheelchair Sports 
Prof Vicky Tolfrey
Dr Keith Tolfrey 
Impact of dairy food components on biomarkers of cardiometabolic health 
Dr Oonagh Markey
Dr Emma O’Donnell 
Acquirement and decay of haematological (H) and non-haematological (NH) terrestrial hypoxia [(eg. Live-High Train-Low (LHTL) and/or Live-High Train-High (LHTH)] derived adaptations in elite endurance athletes. 
Dr Lee Taylor
Dr Lewis James
Prof Gregoire Millet (University of Lausanne)
Dr Andrew Shaw (British Athletics/EIS) 
Optimising carbohydrate intake for performance and health in endurance athletes 
Dr Stephen Mears
Dr Lewis James 
Physical work and exercising in the heat: how can hydration strategies reduce the risk of kidney injury? 
Dr Stephen Mears
Dr Lewis James 
Mechanisms for inter-individual variability in postprandial lipaemic responses to acute exercise in adolescents – a genetic and methodological approach. 
Dr Keith Tolfrey
Dr Laura Barrett
Dr Sarabjit Mastana 
The Gut-Sport Axis: Investigating the use of gut microbiome-derived metabolites to improve muscular function and sports performance 
Dr Liam Heaney
Dr Stephen Bailey
Dr Lewis James
Dr Marilyn OngExternal collaborator:  Tindaro Bongiovanni (Parma Calcio FC, Italy) 
Player development during University 
Dr Laura Barrett
External collaborators:  Dr Caroline Sunderland and Dr John Morris (Nottingham Trent University) 
Towards a mechanistic understanding of task failure during exhaustive exercise 
Dr Mark Burnley
Dr Richard Ferguson
Dr Stephen Bailey
Dr Martin Lindley (TBC) 
Relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) and the amenorrheic athlete: cardiovascular consequences 
Dr Emma O’Donnell
Dr Oonagh Markey 
Fast and strong: Neural determinants of increases in rate of force development 
Dr Jakob Skarabot
Prof Jonathan Folland
Dr Paul Sanderson
Neuromuscular training for young people recovering from eating disorders and disordered eating   
Dr Richard Blagrove
Dr Carolyn Plateau