Dr Jennifer Davies

(she/her)

BSc, MSc, PhD, FHEA

Publication

• Date
• Type

Research

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I study the spinal and supraspinal neural control of dynamic movements, and the impact of pain, stress or anxiety, and musculoskeletal or neurological disorders on this control. To do this I use techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex, surface electromyography (including high-density electrode arrays), intramuscular electromyography, peripheral nerve stimulation and motion capture. 

Many of my current projects are studying the neural control of balance and walking. This includes using transcranial magnetic stimulation to evaluate the corticospinal pathway to the lower limbs during walking, using peripheral nerve stimulation to study the modulation of spinal pathways during walking, and using electrical stimulation to study the modulation of the nocicpetive withdrawal reflex during gait. I worked with industry to develop a system whereby transcranial magnetic stimulation can be delivered while an individual is performing dynamic movements such as walking and this is integrated in a state-of-the-art motion capture laboratory that includes an instrumented split-belt treadmill and a virtual visual environment. You can see this system in this 3-min video. The most recent work using this equipment is available to read here - Corticospinal Excitability in Response to Mediolateral Gait Instability | bioRxiv

I am interested in how the neural control of movement is impacted by the conditions in which we are moving. For example, how does it change when we are in pain? Or when were are stressed/anxious? Or when we are fatigued? I lead the GW4 Community Studying Fatigue in People with Multiple Long-Term Conditions and am an active member of the GW4 Biopsychosocial Pain Network (BPN)

I am also involved in projects that cross disciplines such as neuroscience, healthcare, psychology, engineering, and even architecture. I am co applicant on a large £1.2M interdisciplinary project funded by UKRI to look at how people respond to being in buildings that sway. You can read more about that here Welsh universities team up on protect to make high-rise buildings greener. I also have expertise in translational research, particularly around the use of technology in healthcare. I was co-applicant on a project looking at Clinical acceptance of technology in remote rehabilitation assessment: addressing urgent COVID challenges to drive future technology transfer, funded by MRC and Ser Cymru (Welsh Government) and wrote the code to generate easily accessible pdf reports for clinicians as part of a sensor-based movement toolkit that continues to be developed at Cardiff Univeristy (freely available as an executable file here The Sensor Physiotherapy Intervention Movement Analysis Report (SPINMAR).

I have extensive experience working with healthy and clinical populations, including stroke, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington's disease, and chronic pain. Throughout my career I have focused on translational research, collaborating with basic scientists and clinicians to produce high-quality scientific work that is pertinent to real-life clinical problems.

I have a wide-ranging expertise in nerve and muscle stimulation techniques, electromyography, single neurone recordings, gait and balance analyses, three-dimensional motion capture, and brain stimulation and imaging. I am skilled at designing and writing analysis programmes (in Matlab) for large volumes of data, and I have a record of publication in high-quality scientific journals.

Teaching

Current teaching profile

I am currently supervising the following PhD students 

• Bethan Thomas. School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University
  Beth is funded by a studentship from Health and Care Research Wales to investigate interactions between physiological, cognitive and behavioural variables in people experiencing Long COVID. 
  [Full supervisory team: Dr Jennifer Davies (co-lead); Professor Chris Bundy (co-lead), Dr Rachael Pattinson]
  
  
• Connor Thacker. School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University
  Connor is funded by EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) to investigate the neuromechanics of balance and walking. 
  Full supervisory team: Dr Jennifer Davies (lead); Professor Cathy Holt, Dr David Williams]
  
  
• Mohammed Alghamdi. School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University
  Mohammed is conducting a project to compare the effect of embodiment-and distraction-based immersive virtual reality approaches on pain processing mechanisms and patient-reported outcome measures in people with persistent low back pain. He is evaluating pain processing mechanisms using quantitative sensory testing.
  [Full supervisory team: Professor Valerie Sparkes (lead), Dr Jennifer Davies, Dr Sharmila Khot]
  
  
• Solya Székely. School of Psychology, University of Bath
  Solya is funded by a GW4 Biomed2 MRC Doctoral Training Partnership award and is researching movement-related symptoms and their cortical representation in chronic pain.
  [Full supervisory team: Dr Janet Bultitude (University of Bath; lead); Dr Jennifer Davies; Dr Gavin Buckingham (Exeter University); Professor Chris Chambers]

I have supervised the following PhD students, who have now graduated 

• Riham Abuzinadah. School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University
  Riham is exploring the utility of personalised sensor-based clinical movement analysis in people with chronic knee pain to inform physiotherapy practice.
  [Full supervisory team: Dr Kate Button (lead), Dr Mohammad Al Amri, Dr Jennifer Davies, Dr Sharmila Khot]

I lead the Research Ethics and Governance module within the postgraduate research seminar series in the School of Healthcare Sciences, and the Research Methods in Healthcare module within Pre-Registration Physiotherapy (MSc) degree. I also teach on several modules across the MSc and BSc programmes. This includes

• Applied Research (MSc level)
• Neurorehabilitation: A Theoretical Basis (MSc level)
• Clinical Kinesiology and Tissue Pathology (MSc level)
• Research Methods and Data Analysis in Healthcare (Msc level)
• Conducting Research in Physiotherapy (BSc level)

Previous teaching profile

I have previously taught on the following modules within the  BSc programme

• Physiology, Pathology and Exercise (BSc level). (2021-2022)
  
  

PGT dissertation supervision

I supervise final year dissertation projects of students on the Pre-Registration Physiotherapy (MSc) degree, Physiotherapy (MSc) degree, Sport and Exercise Physiotherapy (MSc) degree, and Physiotherapy (BSc) degree. I have also previously supervised and am available to supervise final year dissertation projects of students on the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (MSc) degree.

Current MSc projects under supervision:

• The impact of cognitive fatigue on corticospinal excitability during the preparatory stage of a physical task
• The distribution of activity within upper trapezius muscle over prolonged desk-based computer work in healthy adults
• The effect of physical fatigue on activity of the quadriceps muscles during the landing phase of a single leg hop for height
• The impact of cognitive fatigue on learning and retention of a visuomotor task
• The effect of unilateral knee extension fatigue on corticospinal responsiveness of non-fatigued contralateral knee extensor muscles in healthy adults
• The impact of acute exposure to a psychosocial stressor on performance of the Y balance test in young healthy adult males
• The effects of bodyweight percentage and running speed on soleus muscle activity during treadmill running.
• The impact of hip flexion angle on adductor muscle activity during the adductor squeeze test in healthy males
• The association between frontal plane projection angle and mobility of the hip and ankle joints during the single-leg squat in healthy adults

Previous MSc projects supervised:

• Spatial distribution of trapezius and erector spinae muscle activity during sustained computer work perform in conditions designed to simulate low and high-pressure work environments
• The effect of dual-tasking on muscle activity during a drop jump in health adults
• A comparison of muscle activity across a drop jump and a 180-degree pivot manoeuvre
• The effect of psychosocial stress on mechanical pain sensitivity in individuals with and without chronic low back pain. This project was presented at the Society for Back Pain Annual General Meeting 2022. View the published abstract here. 
• Development of a system to maintain to allow delivery of transcranial magnetic stimulation during treadmill walking
• Landing biomechanics of the lower extremity during jump-landing tasks in populations following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A scoping review

Previous BSc project supervised:

• The effect of dual-tasking on kinematics and muscle activity during a single-leg hop for distance in healthy adults

Personal tutoring

I am a personal tutor to students across the Pre-Registration Physiotherapy (MSc), Physiotherapy (MSc), Advanced Clinical Practice (MSc) and Physiotherapy (BSc) degrees.

Biography

I have worked in world-renowned research laboratories across the globe, including the Neurophysiology of Movement Laboratory at the University of Colorado Boulder, the Virtual Reality and Mobility Research Unit at the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital in Laval, Quebec, the Applied Neuromuscular Physiology Laboratory at the University of Colorado Denver, and the Whole-Body Sensorimotor Laboratory at the Institute of Neurology, University College London. Prior to my lectureship, I was a post-doctoral research associate within the Biomechanics and Bioengineering Research Centre Versus Arthritis here at Cardiff Unviersity.

Professional memberships

• The Physiological Society
• International Society for Posture and Gait Research
• International Motoneurone Society

Academic positions

• Aug 2023 - present: Senior Lecturer, Teaching & Research (Full time), School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University, Wales
• May 2021 - Aug 2023: Lecturer, Teaching & Research (Full time), School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University, Wales
• Mar 2019 – May 2021: Postdoctoral Research Associate (Part time, 0.6–0.8FTE), Biomechanics and Bioengineering Centre Versus Arthritis, School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University, Wales
• Apr 2018 – Mar 2019: Career break (maternity leave)
• Oct 2016 – Apr 2018: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Arthritis Research UK Biomechanics and Bioengineering Centre, School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University, Wales
• Oct 2015 – Sep 2016: Career break (maternity leave)
• Oct 2014 – Sep 2015:Site Coordinator (Part time, 0.1 FTE), ENGAGE-HD Randomised Clinical Trial, Cardiff University, Wales
• Jul 2014 – Sep 2015: Research Assistant (Part time, 0.5 FTE), School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University, Wales
• Apr 2012 ­– Jun 2014: Career break*
• Oct 2010 – Mar 2012: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, Institute of Neurology, University College London, England
• Aug 2007 ­– Oct 2010:Graduate Research Assistant, The Applied Neuromuscular Physiology Laboratory, University of Colorado Denver, USA
• Jun 2005 – Aug 2007: Graduate Research Assistant, The Posture, Balance and Gait Research Unit, Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital, Laval, Canada
• Aug 2003 – Jul 2004:Research Assistant, Neural Control of Movement Laboratory, University of Colorado Boulder, CO, USA

Speaking engagements

• Invited speaker. Brainbox Workshop: Noninvasive Brain Stimulation
  Basic Principles of TMS
  Cardiff, November 2024
  
  
• Invited speaker. Chronic Pain Neurotechnology Network+ Workshop
  Moving with pain: Towards understanding the neural bases of changes in movement and mobility in the presence of pain
  Exeter, July 2024
  
  
• Invited speaker. Advanced Pain Discovery Platform Annual Meeting
  Probing the neurophysiology of sensorimotor systems in chronic pain
  Nottingham, June 2024
  
  
• Invited speaker. British Orthopaedics Research Society Public Lecture
  From mind to muscles: One step at a time
  Cardiff, May 2022

Committees and reviewing

• Chair, School of Healthcare Sciences Research Ethics Committee

Supervisions

I am interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:

• Human movement
• Neural control of movement
• Psychophysiology
• Kinesiology
• Biomechanics
• Neuromechanics