Professor Ashley Cooper

ashley.cooper@bristol.ac.uk    |    0117 331 1152

Ashley Cooper  

Ashley Cooper is Professor of Physical Activity & Public Health and Head of Centre and has been at Bristol since 1995. His specialist area of research is the objective measurement of physical activity, with a particular interest in the contribution of active travel to school to children’s physical activity and fitness. He is the Principal Investigator of the PEACH Project (Personal and Environmental Associations with Children’s Health), a study funded by the National Prevention Research Initiative and World Cancer Research Fund to investigate the personal and environmental influences on physical activity in children. Prof Cooper is also one of the lead researchers on the International Children’s Accelerometer Database (ICAD) and is involved in a number of physical activity intervention trials including Early-ACTID, a major randomised clinical trial of physical activity and dietary modification in the management of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes in adults. He is a co-applicant in the recently funded Biomedical Research Unit to be established in Bristol, where he will lead a programme of research on sedentary behaviour and type 2 diabetes.

 

Current Research Grants

World Cancer Research Fund. “Personal and Environmental Determinants of Children's Health (PEACH3)”. 1/11/10-30/04/14. £246,051. Dr A Cooper (PI), Dr A Page, Dr R Jago, Prof J Thompson, Dr R Andrews, Dr A Jones (UEA).

Medical Research Council.“Physical Environment and Activity Relationships in Adolescents (the PEAR project). 3 years from March 2011. (Dr A. Page (PI), Dr. A.R. Cooper, Dr A. Jones (UEA), Dr. S. Cummins (St Mary’s, London), Prof. L. Moore (Cardiff/)).

EU 7th framework. “I.Family: Determinants of eating behaviour in European children, adolescents and their parents”. 5 years from Nov 2011-October 2016. Work Package: “ Physical activity and the environment” . (Dr. A. Page (PI), Dr. A.R. Cooper)

Medical Research Council (National Prevention Research Initiative Phase 3). “Development of an after-school dance programme to increase physical activity and dance skills in 11-12 year old girls: the Bristol Girls Dance Project.” 2 years from January 2010. Dr Russ Jago (PI), Dr A Cooper, Dr A Haase, Dr J Powell (UWE), Dr A Montgomery.

EPSRC. “iConnect: Measuring and evaluating the transport, physical activity and carbon impacts of Sustrans Connect 2 programme.” 5 years from June 2008. £2,293,909. Prof J Preston (U. Southampton; PI), Dr A Cooper, Dr J Powell (UWE), Prof F Bull (U. Loughborough), Prof N Mutrie (U. Strathclyde), Dr D Ogilvie (U. Cambridge), Dr H Rutter (U. Oxford), Dr C Brand (U. Oxford).

Recently Completed

Medical Research Council (National Prevention Research Initiative Phase 2). “Pooling of children’s physical activity data.” 2 years from June 2008. £296,000. Prof C Riddoch (U. Bath; PI), Dr A Cooper, Dr U Ekelund (U. Cambridge), Prof K Judge (U. Bath).

Diabetes UK. “Completion of Early ACTID, A randomised controlled trial of the benefits of exercise early in the management of Type 2 diabetes.” 1 year from May 2008. £238,826. Dr R Andrews (PI), Dr A Cooper, Dr C Dayan, Prof. D Sharp, Prof. T Peters, Dr A Montgomery.

World Cancer Research Fund. “Personal and Environmental Determinants of Eating Behaviours and Obesity in Adolescents (PEACHEB)”. 1/11/07-31/10/10. PI.

US National Institutes of Health. “Physical activity and childhood obesity”. 1/8/07-31/8/11. Co-applicant. (PI Prof. C. Riddoch, Bath University)

National Institutes for Health Research - RfPB Programme. “REDUCE: Development of a Cognitive-Behavioural Intervention to Reduce the Risk of Re-ulceration in Patients with Diabetes”. 1/10/07-30/9/09. Co-applicant. (PI, K. Vedhara, Social Medicine).

Department of Health. “A feasibility study to develop and test the potential effectiveness of a peer-led intervention to increase physical activity and healthy eating in adolescence”. 1/9/07-31/8/09. Co-applicant. (PI, Prof. R. Campbell, Social Medicine).

Medical Research Council (National Prevention Research Initiative). “Environmental determinants of physical activity and obesity in adolescents”. 1/5/06-30/4/09. P.I.

Medical Research Council (National Prevention Research Initiative). “Profiles of physical activity in older adults: Project OPAL”.  1/11/06-31/10/08. Co-applicant. (PI Prof. K. Fox, ENHS).

British Heart Foundation. “Inflammation in Cardiovascular Disease: Does physical activity improve pro- and anti-atherogenic inflammation in early Type 2 Diabetes?” 1/7/05-30/6/08. Co-applicant. (PI D. Thompson, Bath University).

Diabetes UK. “A randomised controlled trial of the benefits of exercise early in the management of Type 2 diabetes – Early ACTID”. 1/6/04-31/5/07. Co-applicant. (PI R. Andrews, Medicine).

National Heart Research Fund. “The effect of structured exercise training on quality of life, cardiac function and exercise capacity of adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease”. 1 year. £53,624. 1/12/03-30/11/04. Co-applicant. (PI J. Dua, Paediatric Cardiology).

 

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Teaching

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