![Dr Lee Romer]()
Dr Lee Romer
Dr Lee Romer is a Reader in Human and Applied Physiology at Brunel University of London. His research examines how respiratory function influences exercise tolerance in health and disease. Following his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Brunel, Dr Romer worked as a physiologist at the British Olympic Medical Centre before undertaking his doctoral research at the University of Birmingham. He subsequently completed post-doctoral research at the John Rankin Laboratory of Pulmonary Medicine, University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA, before returning to Brunel in 2004. He was appointed Reader in 2009 and served as Head of Department (formerly Division) of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences from 2014 to 2018. Dr Romer has authored more than 100 journal articles, invited reviews and book chapters, including contributions to publications associated with the American College of Sports Medicine, American Physiological Society, American Thoracic Society and International Olympic Committee Medical Commission. He is currently Senior Editor of Experimental Physiology and has held editorial positions with several other international journals. He is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and The Physiological Society and an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences. His work has attracted more than 9,000 citations, with a Google Scholar h-index of 47. Dr Romer’s research centres on the physiological mechanisms through which the respiratory system can limit exercise tolerance in health and disease. His work has examined the integrated contribution of respiratory muscle function, respiratory muscle work, ventilatory mechanics and pulmonary gas exchange to exercise performance, spanning both fundamental mechanisms and their relevance to athletic and clinical populations. His early research demonstrated the susceptibility of the respiratory muscles to fatigue and established important physiological mechanisms underlying the benefits of inspiratory muscle training. This work subsequently extended to the cardiovascular consequences of respiratory muscle work and fatigue, including the respiratory metaboreflex and its effects on blood flow and fatigue in the locomotor muscles. His research has also investigated pulmonary gas exchange, exercise-induced arterial hypoxaemia and the effects of altered oxygen transport on peripheral and central mechanisms of fatigue. Related work has examined respiratory responses to exercise in athletes with spinal cord injury and during upper-body exercise in able-bodied individuals, including the interaction between respiratory and postural demands. More recently, his research has focused on the contractile function of the respiratory muscles through the development and application of diaphragm ultrasonography and multimodal approaches. This work has included the assessment of respiratory muscle contractile properties and their integration with respiratory mechanics and neural respiratory drive, alongside research examining sex- and age-related differences in respiratory function and exertional dyspnoea. Together, these studies seek to advance understanding of how respiratory muscle function and respiratory system constraints influence exercise tolerance and the experience of breathlessness across different populations and physiological conditions. Dr Romer’s research has involved collaborations with investigators and research groups in the UK, Canada, USA and Europe. He has secured research support through competitive grants, fellowships, studentships and collaborative awards from organisations including UK Sport, ParalympicsGB, the Canadian Lung Association, The Royal Society, The Physiological Society, NSERC Canada and Mitacs. He has also delivered numerous invited presentations at international scientific and professional meetings, including keynote lectures and symposium presentations for organisations such as the European Respiratory Society, The Physiological Society and the American College of Sports Medicine. Dr Romer has contributed to undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral education at Brunel University since 2004, across physiology, exercise science and related disciplines. He has led and contributed to teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, including the development and delivery of practical and research-led teaching in human exercise physiology. He currently leads the Level 6 Physiological Limitations to Exercise Performance module and contributes to teaching, assessment and academic development across the curriculum. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and his teaching has received institutional recognition, including student-led teaching awards at College and University levels. Dr Romer has supervised and mentored doctoral researchers, research assistants and early-career researchers across a range of physiological disciplines. His former doctoral researchers have progressed to academic, clinical, research and industry positions internationally, with several receiving prestigious awards, scholarships and fellowships. His doctoral supervision has included students supported by competitive internal and external scholarships. He has also contributed extensively to academic quality assurance and assessment beyond Brunel through doctoral examination, external examining of taught programmes and external programme review in the UK and internationally. He has served as an External Examiner at King's College London, Imperial College London, University of Birmingham and Loughborough University, covering programmes in sport and exercise science, physiology and medicine. His educational expertise has also informed engagement with elite sport, professional organisations and professional education. He has provided physiological consultancy and advice to UK Sport, ParalympicsGB and the English Institute of Sport, including contributions to the development of physiological services for GB governing bodies, and has contributed to professional standards in the sport and exercise sector through technical evaluation and occupational-standard development with SkillsActive. He has further contributed to professional education through invited teaching and specialist courses in respiratory and exercise physiology, including as faculty for the annual Cambridge–UCLA Symposium on Clinical Exercise Testing and Interpretation. His advisory work has included engagement with organisations such as the European Lung Foundation, as well as contributions to professional resources addressing physical activity and respiratory disease. Collectively, these activities have enabled him to apply and disseminate his teaching and physiological expertise across higher education, professional education, elite sport and the wider health and exercise sectors.