Transforming sedentary behaviour and physical activity in Type 2 diabetes

Project overview

This PhD offers the opportunity to lead an innovative programme of research focused on reducing sedentary behaviour and increasing physical activity to prevent and manage Type 2 diabetes. With more than 4 million people diagnosed in the UK there is an urgent need for new, scalable behavioural strategies that improve long term health outcomes.

Emerging evidence shows that reducing daily sitting time and breaking up prolonged sitting with short bouts of light activity can improve glycaemic control and metabolic health. However, these promising findings have not yet translated into long term, real world interventions, and current UK healthcare guidelines do not include recommendations to reduce sitting time due to limited high quality evidence.

Project aims

This PhD will explore how sitting time influences diabetes risk and management, develop a personalised intervention using digital tools, and test its effectiveness in real‑world settings. You will also work with large cohort datasets, giving you valuable experience in advanced data analysis and epidemiology.

Why this project is ideal for you

  • Flexibility to shape the direction and methods of the intervention in collaboration with the supervisory team.
  • Opportunities to work with established cohort datasets, providing strong methodological training and publications during the PhD.
  • A project with clear real world impact and strong alignment with public health priorities, enhancing career prospects in academia, healthcare, and applied research.
  • Supportive supervision and access to interdisciplinary expertise across sport and exercise sciences, health sciences, and public health.

This project would be well suited to students with a background in sport, health and exercise sciences, physiotherapy, public health, biomedical sciences, life sciences or related areas. An MSc qualification is essential.

How to apply

If you are interested in applying for the above PhD topic please follow the steps below:

  1. Contact the supervisor by email or phone to discuss your interest and find out if you would be suitable. Supervisor details can be found on this topic page. The supervisor will guide you in developing the topic-specific research proposal, which will form part of your application.
  2. Click on the 'Apply here' button on this page and you will be taken to the relevant PhD course page, where you can apply using an online application.
  3. Complete the online application indicating your selected supervisor and include the research proposal for the topic you have selected.

Good luck!

This is a self-funded topic

Brunel offers a number of funding options to research students that help cover the cost of their tuition fees, contribute to living expenses or both. See more information here: https://www.brunel.ac.uk/research/Research-degrees/Research-degree-funding. The UK Government is also offering Doctoral Student Loans for eligible students, and there is some funding available through the Research Councils. Many of our international students benefit from funding provided by their governments or employers. Brunel alumni enjoy tuition fee discounts of 15%.

Meet the Supervisor(s)

Daniel Bailey - Dr Daniel Bailey is a Reader in Sedentary Behaviour and Health in the Department of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences. He is Director of Research for the Department having previously been Director of the Centre for Physical Activity in Health and Disease. Dr Bailey's research investigates the relationship between sedentary behaviour and chronic health conditions, with a particular focus on non-communicable disease. This research includes the epidemiology of sedentary behaviour and associations with non-communicable disease risk, controlled laboratory studies examining the acute effects of breaking up prolonged sitting on cardiometabolic biomarkers, and the development and evaluation of interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour and increase physical activity in a range of population groups and long-term conditions including Type 2 diabetes, office workers, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, Fabry disease and frailty. Dr Bailey has been awarded multiple research grants from funding bodies and industry partners to support his research and has published many research articles in his field of research. He has delivered multiple conference presentations and invited talks across the UK and Europe and was Technical Advisor for the Qatar National Physical Activity Guidelines 2nd edition, 2021. Dr Bailey is Chair of the Chartered Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (CASES) Physical Activity for Health Division and was Chair of the CASES 2024 Conference Planning Group. Dr Bailey was also a member of the scientific global leadership committee for the 8th International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) Congress. Dr Bailey has a wealth of experience teaching physical activity, sedentary behaviour and health topics at undergraduate and postgraduate level and uses innovative teaching approaches in his practice including research-informed teaching, bleneded and authentic learning, and flipped classrooms.