Dr Rita Civil BSc, MSc, PhD

School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences
Research Fellow (Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences)

Contact details

Email
r.civil@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@RitaCivil
Address
School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Rita is an early career academic, she completed her PhD in 2022 investigating novel techniques to determine the effects of exercise on bone turnover. She joined the University of Birmingham as an Assistant Professor in Nutritional Science at the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences in 2022 and currently holds a Research Fellow position within the same School.

Qualifications

  • BSc in Physical Activity and Sport Science (INEFC – Universitat de Barcelona)
  • IOC Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Nutrition (International Olympic Committee)
  • MSc in Sport Nutrition (University of Stirling)
  • PhD in Musculoskeletal Physiology (Nottingham Trent University).

Biography

Rita completed her undergraduate degree in Physical Activity and Sport Science at Universitat de Barcelona in 2013. After that, Rita was interested in the role of nutrition in sports and exercise, which lead her to continue her education as a postgraduate student, first completing the International Olympic Committee Diploma in Sports Nutrition and subsequently a master’s degree in this same topic. During this time, she participated as a researcher in different studies in the field of sports nutrition in Australia, Belgium, and Scotland. She completed her MSc in Sports Nutrition with distinction at the University of Stirling in 2018, and quickly after started a PhD at Nottingham Trent University investigating novel techniques to determine the effects of exercise on bone turnover. In February 2022 she joined the University of Birmingham, taking up a position as an Assistant Professor in nutritional sciences at the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences. Rita has now moved into a Postdoctoral Research Fellow role within the same School, carrying out a research project looking at the metabolism of carbohydrates in skeletal muscle.

Research

Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism

  • Bone Metabolism
  • Carbohydrate Metabolism
  • Energy Availability
  • Body Composition

Other activities

Physiological Society Member since 2018

Publications

Civil, R., Dolan, E., Swinton, P.A., Santos, L., Varley, I., Atherton, P.J., Elliot-Sale, K.J., Sale, C. P1NP and β-CTX-1 responses to a prolonged, continuous running bout in healthy adult males: a systematic review with individual participant data meta-analysis. Sports Medicine Open, in press.

Civil, R., Brook, M., Elliot-Sale, K.J., Santos, L., Varley, I., Lensu, S., Kainulainen, H., Koch, L.G., Britton, S.L., Wilkinson, D.J., Smith, K., Sale, C., Atherton, P.J. (2021). A collagen extraction and deuterium oxide stable isotope tracer method for the quantification of bone collagen synthesis rates in vivo. Physiological Reports, 9(10), e14799. doi: 10.14814/phy2.14799

Heikura, I.A., Quod, M., Strobel, N., Palfreeman, R., Civil, R., Burke, L.M. (2019). Alternate-day low energy availability during Spring Classics in professional cyclists. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 14(9), 1233-1243. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2018-0842

Civil, R., Lamb, A., Loosmore, D., Ross, L., Livingstone, K., Strachan, F., Dick, J.R, Stevenson, E.J, Brown, M.A, Witard, O.C. (2018). Assessment of Dietary Intake, Energy Status, and Factors Associated With RED-S in Vocational Female Ballet Students. Frontiers in Nutrition, 5, 136. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2018.00136