Dr Alex Wadley PhD, FHEA

Dr Alex Wadley

School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences
Assistant Professor in Exercise Metabolism
Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard Fellow; Academic Director, Cellular Health and Metabolism Facility

Contact details

Address
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Alex’s work explores how physical activity and exercise influence immune function across a range of populations. He has conducted clinical trials investigating whether regular exercise can modulate inflammation, immune function and disease progression in people with type-1 diabetes and lupus. Currently, Alex is examining whether cycling performed during peripheral blood stem cell donations (termed ‘intra-apheresis cycling) can improve the clinical efficacy of stem cell harvesting and enhance post-transplant outcomes for people with multiple myeloma. Separately, Alex is investigating the feasibility of integrating structured exercise into the myeloma treatment pathway between diagnosis and autologous stem cell transplantation, with the aim of improving patient treatment outcomes.

Qualifications

  • BSc, Sport & Exercise Sciences: 1st Class (Honours)
  • PhD, University of Birmingham

Biography

Alex received his undergraduate degree and PhD from University of Birmingham before undertaking 3 Post-Doctoral positions over 6 years at Loughborough University (2013-14 and 2017-19) and the University of Worcester (2014-17). Most recently, Alex has worked as a Research Associate under the Lifestyle theme of the Biomedical Research Centre at Loughborough University.

Teaching

  • Exercise Biochemistry (Year 1)
  • Applied Exercise Physiology (Year 2)
  • Clinical Exercise Physiology (MSc)

Postgraduate supervision

  • Current PhD Students: 1 (lead) and 1 (co-supervisor)
  • PhD completions: 3 (lead) and 2 (co-supervisor)
  • Masters by Research completions: 4 (lead) and 2 (co-supervisor)

Alex welcomes applications from potential PhD or MSc by research students on topics relating to his research interests.

Research

  • Examining the clinical effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability of intra-apheresis cycling for peripheral blood stem cell donations (Academy of Medical Sciences, 2025-27)
  • Dissecting the role of regular exercise in promoting islet-specific T cell tolerance in type 1 diabetes: a single-cell transcriptomics approach (Rosetrees Trust and Stoneygate Trust, 2026-28)
  • PREPARE-Myeloma: Prehabilitation exercise to improve apheresis and post-transplant engraftment in people with Myeloma (World Cancer Research Fund, 2027-2029)

Other activities

Memberships

  • Biochemical Society
  • United Kingdom Society for Exercise Immunology
  • Society for Endocrinology
  • Society for Free Radical Research

Journal Reviewer

  • Review editor – Frontiers Physiology
  • Invited Reviewer - Journal of Applied Physiology; Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise; Exercise Immunology Review; PLOS ONE; Free Radial Research; European Journal of Sports Science; Canadian Journal of Diabetes; Journal of Strength and Conditioning; Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry; Biology Journal; Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity; Applied Physiology, Nutrition & Metabolism; Disease Biomarkers

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Baranskaya, A, Franklin, L, Wadley, AJ & Reynolds, JA 2026, 'Barriers to physical activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in the UK', Clinical Rheumatology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-026-08324-3

Barlow, J, Cox, PA, Nguyen, D, Nightingale, TE & Wadley, AJ 2026, 'Capillary Blood Sampling for Assessing Metabolic Profiles of PBMCs: Comparisons with Venepuncture at Rest and Post-Maximal Exercise', Clinical Bioenergetics, vol. 2, no. 3, 14. https://doi.org/10.3390/clinbioenerg2030014

MacLeod, M, Pradana, F, Wadley, A & Barlow, J 2025, 'Comprehensive real-time metabolic profiling of peripheral blood mononuclear cells reveals important methodological considerations for immunometabolism research', Frontiers in immunology, vol. 16, 1676550. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1676550

Cox, PA, Pradana, F, Noble, E, Lucas, SJE, Pratt, G, Drayson, MT, Amin, K, Kinsella, FAM & Wadley, AJ 2025, 'Examining the effect of intermittent cycling throughout a 3-h period on peripheral blood concentrations of haemopoietic stem and progenitor cells and cytolytic natural killer cells', Stem cell research & therapy, vol. 16, no. 1, 155. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-025-04261-1

Quickfall, V, Green, S, Hesketh, K, Veldhuijzen van Zanten, J, Cocks, M, Reynolds, J & Wadley, A 2025, 'EXamining the feasibility of exerCisE to manage symptoms of Lupus (EXCEL): a protocol for a randomised controlled pilot study', Lupus science & medicine, vol. 12, no. 1, e001382. https://doi.org/10.1136/lupus-2024-001382

Pradana, F, Barlow, JP, Shayler, J, Dimeloe, SK, Gudgeon, N, Podlogar, T, Wallis, GA & Wadley, AJ 2025, 'Immunometabolic profiling of T cells in response to prolonged moderate intensity cycling in humans', Exercise Immunology Review, vol. 31, pp. 67-84. <https://journals.ub.uni-giessen.de/public/eir/2025/eir-2025-067-article.pdf>

Hodgkiss, DD, Balthazaar, SJT, Welch, JF, Wadley, AJ, Cox, PA, Lucas, RAI, Veldhuijzen van Zanten, JJCS, Chiou, S-Y, Lucas, SJE & Nightingale, TE 2025, 'Short- and long-term effects of transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation on autonomic cardiovascular control and arm-crank exercise capacity in individuals with a spinal cord injury (STIMEX-SCI): study protocol', British Medical Journal Open, vol. 15, no. 1, e089756. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089756

Pradana, F, Nijjar, T, Cox, PA, Morgan, PT, Podlogar, T, Lucas, SJE, Drayson, MT, Kinsella, FAM & Wadley, AJ 2024, 'Brief cycling intervals incrementally increase the number of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in human peripheral blood', Frontiers in Physiology, vol. 15, 1327269. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2024.1327269

Quickfall, M, Cocks, M, Long, HM, Di Rosa, F, Andrews, R, Narendran, P, Hesketh, K & Wadley, AJ 2024, 'EXTOD-Immune: a randomised controlled trial to investigate whether a remotely monitored, home-based exercise intervention can reduce disease activity in people with type 1 diabetes', BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, vol. 10, no. 3, e002144. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2024-002144

Roberts, MJ, Hamrouni, M, Wadley, AJ & Bishop, NC 2023, 'Adipose inflammation: South Asian ethnicity and central obesity are independently associated with higher immune cell recruitment to adipose‐specific media: A pilot study in men', Physiological reports, vol. 11, no. 22, e15883. https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.15883

Wadley, A, Roberts, MJ, Creighton , J, Thackray, AE, Stensel, DJ & Bishop, NC 2021, 'Higher levels of physical activity are associated with reduced tethering and migration of pro-inflammatory monocytes in males with central obesity', Exercise Immunology Review, vol. 27, pp. 54-66. <https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Higher_levels_of_physical_activity_are_associated_with_reduced_tethering_and_migration_of_pro-inflammatory_monocytes_in_males_with_central_obesity/14717157>

Wadley, A, Cullen, T, Vautinot, J, Keane, G, Bishop, N & Coles, S 2020, 'High intensity interval exercise increases the frequency of peripheral PD-1+ CD8+ central memory T-cells and soluble PD-L1 in humans', Brain, Behaviour, and Immunity Health, vol. 3, 100049, pp. 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100049

Dewhurst-Trigg, R, Wadley, A, Woods, R, Sherar, L, Bishop, N, Hulston, C & Markey, O 2020, 'Short-term high-fat overfeeding does not induce NF-κB inflammatory signaling in subcutaneous white adipose tissue', Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, vol. 105, no. 7, dgaa158, pp. 2162-2176. https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgaa158

Cullen, T, Thomas, G & Wadley, A 2020, 'Sleep deprivation: cytokine and neuroendocrine effects on perception of effort', Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 909-918. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000002207

Review article

Wadley, AJ, Pradana, F, Nijjar, T, Drayson, MT, Lucas, SJE, Kinsella, FAM & Cox, PA 2025, 'Intra-apheresis Cycling to Improve the Clinical Efficacy of Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Donations', Sports Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02183-9

View all publications in research portal