Professor Alan Donnelly is Associate Professor of Exercise Physiology in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences. A graduate of Strathclyde and Aberdeen Universities, he has worked in Ireland, the UK, USA and Australia. He is the theme leader for Lifestyle and Health in UL's Health Research Institute (HRI), and also leads the HRI's "Physical Activity for Health" research cluster.
His research encompasses the objective measurement of sedentary behaviour, physical activity and health. His current research projects focus on accurate measurement of physical behaviours, including sedentary behaviour, physical activity and standing. His current projects include both cross-sectional and activity intervention studies. He works on populations including adolescents and older adults, where his team uses worn devices to explore the relationship between physical behaviours and health outcomes.
Current projects include the Limerick Adolescent Study, a cross-sectional study of activity behaviour and health markers in adolescents, the Youth-Fit pilot study for a national school-based fitness and health measurement system, plus collaborations on the Mitchelstown Cohort Rescreen, the CSPPA study of child and adolescent activity and sports participation, and the Move for Life intervention in older adults.