Staff Profile

I studied Mechanical Engineering at Newcastle University where I chose a dissertation on modelling the musculoskeletal biomechanics of tennis elbow. As a tennis player and coach, the project gave me a sense of relevance for the mathematics, dynamics and materials skills that I had been developing over the previous years. I subsequently completed a PhD in dental biomechanics at The University of Liverpool and a Post-Doc in orthopaedic biomechanics at the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg. After many years in biomechanics at Teesside University and then technical software development in professional football, I returned to Newcastle University to take up a role in sports biomechanics.

• Motion tracking
• Musculoskeletal modelling
• Psychometric scales for mobile devices (IOS, Android).
• Active gaming platform (Unity3D, wireless IMUs, depth-sensing cameras)
• Cloud-based storage for interactive 3D video (Microsoft Azure, WebGL)
• Computer vision (e.g. RGB, depth-sensing cameras, CT, MRI).
• Wireless transmission (Bluetooth LE and RF).
• Wearable sensors (e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers)
• Hard- and soft-tissue modelling

• Introduction to Biomechanics (Stage 1),
• Applied Biomechanics (Stage 2) and 
• Principles of Strength and Conditioning (Stage 2)
• Sport and Exercise Medicine (Stage 3)

• 2020. Dr Tom MacPherson (Sheffield Hallam University) Integrating differential ratings of perceived exertion in team sports procedures. Co-supervisor
• 2020. Dr Russell Best (Waikato Institute of Technology) Development and evaluation of menthol agents to improve athletic endurance in hot environments. Co-supervisor
• 2020. Dr Mark Wijnbergen (www.zivver.eu). New technologies for quantifying injury risk factors in elite young footballers. Co-supervisor.
• 2018. Dr Jonathan Taylor (Middlesbrough FC). Redefining sprint training in football. Co-supervisor.
• 2018. Dr Gok Kandasamy (Teesside University). A novel 3-dimensional tool for measuring back and body shape. Co-supervisor.
• 2018. Dr Shaun McLaren (English Rugby League). Application of differential ratings of perceived exertion in rugby. Co-supervisor.
• 2016. Dr Tom McBain (Sheffield Hallam University). Exergaming in hard-to-reach populations. Director of Studies.
• 2013. Dr Jagannath Sharma (Catterick Garrison Medical Centre). A proactive approach to musculoskeletal injury management in military training centres. Director of Studies.
• 2013. Dr Claudia Garras (Government of Chile). An investigation into bilateral asymmetry of the skeleton and its use in physical and forensic anthropology. Co-supervisor.
• 2013. Dr Pierre Lagadec (ValdPerformance Pty). Development and evaluation of a virtual reality high-intensity exergame. Director of Studies.
• 2011. Dr Angela Hibbs (University of Northumbria). Core stability training in elite swimmers. Director of Studies.
• 2008. Dr Edward Bradley (University of Sunderland). Fixation of proximal femora fracture. Co-supervisor.

Research

• 2014. PhD. Finite element analysis of the human heel pad soft tissues, University of Salford.
• 2015. PhD. Control of the centre of mass based on vertical ground forces in gait analysis of cerebral palsy patients.  University of Dundee.

Taught Courses

• 2018-2021. MSc Applied Orthopaedic Technology, University of Dundee.
• 2018-2021. MSc Motion Analysis, University of Dundee.
• 2018-2021. MSc Orthopaedic & Rehabilitation Technology, University of Dundee.
• 2018-2021. MSc Orthopaedic Science, University of Dundee.
• 2018-2021. MSc Sports Biomechanics & Rehabilitation, University of Dundee.

• McBain T, Weston M, Crawshaw P, Haighton C, Spears I. Development of an exergame to deliver a sustained dose of high-intensity training: Formative pilot randomized trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research 2018, 6(1), e4.
• McLaren SJ, Smith A, Bartlett JD, Spears IR, Weston M. Differential training loads and individual fitness responses to pre-season in professional rugby union players. Journal of Sports Sciences 2018, 36(21), 2438-2446.
• McLaren SJ, Macpherson TW, Coutts AJ, Hurst C, Spears IR, Weston M. The Relationships Between Internal and External Measures of Training Load and Intensity in Team Sports: A Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine 2018, 48(3), 641-658.
• McLaren SJ, Smith A, Spears IR, Weston M. A detailed quantification of differential ratings of perceived exertion during team-sport training. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 2017, 20(3), 290-295.
• Sharma J, Dixon J, Dalal S, Heagerty R, Spears I. Musculoskeletal injuries in British Army recruits: A prospective study of incidence in different Infantry Regiments. Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps 2017, 163(6), 405-411.
• Zeng Y, Zhang Z, Han TA, Spears IR, Qin S. Using intention recognition in a simulation platform to assess physical activity levels of an office building. In: Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, AAMAS. 2017, São Paulo: International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (IFAAMAS).
• Macpherson TW, Taylor J, McBain T, Weston M, Spears IR. Real-time measurement of pelvis and trunk kinematics during treadmill locomotion using a low-cost depth-sensing camera: A concurrent validity study. Journal of Biomechanics 2016, 49(3), 474-478.
• Taylor JM, Macpherson TW, Spears IR, Weston M. Repeated sprints: An independent not dependent variable. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance 2016, 11(5), 693-696.
• Mclaren SJ, Graham M, Spears IR, Weston M. The sensitivity of differential ratings of perceived exertion as measures of internal load. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance 2016, 11(3), 404-406.
• Taylor JM, Macpherson TW, McLaren SJ, Spears I, Weston M. Two weeks of repeated-sprint training in soccer: To turn or not to turn?. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance 2016, 11(8), 998-1004.
• McBain T, Crawshaw P, Spears I, Azevedo L, Haighton C. Active video gaming and health promotion: Targeting males in a socially deprived area of the UK. BMC Public Health 2015. Submitted.
• Weston M, Hibbs AE, Thompson KG, Spears IR. Isolated core training improves sprint performance in national-level junior swimmers. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance 2015, 10(2), 204-210.
• Sharma J, Greeves JP, Byers M, Bennett AN, Spears IR. Musculoskeletal injuries in British Army recruits: A prospective study of diagnosis-specific incidence and rehabilitation times. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2015, 16, 106.
• Taylor J, Macpherson T, Spears I, Weston M. The Effects of Repeated-Sprint Training on Field-Based Fitness Measures: A Meta-Analysis of Controlled and Non-Controlled Trials. Sports Medicine 2015, 45(6), 881-891.
• Sharma J, Weston M, Batterham AM, Spears IR. Gait retraining and incidence of medial tibial stress syndrome in army recruits. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2014, 46(9), 1684-1692.
• Van Schaik P, Zeng Y, Spears I. Using dynamic Bayesian networks to model user-experience. In: 9th International Workshop ADMI 2013: International Workshop on Agents and Data Mining Interaction. 2013, Saint Paul, MN: Springer Verlag.