Staff Profile

Newcastle University
Faculty of Medical Sciences
People
Staff Profile

Dr Lisa Alcock

Senior Research Associate and Gait Laboratory Manager (Clinical Ageing Research Unit)

Email: lisa.alcock@ncl.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 1283
Fax: +44 (0) 191 208 1251
Address: Translational and Clinical Research Institute
Faculty of Medical Sciences
Clinical Ageing Research Unit
Campus for Ageing and Vitality
Newcastle University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE4 5PL

Background

Qualifications

2020 Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Newcastle University, UK)
2008-2013     PhD Musculoskeletal Biomechanics (University of Hull, UK)
2008-2012     PGDip Research Training (University of Hull, UK)
2005-2008     BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science (University of Hull, UK)

Current Role

I manage the Gait Laboratory within the Clinical Ageing Research Unit. We undertake a variety of studies (feasibility, observational, longitudinal, C-TIMPS and RCTs) with a range of patient groups (neurodegenerative, neuromuscular and genetic conditions). We have significant expertise in the design and development of novel protocols, managing and delivering complex clinical trials, database curation and implementing data analytics.

After obtaining a PhD in Musculoskeletal Biomechanics from the University of Hull in 2012, I joined Newcastle University as a Research Associate within the Brain and Movement Research Group.

My research interests include:

characterising the functional (visual, cognitive and motor) demand of activities of daily living in ageing and disease
to understand the relative task demand in falling and non-falling cohorts to inform falls risk, and ultimately
inform the development of interventions designed to optimise locomotor safety

Research expertise

Clinical gait analysis in healthy and patient groups
Sensorimotor control of locomotion in neurodegenerative disorders
Development of interventions to optimise locomotor safety in people at risk of trips and falls

Gait; Locomotion; Activities of daily living; Biomechanics; Function; Capacity; Performance; Mobility; Falls; Intervention; Vision; Motor control; Ageing; Neurodegenerative disease; Translational healthcare

Orchid ID 0000-0002-8364-9803

Google scholar profile

Research

Current funding

Co-investigator; “Translating digital healthcare to enhance clinical management: evaluating the effect of medication on mobility in people with PD through remote monitoring tools.” Funder: MRC Confidence in Concept, PI Dr Silvia Del Din.

Co-investigator; “Development of an MRI protocol to quantify changes of sarcopenia in specific lower limb muscles for the future validation of novel devices for dynamic muscle function monitoring in older adults”. Funder: Radiological Research Trust, PI Dr Mat Elameer.

Co-investigator; “Developing a dynamic multimodal imaging method to study gait and balance in Parkinson’s disease.” Funder: PDUK, PI Professor Lynn Rochester.

Co-investigator; “Dynamic muscle function monitoring in older adults: development of a novel wearable device to measure muscle function”. Funder: ESRC (ISCF Healthy Ageing Catalyst Awards), PI Dr Annette Pantall.

Awards

Winner of the Best Poster Award for a Post Doctoral Fellow (Clinical Science) at the International Society of Posture and Gait Research Conference held in Edinburgh (30th June – 4th July 2019) and Fort Lauderdale (25th-29th June 2017).

Publications

Bonci T, Salis F, Scott K, Alcock L, Becker C, Bertuletti S, Buckley E, Caruso M, Cereatti A, Del Din S, Gazit E, Hansen C, Hausdorff JM, Maetzler W, Palmerini L, Rochester L, Schwickert L, Sharrack B, Vogiatzis I, Mazzà C. An algorithm for accurate marker-based gait event detection in healthy and pathological populations during complex motor tasks. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 2022, 10, 868928.
Mc Ardle R, Del Din S, Morris R, Alcock L, Yarnall AJ, Burn DJ, Rochester L, Lawson RA. Factors Influencing Habitual Physical Activity in Parkinson’s Disease: Considering the Psychosocial State and Wellbeing of People with Parkinson’s and Their Carers. Sensors 2022, 22(3), 871.
Ray NH, Lawson RA, Martin SL, Sigurdsson HP, Wilson J, Galna B, Lord S, Alcock L, Duncan GW, Khoo TK, O'Brien JT, Burn DJ, Taylor JP, Rea R, Bergamino M, Rochester L, Yarnall AJ. Free-water imaging of the cholinergic basal forebrain and pedunculopontine nucleus in Parkinson’s disease. Brain 2022, 146(3), 1053–1064.
Sigurdsson HP, Yarnall AJ, Galna B, Lord S, Alcock L, Lawson RA, Colloby SJ, Firbank MJ, Taylor JP, Pavese N, Brooks DJ, O'Brien JT, Burn DJ, Rochester L. Gait-related metabolic covariance networks at rest in Parkinson’s disease. Movement Disorders 2022, 37(6), 1222-1234.
Rehman RZU, Guan Y, Shi JQ, Alcock L, Yarnall AJ, Rochester L, Del Din S. Investigating the Impact of Environment and Data Aggregation by Walking Bout Duration on Parkinson’s Disease Classification Using Machine Learning. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 2022, 14, 808518.
Pelosin E, Ponte C, Putzolu M, Lagravinese G, Hausdorff JM, Nieuwboer A, Ginis P, Rochester L, Alcock L, Bloem BR, Nieuwhof F, Cereatti A, Della Croce U, Mirelman A, Avanzino L. Motor–Cognitive Treadmill Training With Virtual Reality in Parkinson’s Disease: The Effect of Training Duration. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 2022, 13, 753381.
Menant JC, Inbal M, Alcock L, Al-Yahya E, Cerasa A, Clark DJ, De Bruin ED, Fraser S, Gramigna V, Hamacher D, Herold F, Holtzer R, Izzetoglu M, Lim S, Pantall A, Pelicioni P, Peters S, Rosso AL, St George R, Stuart S, Vasta R, Vitorio R, Mirelman A. A consensus guide to using functional near-infrared spectroscopy in gait and posture research. Gait & Posture 2021, 82, 254-265.
Scott K, Bonci T, Alcock L, Buckley E, Hansen C, Gazit E, Schwickert L, Cereatti A, Mazza C. A Quality Control Check to Ensure Comparability of Stereophotogrammetric Data between Sessions and Systems. Sensors 2021, 21(24), 8223.
Mc Ardle R, Pratt S, Buckley C, Del Din S, Galna B, Thomas A, Rochester L, Alcock L. Balance Impairments as Differential Markers of Dementia Disease Subtype. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 2021, 9, 639337.
Wilson J, Yarnall AJ, Craig CE, Galna B, Lord S, Morris R, Lawson RA, Alcock L, Duncan GW, Khoo TK, O'Brien JT, Burn DJ, Taylor JP, Ray NJ, Rochester L. Cholinergic Basal Forebrain Volumes Predict Gait Decline in Parkinson's Disease. Movement Disorders 2021, 36(3), 611-621.
Mazzà C, Alcock L, Aminian K, Becker C, Bertuletti S, Bonci T, Brown P, Brozgol M, Buckley E, Carsin A, Caruso M, Caulfield B, Cereatti A, Chiari L, Chynkiamis N, Ciravegna F, Del Din S, Eskofier B, Evers J, Garcia-Aymerich J, Gazit E, Hansen C, Hausdorff J, Helbostad J, Hiden H, Hume E, Paraschiv-Ionescu A, Ireson N, Keogh A, Kirk C, Kluge F, Koch S, Küderle A, Lanfranchi V, Maetzler W, Micó-Amigo EM, Mueller A, Neatrour I, Niessen M, P Luca, P L, Reggi L, Salis F, Schwickert L, Scott K, Sharrack B, Sillen H, Singleton D, Soltani A, Taraldsen K, Ullrich M, Van Gelder L, Vereijken B, Vogiatzis I, Warmerdam E, Yarnall A, Rochester L. Technical validation of real-world monitoring of gait: a multicentric observational study. BMJ Open 2021, 11(12), e050785.
Naisby J, Lawson RA, Galna B, Alcock L, Burn DJ, Rochester L, Yarnall AJ. Trajectories of pain over six years in early Parkinson’s disease: ICICLE-PD. Journal of Neurology 2021, 268, 4759-4767.
Rehman RZU, Buckley C, Micó-Amigo ME, Kirk C, Dunne-Willows M, Mazzà C, Shi JQ, Alcock L, Rochester L, Del Din S. Accelerometry-based digital gait characteristics for classification of Parkinson’s disease: what counts?. IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology 2020, 1, 65-73.
Bekkers EMJ, Mirelman A, Alcock L, Rochester L, Nieuwhof F, Bloem BR, Pelosin E, Avanzino L, Cereatti A, Della Croce U, Hausdorff JM, Nieuwboer A. Do Patients With Parkinson’s Disease With Freezing of Gait Respond Differently Than Those Without to Treadmill Training Augmented by Virtual Reality?. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair 2020, 34(5), 440-449.
Islam A, Alcock L, Nazarpour K, Rochester L, Pantall A. Effect of Parkinson's disease and two therapeutic interventions on muscle activity during walking: A systematic review. npj Parkinson's Disease 2020, 6(1), 22.
Alcock L, Galna B, Hausdorff JM, Lord S, Rochester L. Enhanced obstacle contrast to promote visual scanning in fallers with Parkinson's disease: Role of executive function. Neuroscience 2020, 436, 82-92.
Rehman RZU, Zhou Y, Del Din S, Alcock L, Hansen C, Guan Y, Hortobágyi T, Maetzler W, Rochester L, Lamoth CJC. Gait Analysis with Wearables can Accurately Classify Fallers from Non-Fallers: A Step toward Better Management of Neurological Disorders. Sensors 2020, 20(23), 6992.
Wilson J, Alcock L, Yarnall AJ, Lord S, Lawson RA, Morris R, Taylor J-P, Burn DJ, Rochester L, Galna B. Gait Progression Over 6 Years in Parkinson’s Disease: Effects of Age, Medication, and Pathology. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 2020, 12, 577435.
Rehman RZU, Klocke P, Hryniv S, Galna B, Rochester L, Del Din S, Alcock L. Turning detection during gait: Algorithm validation and influence of sensor location and turning characteristics in the classification of Parkinson’s disease. Sensors 2020, 20(18), 5377.
Wiseman B, Carusi A, Briggs E, Poyntz S, Pellowski M, Alcock L, Mazzà C. Embodied Viewing and Degas's Little Dancer Aged Fourteen: a multi-disciplinary experiment in eye-tracking and motion capture. The Senses and Society 2019, 14(3), 284-296.
Stuart S, Alcock L, Rochester L, Vitorio R, Pantall A. Monitoring multiple cortical regions during walking in young and older adults: dual-task response and comparison challenges. International Journal of Psychophysiology 2019, 135, 63-72.
Stuart S, Lawson RA, Yarnall YA, Nell J, Alcock L, Duncan DW, Khoo TK, Barker RA, Rochester L, Burn DJ. Pro‐Saccades Predict Cognitive Decline in Parkinson's Disease: ICICLE‐PD . Movement Disorders 2019, 34(11), 1690-1698.
Buckley C, Alcock L, Mc Ardle R, Rehman RZU, Del Din S, Mazzà C, Yarnall A, Rochester L. The role of movement analysis in diagnosing and monitoring neurodegenerative conditions: Insights from gait and postural control. Brain Sciences 2019, 9(2), 34.
Alcock L, O'Brien TD, Vanicek N. Association between somatosensory, visual and vestibular contributions to postural control, reactive balance capacity and healthy ageing in older women. Health Care for Women International 2018, 39(12), 1366-1380.
Islam A, Alcock L, Chen C, Nazarpour K, Rochester L, Pantall A. Auditory rhythmic cueing changes muscle activity patterns during walking in people with Parkinson’s disease. In: International Student Congress for Biomedical Sciences. 2018, Groningen, Netherlands: ISCOMS.
Islam A, Chen C, Alcock L, Nazarpour K, Rochester L, Pantall A. Changes in muscle activity on application of an auditory rhythmic cue. In: Parkinson’s disease UK. 2018, York, UK: Parkinson’s UK.
Hunt D, Stuart S, Nell J, Hausdorff JM, Galna B, Rochester L, Alcock L. Do People with Parkinson's Disease Look at Task Relevant Stimuli When Walking? An Exploration of Eye Movements. Behavioural Brain Research 2018, 348, 82-89.
Stuart S, Hunt D, Nell J, Godfrey A, Hausdorff J, Rochester L, Alcock L. Do you see what I see? Mobile eye-tracker contextual analysis and inter-rater reliability. Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing 2018, 56(2), 289-296.
Islam A, Alcock L, Chen C, Nazarpour K, Rochester L, Pantall A. Effect of rhythmic auditory cueing on muscle synergies in people with Parkinson's disease: A pilot study. In: International Society for Electrophysiology and Kinesiology. 2018, Dublin, Ireland: ISEK.
Alcock L, Galna B, Hausdorff JM, Lord S, Rochester L. Gait & Posture Special Issue: Gait adaptations in response to obstacle type in fallers with Parkinson's disease. Gait and Posture 2018, 61, 368-374.
Islam A, Chen C, Alcock L, Nazarpour K, Rochester L, Pantall A. Muscle synergies are related to gait parameters during walking to an auditory rhythmic cue in people with Parkinson's disease. In: Sensorimotor Control UK. 2018, Leeds, UK: Organiser FBS Research Support Office.
Vitorio R, Stuart S, Gobbi LTB, Rochester L, Alcock L, Pantall A. Reduced gait variability and enhanced brain activity in older adults with auditory cues: a functional near infra-red spectroscopy study. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair 2018, 32(11), 976-987.
Alcock L, Galna B, Perkins R, Lord S, Rochester L. Step length determines minimum toe clearance in older adults and people with Parkinson’s disease. Journal of Biomechanics 2018, 71, 30-36.
Vitorio R, Alcock L, Stuart S, Lirani-Silva E, Rochester L, Pantall A. Activity in multiple frontal cortical areas during normal, fast and dual task walking: preliminary results of an fNIRS study. In: World Congress of the International Society for Posture and Gait Research. 2017, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
Alcock L, Galna B, Hausdorff JM, Rochester L. Effect of obstacle contrast on visual behaviour in Parkinson's disease. In: World Congress of the International Society for Posture and Gait Research. 2017, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
Dockx K, Alcock L, Bekkers E, Ginis P, Reelick M, Pelosin E, Lagravinese G, Hausdorff JM, Mirelman A, Rochester L, Nieuwboer A. Fall-prone older people's attitudes towards the use of virtual reality technology for fall prevention. Gerontology 2017, 63, 590-598.
Vitorio R, Stuart S, Rochester L, Alcock L, Pantall A. fNIRS response during walking — Artefact or cortical activity? A systematic review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2017, 83, 160-172.
Vitorio R, Stuart S, Rochester L, Pantall A, Alcock L. Functional near infra-red spectroscopy during walking in young, old and Parkinson’s disease: a structured review. In: World Congress of the International Society for Posture and Gait Research. 2017, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA: ISPGR.
Stuart S, Hunt D, Nell J, Godfrey A, Rochester L, Alcock L. Inter-rater reliability of mobile eye-tracking when walking in Parkinson’s disease: contextual analysis. In: World Congress of the International Society for Posture and Gait Research. 2017, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA.
Hunt D, Stuart S, Nell J, Galna B, Rochester L, Alcock L. Investigating the task-relevance of visual fixations during locomotion in Parkinson’s disease. In: BNA Festival of Neuroscience. 2017, Birmingham, UK.
Nell J, Stuart S, Galna B, Alcock L, Rochester L. Motor impairments are associated with fear of falling in people with Parkinson’s disease. In: British Geriatrics Society Spring Meeting 2017. 2017, Gateshead, UK.
Stuart S, Alcock L, Nell J, Lawson RA, Morris R, Yarnall AJ, Burn D, Rochester L. Pro-saccades predict decline in attention over 18 months in newly diagnosed Parkinson’s disease. In: 21st International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders. 2017, Vancouver, BC, Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Alcock L, Perkins R, Galna B, Lord S, Rochester L. Step length as the primary determinant of minimum foot clearance during overground gait in Parkinson’s disease. World Congress of the International Society for Posture and Gait Research. In: World Congress of the International Society for Posture and Gait Research. 2017, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA.
Stuart S, Alcock L, Hunt D, Galna B, Lord S, Rochester L. Visual exploration during gait in Parkinson’s disease: response to visual cues. In: World Congress of the International Society for Posture and Gait Research. 2017, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
Stuart S, Alcock L, Godfrey A, Lord S, Rochester L, Galna B. Accuracy and re-test reliability of mobile eye tracking in Parkinson's disease and older adults. Medical Engineering & Physics 2016, 38(3), 308-315.
Mirelman A, Rochester L, Maidan I, Del Din S, Alcock L, Nieuwhof F, Olde Rikkert M, Bloem BR, Pelosin E, Avanzino L, Abbruzzese G, Dockx K, Bekkers E, Giladi N, Nieuwboer A, Hausdorff JM. Addition of a non-immersive virtual reality component to treadmill training to reduce fall risk in older adults (V-TIME): a randomised controlled trial. The Lancet 2016, 388(10050), 1170-1182.
Alcock L, Galna B, Lord S, Rochester L. Characterisation of foot clearance during gait in people with early Parkinson's disease: Deficits associated with a dual task. Journal of Biomechanics 2016, 49(13), 2763–2769.
Hickey A, Gunn E, Alcock L, Del Din S, Godfrey A, Rochester L, Galna B. Validity of a wearable accelerometer to quantify gait in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 6. Physiological Measurement 2016, 37(11), N105-N117.
Alcock L, O'Brien TD, Vanicek N. Age-related changes in physical functioning: correlates between objective and self-reported outcomes. Physiotherapy 2015, 101(2), 204-213.
Alcock L, O'Brien TD, Vanicek N. Biomechanical demands of the 2-step transitional gait cycles linking level and stair decent gait in older women. Journal of Biomechanics 2015, 48(16), 4191-4197.
Alcock L, Galna B, Foster-Thornton G, Hausdorff JM, Lord S, Rochester L. Eye movements during obstacle crossing in people with Parkinson's disease who fall: Influence of disease severity and visual contrast. In: European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP) 2015. 2015, Liverpool, UK: Sage.
Alcock L, Galna B, Hausdorff JM, Lord S, Rochester L. Gait characteristics of obstacle crossing in older adult fallers with and without Parkinson’s disease: Influence of obstacle type and dual task. In: XXV Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics. 2015, Glasgow, UK.
Alcock L, Galna B, Hausdorff JM, Lord S, Rochester L. Influence of visual contrast and prominence of task-relevant stimuli on obstacle negotiation in fallers with and without Parkinson’s disease. In: World Congress of the International Society for Posture and Gait Research. 2015, Seville, Spain.
Alcock L, O'Brien TD, Vanicek N. The effect of age on the somatosensory, visual and vestibular contributions to the maintenance of postural equilibrium. In: XXV Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics. 2015, Glasgow, Scotland.
Alcock L, Galna B, Lord S, Rochester L. Toe clearance profiles distinguish fallers with incident Parkinson’s disease when classified by fall type rather than fall frequency. In: World Congress of the International Society for Posture and Gait Research. 2015, Seville, Spain.
Alcock L, O'Brien TD, Vanicek N. Biomechanical demands differentiate transitioning vs. continuous stair ascent gait in older women. Clinical Biomechanics 2014, 29(1), 111-118.
Alcock L, Galna B, Lord S, Rochester L. Influence of a dual-task on foot clearance during gait in people with incident Parkinson's disease. In: World Congress of the International Society of Posture and Gait Research. 2014, Vancouver, Canada.
Stuart S, Alcock L, Galna B, Lord S, Rochester L. Re-test reliability and accuracy of the Dikablis eye-tracker when sitting, standing and walking. In: 2nd World Congress of the International Society of Posture and Gait Research (ISPGR). 2014, Vancouver, Canada: International Society for Posture & Gait Research.
Stuart S, Alcock L, Galna B, Lord S, Rochester L. The measurement of visual sampling during real-world activity in Parkinson's disease and healthy controls: A structured literature review. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 2014, 222, 175-188.
Stuart S, Alcock L, Galna B, Lord S, Rochester L. Visual sampling in Parkinson’s disease: current methodological issues. In: 2nd World Congress of the International Society of Posture and Gait Research (ISPGR). 2014, Vancouver, Canada: International Society for for Posture & Gait Research.
Alcock L, Vanicek N, O'Brien TD. Alterations in gait speed and age do not fully explain the changes in gait mechanics associated with healthy older women. Gait & Posture 2013, 37(4), 586-592.
Chesters T, Alcock L, O'Brien TD, Vanicek N, Dobson CA. Frequency domain characteristics of kinetic data from force platforms mounted in instrumented stairways. In: 22nd Annual Meeting of the European Society for Movement Analysis in Adults and Children. 2013, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland.
Alcock L, O'Brien TD, Vanicek N. Knee and ankle mechanics differentiate between the transitional steps of stair descent in older women. In: 22nd Annual Meeting of the European Society for Movement Analysis in Adults and Children. 2013, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland.
Stuart S, Alcock L, Galna B, Godfrey A, Lord S, Rochester L. Retest reliability of the Dikablis eye-tracker when sitting, standing and walking. In: 25th British Ocular Motor Group (BOMG) Annual Meeting. 2013, Manchester.
Alcock L, O'Brien TD, Vanicek N. Age-related changes in clinical outcome measure performance within a cohort of healthy, independent, community-dwelling older women. In: 31st Scientific Meeting of the Physiotherapy Research Society. 2012, Sheffield, UK.
Alcock L, O'Brien TD, Vanicek N. Older women with large between-limb knee strength differences adopt a dominant-trail limb strategy during stair ascent. In: 31st Scientific Meeting of the Physiotherapy Research Society. 2012, Sheffield, UK.
Alcock L, O'Brien TD, Vanicek N. Musculoskeletal changes in gait variables associated with stair ascent in healthy older women. In: XXIIIrd Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics. 2011, Brussels, Belgium.
Alcock L, O'Brien TD, Vanicek N. The effects of healthy ageing processes on the functional measures of level gait. In: XXIIIrd Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics. 2011, Brussels, Belgium.
Alcock L, Vanicek N, McNaughton L. Postural responses of older women to static and dynamic perturbations on the NeuroCom EquiTest®. In: 3rd International Congress on Gait & Mental Function. 2010, Washington DC, USA.
Watson P, Lunn D, Alcock L, Vanicek N, Dobson CA. The reliability of kinetic data in musculoskeletal models during gait. In: 17th Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics. 2010, University of Edinburgh, UK.