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Staff Profile

Dr Sam Orange

Senior Lecturer in Clinical Exercise Physiology

  • Email: sam.orange@ncl.ac.uk
  • Address: School of Biomedical, Nutritional and Sport Sciences
    Faculty of Medical Sciences
    Dame Margaret Barbour Building
    Newcastle University
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE2 4DR
Background

Introduction

I am a Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Deputy Director of Research in the School of Biomedical, Nutritional and Sport Sciences. I received my PhD from the University of Hull in 2018, then joined Northumbria University as a postdoctoral researcher from 2018 to 2020, before joining Newcastle University in 2020. I have over 10 years' experience supporting people with long-term health conditions to be physically active, including people with obesity, older adults, and cancer survivors. I now lead a programme of research focused on developing and testing physical activity interventions in people at higher risk of, or diagnosed with, cancer.

Roles and responsibilities

Deputy director of research; School of Biomedical, Nutritional and Sport Sciences

Postgraduate research student coordinator; School of Biomedical, Nutritional and Sport Sciences

External activities

Scientific Advisor - Simple App

Editorial Board member - Communications in Kinesiology

Editorial Board member - BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation

Steering Committee Member - UK Therapeutic Cancer Prevention Network Group (UKTCPN)

Qualifications

PhD Clinical Exercise Physiology; University of Hull

MRes Exercise Science; Northumbria University

BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science; York St John University

Higher Education Academy Fellowship

Professional registrations

Clinical Exercise Physiologist - The Academy for Healthcare Science

Previous positions

2018-2020: NIHR-funded postdoctoral researcher; Northumbria University

2016-2018: Lecturer in Exercise Physiology; York St John University

Memberships

British Association of Cancer Research

The Association for the Study of Obesity

Society for Transparency, Openness, and Replication in Kinesiology (STORK) outreach committee

Awards

Open Research Award 2022 (First Prize), Newcastle University

British Association of Cancer Research Travel Award

Research

Physical activity and cancer

There is good evidence that physical activity after a cancer diagnosis can improve treatment tolerability and improve health-related and clinical outcomes. I am leading trials across diverse cancer types to identify the most effective, acceptable, and scalable ways of supporting health behaviour change in people living with and beyond cancer, with a particular emphasis on becoming more active.

Mechanisms of physical activity and cancer risk

Regular physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of several site-specific cancers, but the underlying mechanisms of action are not fully resolved. I am interested in understanding these mechanisms better to inform the development of more precise, targeted preventive interventions. We have previously shown that exercise causes a protein called interleukin 6 (IL-6) to be released into the bloodstream, which helps repair the DNA of cancer damaged cells. This may be one mechanism underlying the protective effect of exercise against cancer.

Current research projects

PURE-EX: EXpanding into communities to imProve lifestyle sUpport foR womEn after breast cancer (funded by Breast Cancer Now; Lead Investigator)

CHEMORAD: Pathophysiology of physical deconditioning in patients treated with chemoradiotherapy for HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer (funded by the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University; Co-investigator)

INTENT: acute exercIse oN colorecTal adENoma growTh (funded by Wellcome Trust Translational Partnership; Lead Investigator)

MOTION: Mechanisms Of acuTe exercIse and cOlorectal caNcer progression (funded by Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund; Lead Investigator)

CASCADE: aCute exercise extrAcellular veSiCle releAse anD contEnt (funded by the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University; Lead Investigator)

Co-creation of an intervention to increase physical activity uptake for dementia risk reduction, among ethnic minority communities in North East England (funded by MRC Attain Healthy Ageing Network; Co-investigator)

Completed research projects

TELEX-Liver Cancer: TELehealth EXercise for patients with primary liver cancer (funded by NIHR Newcastle BRC, Co-investigator)

AEROBIC: Acute Effect of modeRate-intensity aerOBIc exercise on Colon cancer cell growth (funded by the Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Lead Investigator)

PROSCARDIO: PROState cancer patients initiating hormone therapy: effect of exercise on CARDIOvascular health (Co-investigator)

PhD supervision

Impact of lifestyle on liver cancer development and progression (Misti McCain, Newcastle University)

Exercise as a treatment for chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy in women with breast cancer (Rosiered Brownson-Smith, Northumbria University)

Development of an evidence-based diet and exercise app for people living with and beyond colorectal cancer (Anna Fretwell, Newcastle University)

Impact of thermal strain in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes (Ollie Page, Newcastle University)

I am accepting PhD applications in the following areas:

Understanding barriers and facilitators to health behaviours in people living with long-term health conditions

Developing and evaluating physical activity interventions in people at increased risk of, or diagnosed with, cancer

Understanding the biological mechanisms of how physical activity might prevent the progression of certain cancers

Teaching

Undergraduate teaching

  • SES3004 Physical Activity, Exercise and Disease
  • SES2000 Principles of Strength and Conditioning
  • SES2004 Exercise Physiology
  • SES3000 Sport and Exercise Science Research Project

Postgraduate teaching

  • SES8001 Exercise Physiology Assessment Skills (module lead)
  • SES8099 Exercise Physiology Dissertation
  • MMB8044: Exercise in Health and Disease
  • SES8000 Applied Exercise Science
  • CVR8007 Diagnostic Approaches & Current Treatment of Cardiovascular Disorders


Publications