After completing my undergraduate degree at Aberdeen University I progressed to an MSc at Loughborough University. During my time at Loughborough I received a scholarship to work with British Swimming providing scientific support to their world class athletes in preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. After a spell in the United States, I returned to Scotland to take up a Lecturing position at the University of the West of Scotland. During his time I successfully completed my PhD which focused on the effects of exercise interventions upon measures of cardiometabolic risk factors in adolescents.

Subsequent to my PhD, my interests now lie within the areas of physical activity, health and obesity within youth populations. In particular, I am interested in understanding the relationships between measures of physical fitness, physical activity, adiposity and cardiometabolic risk in youth as well as examining the effects of school based interventions upon these measures.

I am a research active academic who has been returned in all of the Research Assessment Framework exercises I have been eligible for. Alongside my research I continue to take a lead in course development, design and administration whilst contributing to a number of University wide committees and forums. 

Duncan is involved in a number of research projects within the Institute of Clinical Exercise and Health Science. These include projects investigating the relationships between measures of physical fitness, fatness and cardiometabolic risk in both children and adolescents; evaluations of school based health and well-being projects; an evaluation of a walking football initiative in the West of Scotland as well as projects examining the physical activity levels of children, adolescents and adults in Scotland.

NHS Lanarkshire

South Lanarkshire Council

Local primary and secondary schools within the West of Scotland

Colleagues within the Institute of Clinical Exercise and Health Science strive to conduct world leading research with populations ranging from children to older adults. One of our main aims within the Institute is to collaborate with a wide range of groups and organisations to develop and subsequently evaluate projects that can have a long lasting impact on the health and well-being of individuals. 

Our expertise includes:

• We design and evaluate complex interventions to promote long lasting changes to physical activity, physical fitness, dietary knowledge and psychological health and well-being.
• We translate our research findings to impact positively upon the policy and practice of local partners and collaborators.
• We advise local organisations on how best to design, implement and evaluate complex population based interevntions.