Professor Gareth Wallis PhD, FHEA

Professor Gareth Wallis

School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences
Head of Research and Knowledge Transfer
Associate Professor (Reader) in Exercise Metabolism and Nutrition

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 4129
Email
g.a.wallis@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@gareth_wallis
View my research portal
Address
School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Professor Wallis is an Exercise Scientist with major interests in Nutrition and Metabolism. He studies dietary influences on exercise metabolism, with a particular focus on macronutrients and their roles in performance, training adaptation and health.

Feedback and office hours

For University of Birmingham students only, please email to arrange an appointment.

Qualifications

  • BSc (Hons.) Sport and Exercise Sciences (University of Birmingham)
  • MSc (Dist.) Exercise Physiology (Loughborough University)
  • PhD Sport and Exercise Sciences (University of Birmingham)

  • Fellow, Higher Education Academy (UK), 2015 – present

Biography

After completing his undergraduate (BSc Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK; 1997-2000) and masters studies (MSc Exercise Physiology, Loughborough University, UK; 2000-2001), Professor Wallis worked in applied sports science delivering physiology support for high performance athletes (Human Performance Unit, University of Birmingham; 2001-2002). He went on to complete a PhD focused on exercise metabolism and carbohydrate ingestion in men and women at the University of Birmingham (UK; 2003-2006) under the guidance of Professor Asker E. Jeukendrup. Between 2006 and 2008 he undertook post-doctoral training in integrative biology at the University of California-Berkeley in the laboratory of Professor George A. Brooks. Dr Wallis then worked in New Product Research at GlaxoSmithKline (UK; 2008-2011), within a scientific program developing new nutritional products and health claims with a particular emphasis on sport and exercise nutrition. He joined the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham at the end of 2011 where he conducts research and teaching in the area of exercise metabolism and nutrition for the optimization of sports performance and health. In April 2021 Dr Wallis was appointed to the role of Head of Research and Knowledge Transfer of School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham.

Teaching

Professor Wallis coordinates a module in Sports Nutrition, available to undergraduate students at the University of Birmingham studying BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Sciences. He also supervises BSc and MSc student projects in areas aligned with his research interests. 

Postgraduate supervision

Professor Wallis has successfully lead supervised 6 PhD and 3 research Master’s students to completion and currently supervises the following postgraduate researchers:

  • Ollie Odell 2017-2021). PhD Research area – carbohydrate nutrition and exercise metabolism. Supported by the BBSRC MIBTP and Volac International Ltd.
  • Israel Podesta Donoso (2019-2023). PhD Research area – exercise metabolism, nutrition and energy balance. Supported by a Chilean Government Scholarship.

Research

Professor Wallis is an Exercise Scientist with major interests in Nutrition and Metabolism. His main goal is to better understand how nutrition can be manipulated to enhance metabolic or adaptive responses to exercise, with a particular focus on macronutrients and their roles in performance, training adaptation and health. To study these areas he utilises a range of experimental approaches that enable detailed profiling of metabolic responses to exercise and nutrition intervention in humans. This includes exercise testing, nutritional intervention, stable isotope tracer administration, biological tissue/fluid collection and a range of analytical techniques including mass spectrometry and molecular biology approaches. His research and approaches adopted aim to generate the translational knowledge needed for practical application within sport, exercise and health nutrition settings. 

Other activities

  • Newcastle University (UK). External Examiner for Undergraduate program in Sports and Exercise Science (2021 – present)
  • Swedish Research Council for Sport Science Physiology/Medicine/Biomechanics Scientific Review Panel member (2020 – present)
  • International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. Editorial Board (2018 – present)
  • Frontiers in Nutrition (Sport and Exercise Nutrition section). Associate Editor (2017 – present).
  • Physiological Society (UK). Member (2012 – present)

Publications

Selected peer reviewed publications: 

  • Shad BJ, Thompson JL, Mckendry J, Holwerda AM, Elhassan YS, Breen L, van Loon LJC, Wallis GA. Daily Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis Rates in Response to Low- and High-Frequency Resistance Exercise Training in Healthy, Young Men. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2021 Feb 17;:1-8. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.2020-0274.
  • Podlogar T, Free B, Wallis GA. High rates of fat oxidation are maintained after the sleep low approach despite delayed carbohydrate feeding during exercise. Eur J Sport Sci. 2021 Feb;21(2):213-223. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2020.1730447.
  • Odell OJ, Wallis GA. The application of lactose in sports nutrition. International Dairy Journal. 2021, May, 116:104970. doi.org/10.1016/j.idairyj.2020.104970
  • Odell OJ, Podlogar T, Wallis GA. Comparable Exogenous Carbohydrate Oxidation from Lactose or Sucrose during Exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2020 Dec;52(12):2663-2672. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002426.
  • Podlogar T, Wallis GA. Impact of Post-Exercise Fructose-Maltodextrin Ingestion on Subsequent Endurance Performance. Front Nutr. 2020;7:82. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2020.00082.
  • Edinburgh RM, Bradley HE, Abdullah NF, Robinson SL, Chrzanowski-Smith OJ, Walhin JP, Joanisse S, Manolopoulos KN, Philp A, Hengist A, Chabowski A, Brodsky FM, Koumanov F, Betts JA, Thompson D, Wallis GA, Gonzalez JT. Lipid Metabolism Links Nutrient-Exercise Timing to Insulin Sensitivity in Men Classified as Overweight or Obese. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Mar 1;105(3). doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgz104.
  • Shad BJ, Thompson JL, Holwerda AM, Stocks B, Elhassan YS, Philp A, VAN Loon LJC, Wallis GA. One Week of Step Reduction Lowers Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis Rates in Young Men. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019 Oct;51(10):2125-2134. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002034.
  • Wallis GA, Gonzalez JT. Is exercise best served on an empty stomach?. Proc Nutr Soc. 2019 Feb;78(1):110-117. doi: 10.1017/S0029665118002574.
  • Maunder E, Podlogar T, Wallis GA. Postexercise Fructose-Maltodextrin Ingestion Enhances Subsequent Endurance Capacity. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2018 May;50(5):1039-1045.
  • Fletcher G, Eves FF, Glover EI, Robinson SL, Vernooij CA, Thompson JL, Wallis GA. Dietary intake is independently associated with the maximal capacity for fat oxidation during exercise. Am J Clin Nutr. 2017 Apr;105(4):864-872. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.116.133520.
  • Robinson SL, Chambers ES, Fletcher G, Wallis GA. Lipolytic Markers, Insulin and Resting Fat Oxidation are Associated with Maximal Fat Oxidation. Int J Sports Med. 2016 Jul;37(8):607-13. doi: 10.1055/s-0042-100291.
  • Robinson SL, Hattersley J, Frost GS, Chambers ES, Wallis GA. Maximal fat oxidation during exercise is positively associated with 24-hour fat oxidation and insulin sensitivity in young, healthy men. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2015 Jun 1;118(11):1415-22. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00058.2015.
  • Wallis GA, Wittekind A. Is there a specific role for sucrose in sports and exercise performance? Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2013 Dec;23(6):571-83. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.23.6.571.
  • Atkinson G, Taylor CE, Morgan N, Ormond LR, Wallis GA. Pre-race dietary carbohydrate intake can independently influence sub-elite marathon running performance. Int J Sports Med. 2011 Aug;32(8):611-7. doi: 10.1055/s-0031-1273739
  • Wallis GA, Hulston CJ, Mann CH, Roper H, Tipton KD, Jeukendrup AE. Post exercise muscle glycogen synthesis with combined glucose and fructose ingestion. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 40(10):1789-94, 2008. 37. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31817e0f7e        
  • Wallis GA, Friedlander AL, Jacobs KA, Horning MA, Fattor JA, Wolfel EE, Lopaschuk GD, Brooks GA. Substantial working muscle glycerol turnover during two-legged cycle ergometry. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Oct;293(4):E950-7. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.00099.2007.
  • Wallis GA, Yeo SE, Blannin AK, Jeukendrup AE. Dose-response effects of ingested carbohydrate on exercise metabolism in women. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 39(1):131-138, 2007. doi: 10.1249/01.mss.0000241645.28467.d3
  • Wallis GA, Dawson R, Achten J, Webber J, Jeukendrup AE. Metabolic response to carbohydrate ingestion during exercise in males and females. Am J Physiol, Endocrinol Metab, 290(4):E708-15, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.00357.2005
  • Wallis GA, Rowlands DS, Shaw C, Jentjens RLPG, Jeukendrup AE. Oxidation of combined maltodextrins and fructose ingestion during prolonged exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 37(3):426-432, 2005. DOI: 10.1249/01.mss.0000155399.23358.82
  • Jeukendrup AE, Wallis GA. Measurement of substrate oxidation during exercise by means of gas exchange measurements. Int J Sport Med, 26 Suppl 1:S28-37, 2005. DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-830512

Book chapter: 

  • Wallis GA. Energy Metabolism. In Introduction to Human Nutrition (3rd Ed.), Wiley-Blackwell, 2019. ISBN: 978-1-119-47702-0

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

Sports nutrition