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Oliver  Witard

Dr Oliver Witard PhD AFHEA

Reader in Exercise Metabolism & Nutrition

Research interests

  • Nutrition

Biography

I am a Reader in Exercise Metabolism and Nutrition in the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine. My multi-disciplinary research spans two research groups within King’s: (i) Muscle: Form and Function in the Centre for Human & Applied Physiological Sciences, and (ii) Diet and Cardiometabolic Health in the Department of Nutrition. I am also Deputy Programme Director for the undergraduate programme in Sport and Exercise Medical Sciences. 

I have a BSc (First class, Hons) in Sport and Exercise Science, MSc in Exercise Physiology and PhD entitled ‘Response of Muscle Protein Turnover to Exercise and Nutrition’ supervised by Professors Kevin Tipton and Asker Jeukendrup at The University of Birmingham. My post-doctoral work (University of Birmingham) was funded by GlaxoSmithKline and investigated ‘The Maximal Effective Dose of Whey Protein for Stimulating Muscle Protein Synthesis in Young Men’. I was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at The University of Stirling before joining King’s in 2019.

I am a board member of The Nutrition Society and an elected member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Young Academy of Scotland. I helped develop the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) consensus statement 2019 on Nutrition for Athletes. In 2011, I was the recipient of the Young Investigator of the Year (First prize) at the European College of Sports Sciences (ECSS) and was nominated for the Rank Prize in Sport Nutrition.

Research Interests

My research focus is healthy ageing. I am interested in understanding the physiology that underpins why we lose muscle mass and quality with age. My research also explores the role of exercise and novel nutritional interventions – primarily protein nutrition – to offset age-related perturbations in muscle metabolism. I have extensive expertise in stable isotopic tracer methodology for measuring in vivo muscle protein turnover in humans. I also apply these techniques to athletic populations to optimise training adaptations, body composition and performance.

    Research

    Muscle, form and function (2)
    Muscle: Form and Function

    The Muscle: Form and Function group is made up of biomedical scientists and physiologists whose research programmes range from cell and molecular biology and physiology to whole-body systems and integrative physiology

    OILRIG
    Lipids and Membranes Research Interest Group

    A Lipids and Membranes Research Interest Group

    bread-hero
    Innovation for Safe and Sustainable Food, Nutrition and Health

    This Research Interest Group on Innovation for Safe and Sustainable Food, Nutrition and Health provides a unique opportunity for the King’s research community to address the challenges of sustainable food development.

    ageing
    Centre for Ageing Resilience In a Changing Environment - CARICE

    Welcome to the Centre for Ageing Resilience in a Changing Environment: CARICE

    London landscape
    Ageing Research at King's (ARK)

    Cross faculty consortium addressing ageing and healthy longevity.

    Protein hero
    Protein, body composition and physical function

    Protein, body composition and physical function

    News

    King's academics present their research at healthy ageing events in China

    Researchers from King’s College London recently attended two events in China that shared insights into international strategies to promote healthy ageing and...

    Attendees at the UK-China Silver Economy Forum

    BCAA supplements not most effective type of supplements for stimulating muscle growth

    New research suggests that BCAA supplements aren’t as effective as supplements with all nine essential amino acids in stimulating muscle growth for athletes,...

    gym image 780x450

    Connecting Science and Performance: Fuelling for Athletes

    On Wednesday 13 November, King’s joined forces with Herne Hill Harriers (HHH) to host an evening of lectures, Q and A panel and networking on the topic of...

    sport

    5 minutes with Olly Witard

    Olly Witard recently joined King’s as a Senior Lecture in Exercise Metabolism and Nutrition in the Centre for Human & Applied Physiological Sciences. His...

    Olly Witard

    Features

    Why do we lose muscle mass as we age and what can we do to mitigate this?

    Dr Oliver Witard is a Reader in Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. A major strand of his research is exploring the effects of ageing on our muscles – in other...

    Centre for ageing better_People in exercise class sitting down

    Protein nutrition, healthy ageing and climate change: how do we combine the three?

    How do dietary protein choices impact both our muscle physiology and the natural environment?

    Protein hero

      Research

      Muscle, form and function (2)
      Muscle: Form and Function

      The Muscle: Form and Function group is made up of biomedical scientists and physiologists whose research programmes range from cell and molecular biology and physiology to whole-body systems and integrative physiology

      OILRIG
      Lipids and Membranes Research Interest Group

      A Lipids and Membranes Research Interest Group

      bread-hero
      Innovation for Safe and Sustainable Food, Nutrition and Health

      This Research Interest Group on Innovation for Safe and Sustainable Food, Nutrition and Health provides a unique opportunity for the King’s research community to address the challenges of sustainable food development.

      ageing
      Centre for Ageing Resilience In a Changing Environment - CARICE

      Welcome to the Centre for Ageing Resilience in a Changing Environment: CARICE

      London landscape
      Ageing Research at King's (ARK)

      Cross faculty consortium addressing ageing and healthy longevity.

      Protein hero
      Protein, body composition and physical function

      Protein, body composition and physical function

      News

      King's academics present their research at healthy ageing events in China

      Researchers from King’s College London recently attended two events in China that shared insights into international strategies to promote healthy ageing and...

      Attendees at the UK-China Silver Economy Forum

      BCAA supplements not most effective type of supplements for stimulating muscle growth

      New research suggests that BCAA supplements aren’t as effective as supplements with all nine essential amino acids in stimulating muscle growth for athletes,...

      gym image 780x450

      Connecting Science and Performance: Fuelling for Athletes

      On Wednesday 13 November, King’s joined forces with Herne Hill Harriers (HHH) to host an evening of lectures, Q and A panel and networking on the topic of...

      sport

      5 minutes with Olly Witard

      Olly Witard recently joined King’s as a Senior Lecture in Exercise Metabolism and Nutrition in the Centre for Human & Applied Physiological Sciences. His...

      Olly Witard

      Features

      Why do we lose muscle mass as we age and what can we do to mitigate this?

      Dr Oliver Witard is a Reader in Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. A major strand of his research is exploring the effects of ageing on our muscles – in other...

      Centre for ageing better_People in exercise class sitting down

      Protein nutrition, healthy ageing and climate change: how do we combine the three?

      How do dietary protein choices impact both our muscle physiology and the natural environment?

      Protein hero