Staff profile

Jennifer joined the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences in June 2024 as Postdoctoral Research Associate working on the funded, award-winning project ‘Moving Social Work’. Working in partnership with Disability Rights UK, Moving Social Work is a co-produced programme of research that aims to embed physical activity advocacy with and for disabled people into the education, training, and routine practice of social work. As part of this, Moving Social Work advances physical activity research on implementation science and knowledge translation, co-production, intersectionality, and multiagency working and integrated care.

Prior to taking up her current position at Durham University Jen had worked as a Research Assistant and latterly as a Research Fellow within the Academic Unit for Ageing and Stroke Research (ASR) at the University of Leeds and Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust since 2012. During her time working in the ASR Jen contributed to two National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded research programmes (REACH; RP-PG-1210-12017 and RECREATE; RP-PG-0615-2001). Both programmes focused on developing and evaluating strategies to change physical activity and sedentary behaviour in the respected population of interest (older adults in care homes in REACH and people with stroke in RECREATE) with the ultimate intention of improving physical and psychological health and social well-being.

Since February 2023 Jen has served as secretary for the Sedentary Behaviour Council within the International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH). 

Jen has a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science and a PhD which explored the measurement of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in older adults residing in care homes.

Twitter: @JenAirlie

Research Interests

• Physical activity and sedentary behaviour interventions;
• Physical activity and sedentary behaviour measurement (with a particular focus on accelerometers);
• Applied health and social care research.