Dr Nick Preston
- Position: Research Fellow, Project Manager
- Areas of expertise: physiotherapy; rehabilitation; developmental coordination disorder; movement disorders; development of new outcome measures; Rasch model
- Email: N.Preston@leeds.ac.uk
- Location: 5.33 Clinical Services Building
- Website: | | | | | ORCID
Profile
My roles
I am the Centre Manager of the and a postdoctoral researcher with a background in adult and paediatric physiotherapy (Neuro-Development, Musculoskeletal, Orthopaedics, Neurological Wards and Respiratory Care (ICU, Cardiac ICU, Neonatal Intensive Care and Surgery) and in the community (schools, homes and clinics)). I lecture medical students in the Management of Tendinopathy, and I am a tutor to medical students in the ENQUIRE 2 programme (statistics and research methodology).
My background
I have worked across the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ and Bradford Institute for Health Research in a number of roles as a postdoctoral researcher and as a Project Manager. I completed my PhD, funded through an NIHR Fellowship, in 2014. This involved the development of a (the Children’s Arm Rehabilitation Measure) and the conduct of a on upper limb arm activity limitation of children with cerebral palsy.
The Children's Arm Rehabilitation Measure
In Bradford, the included the development and testing of a new measure for evaluating children’s fundamental motor skills, and as. Up to six children in every classroom are profoundly affected by poor fundamental motor skills, which has a . There is a large body of evidence showing how poor movement skills affect children's physical activity and their physical, emotional, social, psychological and educational development. Across the UK, few children (about 20%) meet government recommendations for levels of physical activity, and obesity is on the rise in school children – in Bradford, 10% of children are at risk of or have developed late-onset diabetes. Our found three well-conducted trials investigating physiotherapy activities that produced large effect sizes in the outcome measures evaluating the children's movement skills; these activities are the basis for the new programme, which is designed to be delivered in schools by school staff.
The Alps movement skills programme
As a Project Manager att , we expanded the collection of data from children admitted to Level 3 units (Paediatric Intensive Care) to Level 2 beds (High Dependency units and beds). Data from this ongoing audit has led to huge improvements in the care of the seriously ill children admitted to these units.
It is now my privilege to be the Centre Manager at , where I work with the most remarkable researchers, data scientists, statisticians, physicists and oncologists who are developing kinder, smarter radiotherapy treatment of cancer.
Qualifications
- PhD
- BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy
- PG Diploma in Health Research
- BTEC Diploma in Electronic Engineering
Professional memberships
- Health Professions Council
- Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
Research groups and institutes
- ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine