A new centre which aims to find new ways of getting disabled people fit has appointed its first research fellow.
The DASH Centre at the University of Bath was launched earlier this year to change lives through research into disability, physical activity and health.
Now Jean-Philippe Walhin has been appointed as the Susan Whorrod Research Fellow at the centre, which is on the Claverton Down campus where Britain's Paralympic squad prepared for this summer's games.
It has been supported by major donations from former students and friends of the university, including Mrs Whorrod who made a donation of £250,000.
Her husband Roger was one of the university's earliest graduates and in 2010 donated £500,000 which was doubled by a Government match-funding scheme to provide a £1 million boost to the its research into sustainable chemical technologies.
Mrs Whorrod was inspired to support the DASH Centre following a career in nursing, working both as a front line sister and a nursing manager.
Researchers will investigate the role of physical activity in maintaining health among disabled groups. Evidence suggests that spinal cord injured paraplegics have a 60 per cent increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and a 400 per cent higher risk of developing type-2 diabetes. It is not clear whether this risk is a direct result of their disability or a less active lifestyle.
Mr Walhin joined the university seven years ago as a research officer on a project jointly funded by the campus and the British Heart Foundation which investigated the effect of diet and exercise in type-2 diabetes. He said: "This is a fantastic opportunity to apply our existing expertise and knowledge in the area and translate this to the wider disabled population."
