Rate My Professor Sarah Astill

Professor Sarah L. Astill is the Professor of Motor Control in the School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, at the University of Leeds. She obtained her BSc (Hons) in Physiology and Sport Science with First Class honours from the University of Leeds in 2000, followed by a PhD in neuromotor control in children with developmental coordination disorder at the same university. Her career began as a Teaching Fellow at Leeds from 2004 to 2006. She then held an RCUK Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Southampton's School of Health Sciences from 2006 to 2008. Rejoining Leeds in 2008 as Lecturer in Motor Control, she advanced to Associate Professor in 2018 and subsequently to Professor. Astill has undertaken significant educational leadership roles, including Director for Student Education in the School of Biomedical Sciences (2013-2017), Programme Leader for Sport & Exercise Sciences (2017-2022), and Faculty Academic Lead for Student Experience and Opportunity (2021-2023). She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and teaches across all levels of the Biomedicine programme, supervises BSc, MSc, and MRes students, and manages the MSc Sport & Exercise Medicine Research Project module.

Astill's research specialises in the neural and behavioural control of movement across the life and health span, particularly upper-limb rehabilitation and mobility in individuals with spinal cord injury, neurodevelopmental movement disorders, and older adults. Her work encompasses motor learning, plasticity, physical activity, and ageing. She employs neurophysiological techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), surface electromyography (sEMG), and spinal stimulation, combined with clinical assessments like the GRASSP and qualitative interviews. As Principal Investigator for the Sport England-funded 'Dance On' project, she evidenced sustained physical activity increases, enhanced wellbeing, falls prevention cost-effectiveness, and community impacts through dance programmes for older adults. Astill co-designs interventions with clinicians, engineers, and patients, developing accessible home-based neurostimulation and gait-training systems. She co-leads the Reimagine Ageing Interdisciplinary Research Network and collaborates with local authorities, health services, and arts organisations. Notable publications include 'Dance on: a mixed-method study into the feasibility and effectiveness of a dance programme to increase physical activity levels and wellbeing in adults and older adults' (BMC Geriatrics, 2023), 'Bimanual reach to grasp movements after cervical spinal cord injury' (2017), contributions to 'BIOS Instant Notes in Motor Control, Learning and Development', 'Clinical Characteristics and Mechanisms of Musculoskeletal Pain in Long COVID' (Journal of Pain Research, 2022), and 'The Relationship between Physical Activity and Long COVID' (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022). Her interdisciplinary supervision builds capacity in neurorehabilitation research.