Video Transcript: Oliver Price

Video transcript for ‘Researcher Spotlight Dr Oliver Price’ embedded on the Faculty of Biological Sciences news pages.

(The screen shows Oliver sitting in a chair against a plain background, and the video starts with him closing a film clapperboard and smiling.Oliver talks to camera throughout.)

My name is Dr. Oliver Price and I'm an Associate Professor within the School of Biomedical Sciences. I specialise in respiratory physiology and exercise medicine. As a group, we focus on understanding exertional breathlessness and how it can contribute to exercise limitation and physical inactivity.

We typically focus on two subgroups of individuals. Firstly, we encounter otherwise healthy, young, active people who report exercise-induced respiratory symptoms. At the other end of the spectrum are individuals with pre-existing airways disease. These individuals often have profound ventilatory limitation and, as a result, tend to lead more sedentary lifestyles.

They often avoid activities or situations that may provoke their symptoms, which is entirely understandable. However, the knock-on effect is that, over time, they undertake less and less physical activity. This creates a negative cycle in which they become increasingly sedentary. In much the same way that you or I would become physically deconditioned and unfit if we stopped going to the gym, exercising or leading an active lifestyle, these patients experience progressive declines in fitness and physical function.

What sparked my interest in this area, as a physiologist interested in exercise, was a desire to use my knowledge in a way that had a direct clinical application. From my perspective, the sensation of breathing difficulty or struggling to catch your breath is one of the most frightening symptoms or experiences a person can have.

One thing that surprises people about my research relates to the two groups we focus on. There is a particularly high incidence of airway dysfunction among young athletic individuals, with some studies suggesting that up to one in five elite athletes show evidence of exercise-induced asthma.

Likewise, when we think about patients with chronic airways disease, people often view it simply as a condition affecting the lungs or respiratory system. However, research conducted over the past five to ten years has made it clear that it is actually a multisystem disease. A high proportion of patients show evidence of skeletal muscle dysfunction or wasting, impaired bone health and reduced cardiorespiratory fitness. From a psychological perspective, many also experience elevated levels of anxiety and depression.

As a result, when it comes to management, we need to recognise that this is not simply a condition associated with impaired lung function. A more holistic approach is required—one that addresses not only respiratory symptoms but also the wider range of extrapulmonary comorbidities.

In terms of the change we hope to see as a result of our work, our medium- to long-term goal is greater recognition that, alongside pharmacological treatments, non-pharmacological interventions such as exercise, diet and physical activity promotion are equally important adjunct therapies.

Ultimately, we want healthcare professionals and clinicians to feel confident prescribing these adjunct therapies and lifestyle interventions as part of routine clinical care, helping to improve both clinical outcomes and patients' quality of life.

What I enjoy most about the research is seeing its translation into patients' lives. For individuals who have been largely inactive, these interventions can have a significant impact on overall wellbeing and quality of life. Receiving feedback from patients who tell us that a more tailored, personalised approach to lifestyle interventions has made a major difference is incredibly rewarding.