Alasdair MacSween

Alasdair is Principal Lecturer in Research Governance and also holds other roles including Vice Chair of Teesside University Research Ethics Committee (REC) and Chair of School of Health & Social Care Research Governance and Ethics Committee. Alasdair also Chair's one of the North East's Health Research Authority, Research Ethics Service, RECs.

Alasdair works with the Institute's and School’s staff, students and our research collaborators to facilitate excellence in our research governance.

Alasdair qualified as a Physiotherapist at Glasgow Caledonian University and his academic career began there as a Research Assistant working on a wide range of research projects in the then Department of Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Radiography. Alasdair went on to be employed as a Lecturer in Physiotherapy at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh and then a Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, Course Leader for M.Sc. Physiotherapy (Pre-registration) and School of Health Sciences Research Coordinator at The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen before joining Teesside in 2007. Alasdair has maintained his clinical experience through private practice and work for Strathclyde Police Occupational Health and Welfare Unit, in Sports Injury Clinics and as an Ergonomic Consultant.

Alasdair completed his Ph.D - studying the efficacy of a hydrotherapy and land based aerobic exercise programme for female Rheumatoid Arthritis patients. His primary area of research interest is in physical and other interventions in the Rheumatic diseases. He also has an active interest in research in the areas of exercise, physical activity and Alternative and Complementary therapies, especially Acupuncture.

• Physical and other interventions in the Rheumatic diseases
• Exercise, physical activity and Alternative and Complementary therapies, especially Acupuncture

External research funding since 2008

• The effectiveness of Acupuncture for Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy, of the lower limb and foot, following Paclitaxel treatment for Ovarian Cancer: a single blind randomised control trial. South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust, £24,989
• £30,000 ARUK Educational Grant with Prof Martin as co-applicant - The Pain Garden: development and evaluation of an online educational tool to improve patients' understanding and provoke learning about the multidimensional nature of persistent pain.

PhD supervision - ongoing

• Jon Robinson - Virtual Rehabilitation Of Pain And Function For People With Multiple Sclerosis
• Gillian Barry - The effects of virtual reality augmented rehabilitation on function for people with low back pain
• Yvonne Khoo - Virtual reality augmented rehabilitation to improve postural stability in older people with chronic pain
• Lisa Esmonde - Examination of non-specific therapist effects in measured symptom change following conventional alopathic and alternative treatment modalities with persons with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
• Lay Khoon Lau - The influence of the higher cognitive systems and various methods of cervical joint position error calculation on cervical joint position sense among idiopathic neck pain patients