Well I'm especially interested really in the brain
and how adaptable the brain is
to exercise in particular.
Alzheimer's disease is certainly, singularly,
one of the most prevalent
of all the diseases of the brain.
We think it's associated with an impairment
in getting oxygen to the brain.
There are no curative treatments for it
and exercise is a promising countermeasure
that can improve oxygen delivery to the brain
and bring a whole variety of benefits,
ultimately improving a patient's quality of life.
So the research - it's very dynamic,
very applied in many respects
but ultimately is a very strong clinical focus.
We're understanding - looking to understand -
why some individuals succumb to disease
and why oxygen is so important for the brain
and the implications of not getting
enough oxygen to the brain.
We investigate this across the spectrum
of health and disease
so ranging from the super-fit Olympic athletes,
down to the super sick patients.
It's all unified by the brain and
oxygen transport to the brain
so the miracle molecule and the most important
organ in the world if you like,
we're looking to bring those two together.
So we're very keen to explore alternative models
where oxygen delivery to the brain is challenged.
Nature has got a fabulous laboratory for us
that we take full advantage of and that's at high altitude.
So we've traveled from the Himalayas
to South America, really across the world,
organizing expeditions where
we're keen to understand
how does the brain cope with the extremes
of oxygen lack.
We've compared men versus women,
trained people versus untrained people.
We've also looked at some
disease populations as well
and populations that have been
born and bred at high altitude
and live, they've lived in all of their lives.
That's a good question.
I would probably say
Richard Feynman, who's a physicist.
He was a brilliant physicist,
brilliant applied mathematician
and what inspired me so much about him
is he had an ability to communicate to students.
He had the ability to inspire
but also communicate
to the public at large as well
some very complicated principles.
He was a real philosopher,
a really creative thinker
and there are rare scientists out there
like Richard Feynman.
To me it's about providing opportunities
and inspiring the younger generation of scientists
to ask some of the really complex questions
that perhaps some of us older scientists
haven't quite solved yet.
We, like many other scientists
put the long hours in
but it's a passion, it's a hobby,
it's almost an interest
and I think that puts a completely different spin
on what motivates and what drives you.
