Jessica Thomas

About me:

I completed my BSC in Sport and Health Science at the University of Exeter in June 2020, achieving several first class classifications on modules such as sport psychology, strength and conditioning physiology, and physiological determinates of exercise performance to name a few. My dissertation covered the effects of beetroot juice supplementation on 1200 meter running time trial performance, using female rugby players as the sole participants.

Upon finishing my undergraduate, I started working towards my Masters by Research (MRES) in Sport and Health Sciences. Overall, my research is looking at the effects of concussion on female rugby union players; examining their beliefs and thoughts on concussion through questionnaires and interviews. Additionally, I will be looking at the effect of head impacts post rugby union games in both grassroots and elite female players. As a current player for Exeter Chiefs Women and the University of Exeter Rugby Football Club, I am working collaboratively with both teams to help guide my work, allowing me to keep player welfare at the forefront of my research.

I am a member of Exeter Head Impacts, Brain Injury and Trauma research group (ExHIBIT), who work as a collective to uniquely examine the consequences of head impacts from an interdisciplinary approach. Check out our page to see more incredible work others within this group are currently taking part in! (https://sshs.exeter.ac.uk/research/integrativephysiology/exhibit/)