Dr Paul Lester

BSc (Hons), PhD

Pronouns: He/him
  • Senior Research Associate – Public Health Research & Evaluation

Research groups and centres

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Paul Lester

Paul graduated from the University of Derby in 2015 with a First Class Honours in Sport and Exercise Science. After graduating, Paul went on to study for a PhD at Nottingham Trent University, exploring the role of the gut microbiota in the pathophysiology of asthma. Whilst completing his PhD at NTU, Paul held a variety of roles, including working as a Performance Nutritionist and Physiologist with Nova Centurion Swimming Club, a Research Assistant at the University of Derby, and various lecturing roles at NTU. Paul then went on to work for the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as a Senior Public Health Intelligence Analyst, before taking up a role as Lecturer in Exercise Physiology at the University of East London.

Paul joined Loughborough University as a Research Associate in Active Healthy Living in 2023, working as part of the Healthy & Innovative Loughborough Project led by Professor Fehmidah Munir to identify and address barriers to physical activity engagement in underserved communities in Loughborough. In April 2026, Paul began work as a Senior Research Associate in Public Health Research and Evaluation working with the Dean of School for Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Professor Lauren Sherar, to help deliver a range of projects including the Leicestershire Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC), and the Public Health Interventions Responsive Studies Team (PHIRST) Light programme being delivered in partnership with the University of Nottingham and University of Lincoln.

Paul’s research career began with investigating the effects of inspiratory muscle training on simulated military load carriage performance. During his PhD, Paul continued to work along the theme of respiratory physiology, but transitioned towards a more health-based approach investigating the effects of prebiotic supplementation in asthma. As part of this research, Paul worked as Principal Investigator on a Clinical Study exploring the efficacy of prebiotic supplementation by assessing the functional capacity of regulatory T cells via flow-cytometry based approaches.

Alongside his PhD research, Paul worked as a Research Assistant on the “Derby: A City on the Move” project funded by Sport England, applying a mixed methods approach to investigate the effects of motivational interviewing on physical activity engagement in underserved communities.

Paul went on to apply his skills with conducting mixed methods research as part of the Healthy & Innovative Loughborough Project, working alongside Professor Fehmidah Munir to use a combination of behaviour change frameworks and community-based participatory research approaches to work in partnership with local organisations and residents to develop tailored interventions and investments to promote greater engagement in physical activity. Paul’s work on this project has been heavily underpinned by his skills in population health management gained whilst working as a Senior Public Health Intelligence Analyst with the United Kingdom Health Security Agency where he worked across a broad range of health determinants and conditions as well as his personal interest of respiratory physiology.

Paul is a member of the Charnwood Community Health and Wellbeing Partnership (CCHWP), a network of organisations across Academia, NHS, Local Government, and the Voluntary Sector that work together to address a wide range of health inequalities in Charnwood. Paul leads involvement from the School of Sport, Exercise, and Health Sciences to gain an in depth knowledge of the key challenges facing local residents and organisations so that research within the school can be aligned to deliver impactful health outcomes.

Paul is a member of the Southfields Park Steering Group, a collection of local organisations in Loughborough including Charnwood Borough Council committed to ensuring the long term regeneration of the park into an accessible and enjoyable space that can be used to engage in a broad range of physical and social activities.

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