I trained as a physiotherapist in New Zealand (Otago Polytechnic), and completed a BSc in Physiology at the University of Auckland, NZ. While working as a physiotherapist at Auckland Hospital, I developed an interest in the role of exercise in rehabilitation, health and wellbeing. Moving to London and UEL, I completed my PhD in 2004 evaluating the effects of aerobic exercise training on functional outcomes after rehabilitation following acquired brain injury.

Now as a senior lecturer here at UEL I lead the Postgraduate programmes in Professional Health Sciences, and teach on both Postgraduate and Undergraduate Physiotherapy and Podiatry programmes.  I am also a member of the Human Motor Performance Group which aims to identify optimal rehabilitation regimes to mitigate the effects of disease on physical dysfunction. Together with Dr Mary Cramp and Professor Oona Scott, I collaborate with Professor Helen Dawes Leader of the Movement Science Group at Oxford Brookes University.

Postgraduate Programme leader, School Quality Committee, School Publicity Committee

• Therapeutic exercise
• Exercise physiology
• Use of Electro-physical agents
• Manual handling and therapeutic handling
• Clinical reasoning
• Evidence based practice

• Physiotherapy BSc (Hons)
• Podiatry BSc (Hons)
• MSc Advanced Practice for Health Professionals
• MSc Physiotherapy

Undergraduate

• Clinical Physiotherapy Skills
• Skilled Movement and Exercise Science
• Cardiopulmonary Health
• Pharmacology
• Integrated Physiotherapy Practice
• Management of Long Term Conditions and Employability
• Clinical Practice supervision all levels

Postgraduate

• Muscles, Movement and Exercise
• Evaluations of interventions in practice
• Taught Research supervision both Undergraduate and Postgraduate

PhD supervision

Maria Dourida- Neurophysiological changes with ageing. A TMS study.

Kim Hastings - Aerobic capacity, whole body oxygen uptake kinetics and thigh muscle oxygenation of stroke survivors and neurologically intact age-matched sedentary controls.

Pritesh Barchha- The Influence of Training Intensity and Volume on Outcomes following Strength Training In Stroke Patients

Alex Lyons - Using novel metabolomic techniques to standardise the identification of metabolic biomarkers allied to exercise, health and disease:

Current research

• Monitoring changes in peripheral muscle and whole body oxygen uptake using near infra red spectroscopy (NIRO 200™) and automated gas analysis (Oxycon Pro™) induced by both electrically induced and voluntary fatiguing exercise.
• Effects of endurance exercise and strength training on changes in functional activity during and after rehabilitation.

Hastings, K., Culpan, J., Cramp M (2010) Determination of oxygen consumption in healthy sedentary individuals performing asymmetrical cycling. BASES Annual Conference, Glasgow, UK.

Conference Publications and Abstracts

Culpan J,Mead D, Cramp MC, Scott OM. (2007) Investigation of changes in oxygenation of human quadriceps femoris during ischaemia and fatiguing muscle contractions. Physiological Society- Life Sciences. Glasgow, UK.

Culpan, J., Bateman, A., Dawes, H., Scott, O. and Greenwood, R. (2003) Exercise capacity and functional ability early after acquired brain injury. 14th International WCPT Congress, Barcelona, Spain: RR-PL-1722. The World Confederation for Physical Therapy. London, UK.

Dawes, H., Bateman, A., Culpan, F.J., Roach, N., Scott, O., Wade, D. and Greenwood, R. (2002) Does increasing effort affect movement during cycling exercise in individuals early after acquired brain injury? Winter meeting: Society for Research in Rehabilitation. UEL, London.

Scott, O.M., Bateman, A., Culpan, J. and Greenwood, R.J. (2001) Quadriceps strength, fatiguability and exercise tolerance after recent traumatic brain injury. Proceedings of XXXIV International Congress of Physiological Sciences. Christchurch, New Zealand.

Publications

Dawes, H., Bateman, A., Culpan, J., Scott, O., Wade, D.T., Roach, N. and Greenwood, R. (2003) The effect of increasing effort on movement economy during incremental cycling exercise in individuals early after acquired brain injury. Clinical Rehabilitation 17 (5):528-534.

Dawes, H., Bateman, A., Culpan, J., Scott, O.M., Roach, N.K. and Wade, D.T. (2003) Heart rate as a measure of exercise testing early after acquired brain injury. Physiotherapy 89 (10):570-4.

Bateman, A., Culpan, F.J., Pickering, A.D., Powell, J.H., Scott, O.M. and Greenwood, R.J. (2001) A randomised controlled trial of aerobic training on rehabilitation outcomes after recent severe brain injury. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 82(2):174-82.

Jackson, D., Turner-Stokes, L., Culpan, J., Bateman, A., Scott, O., Powell, J. and Greenwood, R. (2001) Can brain injured patients participate in an aerobic exercise programme during early inpatient rehabilitation? Clinical Rehabilitation 15:535-44.

Invited presentations and taught Short courses

• QMW University of London -Exercise in Neurological conditions Feb 2010
• ACPIN conference April 2010 -Exercise in Acquired Brain injury
• Short course in thermal and electrical procedures, St Petersburg, Russia.
• Tempus project Oct 22nd- Nov 2nd 2007
• NELWDC Course - Exercise in physiotherapy, 16th June 2005 &14th July 2005
• Brunel University MSc Neurorehabilitation 8th Nov 2005
• Sussex ACPIN Study day, Brighton, - Exercise in Neurorehabilitation Nov 2004

Membership of Professional Societies

• Health Professions Council
• Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (MCSP)
• New Zealand Society of Physiotherapists (MPNZ)
• Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Sports Medicine (ACPSM)
• The Society for Research in Rehabilitation (Associate membership)
• Physiotherapy Research Society
• Physiotherapy Pain Association
• The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences
• The Physiological Society

Culpan FJ (2004) EFFECT OF AEROBIC TRAINING ON FUNCTIONAL ACTIVITIES IN PATIENTS FOLLOWING ACQUIRED BRAIN INJURY
Changes in exercise capacity, strength, mobility and functional independence in response to cycle ergometer exercise training in adults undergoing rehabilitation following acquired brain injury. PhD thesis, University of East London, UK.

Acquired brain injury (ABI) often results in prolonged periods of immobility which exacerbates physiological and psychological problems resulting from initial injury. A randomised controlled study had determined the effect of 3 months of exercise training on rehabilitation outcomes, impairment, mobility and activity in adults with ABI. This thesis reports changes in exercise capacity related to impairment, mobility and activity following exercise training during rehabilitation following ABI. Exercise capacity was compared using maximum oxygen uptake and heart rate monitored graded exercise testing (HR GXT) with a cycle ergometer; changes in impairment were assessed by Motricity Index, isometric muscle strength; mobility with Berg Balance Scale, Rivermead Mobility Index, 10-m walk velocity; and activity with Functional Independence Measure™, Barthel Index and Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Index.

Data was collected at 4 regional neurological rehabilitation units. Logistics, protocols and methodological issues associated with reliability were explored. Blind assessments were completed at baseline, 6 weeks (T2), at end of training 3 months (T3), and 3 months after training (T4) in 157 adults 43.2 ± 13.9 years old recruited 24.2 ± 14.7 weeks after a single incident ABI.

Differences between measured and predicted maximal exercise data were found (p<0.000) and correlations (p<0.01-0.05) were established between maximum oxygen uptake and functional scores in a sample of the study population at baseline (n=43). After training, exercising subjects (n=20) increased their max (p<0.02), cycled for longer and were more efficient than relaxation control subjects (n=22, ρ=0.03). Changes in HR GXT performance were examined in depth in a different subgroup (n=61) and exercising subjects (n=30) showed larger (p=0.02) increases at T3 than controls (n=31) for maximum work rate, but there were no associated changes in measures of impairment, mobility or activity. The improvements in exercise capacity were similar to changes seen in the tested subjects.

Comparison of HR GXT with maximum oxygen uptake testing validated the use of HR GXT in the clinic. Guidelines based on mobility and activity for selecting suitable patients for exercise testing are proposed and analysis of exercise training has provided guidelines for increasing exercise capacity.

This study demonstrated that younger adults in the first year after ABI have markedly reduced exercise capacity which can be increased and responds normally to cycle ergometer training undertaken in the clinical setting.

• http://www.uel.ac.uk/hmpg/index.htm
• http://www.uel.ac.uk/hab/programmes/postgraduate/advpracticehealth.htm
• http://www.uel.ac.uk/hab/programmes/postgraduate/physiotherapy.htm
• http://www.uel.ac.uk/hab/programmes/NHSCareers.htm
• http://www.brookes.ac.uk/lifesci/research/groups/humanmedbio/movementscience2/