CASES Climate Action and Sustainability Advisory Group at Physiological Society thermal event
16th June 2025
Dr Ash Willmott MCASES, Chair of CASES Climate Action and Sustainability Advisory Group (CASAG), attended the Thermal Physiology in Health and Disease: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Applications Physiological Society event at Brunel University of London on the 3 and 4 June 2025. Throughout the event, Ash was on-hand with a CASES stand and a continuous slide show outlining CASAG’s work to date was presented.
Ash interacted with the delegates and non-CASES members about the association as well as the work CASAG have been doing in the area of climate change and sustainability. He also spoke with CASES’ members regarding the new sustainable laboratory practices article in the TSES Summer edition and the equipment flip scheme too.
Pictured L-R Dr Ash Wilmott, Dr Carl James and Dr Jessica Mee
Ash said “Supporting these Physiological Society events and updating our members of our work as well as reaching out to those researching/working in the area is a key priority for CASAG. With the rising global temperatures and increasing heat exposure, understanding heat illnesses and the latest research associated with mitigation strategies is vitally important. CASAG aims to continue promoting awareness and education of heat-related risks, in hope of developing safer, more effective interventions/guidelines for vulnerable and active populations.”
Also in attendance were Drs Carl James MCASES and Jessica Mee MCASES who are members of CASAG. Dr Carl James presented his work on the ‘Thermal Strain Within A Mass Participation Running Event In Temperate Conditions: Comparison Of 10 Km, Half-Marathon And Marathon Responses’.
Carl said “CASAG are working to educate active populations and to support physical activities in light of heat waves and extreme weather events increasing in frequency.
“These can have major implications for safety and medical provision in mass participation running events. We have collected data on the strain during the Hong Kong marathon that can allow event organisers to take informed decisions on events management and medical provision under such circumstances.”
Dr Jess Mee also presented on sex-specific considerations in thermal physiology. Jessica said “Part of my research and role aligned with CASAG is focusing on female health in heat stress. Females appear more vulnerable to heat stress due to reduced sweating capacity and hormonal fluctuations, and so they may experience more heat illness symptoms during heat waves. Despite this, research on female-specific heat mitigation is lacking, hindering effective guidelines. Education and tailored strategies are therefore urgently needed to improve female preparedness and resilience.”
Dr Oliver Gibson, organiser of the event said “Brunel University of London, and The Physiological Society were delighted to welcome CASES to our meeting. The academic focus of the meeting aligns very well with CASES’ Climate Action and Sustainability Advisory Group and we were delighted that delegates were able to engage with Dr Ash Willmott throughout the meeting.”
