Sports and Exercise Science Research Centre (Sports@TAR)

Center Leader

Assoc. Prof. Dr Chan Kai Quin

Researches focus on sports performance, exercise interventions, nutritional supplementation for performance enhancement and recovery and health promotion across diverse populations.

🔹 Research Focus: Advancing athlete performance, innovative exercise approaches, and health outcomes from elite players to general populations.

Research Group Members

Prof. Dr. Tan Chee Hian, AP Dr. Kok Lian Yee, Prof. Dr. Ler Hui Yin, AP Dr. Kee Kang Mea, Asst. Prof. Dr. Angelina Tan, Asst. Prof. Dr. Chong Mee Chee, Mr. Ling Sen Kian, Ms. Juliana Johan John, Ms. Cynthia Anne Cornelius, Mr. Tiew Kee Aun

This list is non-exhaustive, FOAS and TARUC researchers are welcome to join the Sports@TARC should their area of interest align to the Centre’s objectives, vision and rationale.

Location: FOAS Sport Science Labs - S2, C106i, C105g

Objectives

The Sports and Exercise Science Research Centre (Sports@TAR) is a dedicated centre that focuses on conducting Sports and Exercise related research activities, provides scientific instrumentation services and consultancy to other education or research institutions as well as for the industry and conducts training and workshops. It also serves as an incubator to explore new ideas and research, and to nurture new researchers, with the following aims:

Beyond Education -To promote undergraduate research and postgraduate training through industrial and demand-driven approach
Research and Development - To undertake strategic research in key areas aligned to our team's expertise in the area of Sports and Exercise Science Research
Collaboration - To serve as a science hub for industrial partners and to contribute to Malaysia’s scientific industry
Pre-commercialization - To create and encourage an entrepreneurial culture in the pre-commercialization development of research and technology outputs from Sports and Exercise Science Research
Nurturing new ideas and researchers - to serve as nurturing ground for new ideas and researchers which encourages and supports aspiring researchers in exploring innovative concepts and fostering their growth in the field of sports and exercise science.

Vision

This centre strives to combine, structure and integrate the elements of sport and exercise science into its activities and services to enhance the well-being of the general public, children and athletes. Through the activities and services rendered, research activities will be undertaken on a coordinated, interdisciplinary and specialized basis, to publish research results.

To provide the services to the sports organizations, communities and industries, hence enhancing the collaboration between the University and the external institutions and further strengthening the expertise building within the existing faculty members.

Rationale and Research Plan

a) Research and Development - to explore funding opportunities and to seek for potential research and development opportunities from the industrial and external organizations.

b) Collaboration - to strengthen collaboration in multi-disciplinary projects in terms of leveraging on the team’s expertise and facility availability.

c) Consultancy/Services – to provide services on physical fitness testing and training using the existing facilities in the laboratories for external clients from the educational institutions, sports associations and industry.

d) Training and Knowledge Exchange - to provide the platform for conferences, seminars, road shows, and presentations for upskilling and reskilling to resilience in the dynamic environment.

Publications

2025

TITLE: Effects of Repeated Hypoxic Exposure with High Intensity Interval Cycling in Trained Athletes.

SOURCE: Lecture Notes in Bioengineering

SDG: 3, 13

CITATION: Jet Ming See, Hui Yin Ler, Jun Jie Lai, Jianhong Gao, Jin Seng Thung, Chris Chow Li Tee, Suresh Marathamuthu, Christopher Pok, and Mohd Rizal Md. Razali (2025) Effects of Repeated Hypoxic Exposure with High Intensity Interval Cycling in Trained Athletes. Lecture Notes in Bioengineering: 87 - 99. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-8757-2_9.

ABSTRACT:

Hypoxic exposure with high intensity interval training has demonstrated an effective improvement in sports performance by inducing specific physiological adaptation, whereas there is limited evidence regarding the influence of repeated exposure to hypoxic training on sports performance. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of repeated hypoxic exposure with high intensity interval training (HIIT) on trained athletes. Seventeen male trained athletes (age = 26.7 ±5.9 yrs; height = 172.1 ± 8.7 cm; weight = 70.3 ± 10.1 kg; BMI = 23.7 ± 3.1 kg/m2) were recruited and they were divided into two groups based on their previous hypoxic training experience: (i) Experienced Group, EG (n = 10): participants who have experienced RSH training before, followed by a 4-weeks of washout period after the training program; (ii) Non-experienced Group, NEG (n = 7): participants who have no previous exposure to the RSH training program. The participants underwent a 4-week cycling repeated sprint hypoxia training program, during which jump performance, speed, anaerobic capacity, aerobic capacity, and repeated sprint ability (RSA) before and after the training were measured. Results showed that only aerobic capacity improved significantly in EG (p =0.038) while the NEG showed significant improvement in measures (peak power: p = 0.017; average power: p = 0.002; and RSA: p= 0.011). After 4 weeks of training, there was no change in jump performance or speed, regardless of group. In conclusion, a single block of 4-weeks RSH training exposure is sufficient in improving sport performance while repeated exposure only improves aerobic capacity but not in jumping performance and speed.

TITLE: Effects of 4-Days Short-Term Isothermic Heat Acclimation With Permissive Dehydration on Recreational Female Endurance Runners

SOURCE: Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal

SDG: 3, 5, 13

CITATION: Weng Foong Chong, Hui Yin Ler (2025) Effects of 4-Days Short-Term Isothermic Heat Acclimation With Permissive Dehydration on Recreational Female Endurance Runners. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal 25(1): 12 - 13.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives: Standard heat acclimation typically involves 60-90 minutes of heat exposure for more than five consecutive days. Optimizing the minimum effective duration and intensity of HA remains crucial. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a 4-day short-term isothermic heat acclimation (IHA) protocol, combined with permissive dehydration, on running performance.

Methods: Seven recreational female runners (age: 25 ± 5.8 years old; weekly mileage: 20.3 ± 6.0 km; VO2 max: 41.3 ± 6.8ml/kg/min) completed four consecutive days of 90-minute IHA sessions (Tcore > 38.5°C) with fluid restriction in hot, humid conditions (~40°C, ~39% RH). Heat stress test (HST) was conducted before and after the intervention, consisting of 30 minutes of treadmill running at 65% VO2 max, followed by a graded exercise test (GXT) to exhaustion in hot conditions (Tamb: 35.4 ± 0.3°C;RH: 47.5 ± 4.2%). Results: Following the IHA interventions, significant improvements were observed in TTE during GXT (Pre: 12.0± 2.1 min; Post: 13.7 ± 2.7 min; p = .011) under heat stress. Heart rate during 30-minute steady-state run was significantly lower post-intervention (Pre: 174 ± 16.4 bpm; Post: 164 ± 15.7 bpm; p = .005). Thermoregulatory adaptation included a significantly lower End-HST skin temperature (p =.035). Despite lower Tcore and higher sweat rate, no significant differences were revealed (p> .05). Among perceptual responses, only final thermal sensation during HST showed significantly cooler perception (p =.047).

Conclusion: These findings support the feasibility of time-efficient heat acclimation strategies for recreational athletes preparing for hot environments.

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