Bryant Byrd – PhD candidate
16 December 2025
Bryant is an AUT PhD candidate living in Colorado, United States of America, his PhD involves examining the Impact of Remote Ischemic Preconditioning on Competitive (IPC) Endurance Athletic Performance from the laboratory to field-based events. His PhD has been supervised by Professor Andrew Kilding (AUT), Professor Gary Guilder (Western Colorado University and Professor Lance Dalleck (Western Colorado University).
Across his research, Bryant has explored the effects of ischemic preconditioning through three distinct studies. His laboratory study on “time to exhaustion on the treadmill”, a field study involving shorter race events to determine whether the benefits observed in the lab translated to real-world, and his final study focused on the Hardrock 100-mile race, where he examined whether IPC could help reduce cardiac and muscle damage typically sustained by athletes during ultra-endurance races.
His current findings show significant performance and recovery benefits. His laboratory study demonstrated around “a 22% increase in time to exhaustion with IPC”, while his field study showed around “a 5% increase in faster times, also helping reduce inflammation levels by 58-74%”. The data from his ultra-endurance study is currently being analysed, he describes this project as the highlight of his PhD journey, noting that “it’s never been done before” and is a “one-of-a-kind study.”
Choosing AUT
There were several reasons that influenced Bryant’s decision to pursue his doctoral research at AUT, with previous academic connections and the universities reputation playing key roles.
“One of my advisors used to work at AUT and suggested I continue my scholarly work with AUT”. He noted that AUT is a “great program” and “a well-known sports science program,” adding that he believes they are “one of the top 1% in the world in their area of research and field”.
A remote PhD experience
Bryant’s PhD journey has been 100% remote, mentioning he has never been to New Zealand before, and he acknowledges the “challenges with working remotely”, particularly the time zone differences.
Despite the challenges of being remote, he highlights the strong support and resources available for remote students, noting that AUT provides access to research tools, databases and specialist equipment. “AUT’s past feature and research databases, which I have access to” and “tools like the statistical analysis package and workshops you can use” have been invaluable in navigating his project from abroad.
Advice for other students
For students considering or currently undertaking a remote PhD, Bryant emphasises the importance of making full use of the available resources and maintaining discipline.
“I think you just need to really take advantage of what you have, utilise every tool that’s given to you at your disposal. Try to stay focused on your goal and maximise the unique opportunities that you have”.
Future work
After completing his PhD, Bryant plans to continue developing his academic career through research.
“I’m thinking of doing a postdoc along the line so I can continue to pass my career in research, explore findings, and look at research gaps. I think it’s a really intriguing area that I learned a lot in and I’m super excited to actually publish my findings”.
Job Title: Lecturer for the Department of Recreation, Exercise & Sport Science at Western Colorado University
PhD Title: Impact of Remote Ischemic Preconditioning on Competitive Endurance Athletic Performance: From the Laboratory to Field-based Events