Dr Liam Noll

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Practitioner Fellow
Location:
Chelmsford

Liam is a mixed methods researcher with a discipline in exercise physiology. Liam has extensive experience in the fire sector, working within the occupational health and fitness department.

[email protected]

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Background

Liam has joined ARU's Centre of Excellence for Equity in Uniformed Public Services (CEEUPS) as a Practitioner Fellow and will explore women’s experiences of service uniform and operational PPE within the UK Fire and Rescue Service, focusing on how ill-fitting PPE can affect comfort, safety, and physiological performance.

Prior to joining CEEUPS, Liam completed his PhD alongside his role within the fire service. His research developed a return to work screening tool to assess the physical readiness of firefighters to return to operational duties following musculoskeletal injury. This screening tool has since been implemented as national guidance by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) for UK fire and rescue services to adopt as part of their processes and policies to support a safer return to work for firefighters.

Research interests
  • Occupational performance in uniformed personnel
  • Strategic organisational development
  • Human-centred design
  • Internal governance and assurance
Qualifications
  • PhD in Sport & Exercise Science, University of Essex
  • BSc (Hons) in Sport & Exercise Science, University of Essex
Memberships, editorial boards

Member of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) FireFit Steering Group

Selected recent publications

Noll, L., Mallows, A. and Moran, J. (2022) 'Psychosocial barriers and facilitators for a successful return to work following injury within firefighters', International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 95(2), pp. 331-339. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-021-01712-z

Noll, L., Mitham, K., Moran, J. and Mallows, A. (2022) 'Identifying current uses of return to work screening tests and their effectiveness of reducing the risk of reinjury in athletic occupations – A systematic review', Physical Therapy in Sport, 58, pp. 141-150. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ptsp.2022.10.010

Noll, L., Mallows, A. and Moran, J. (2021) 'Consensus on tasks to be included in a return to work assessment for a UK firefighter following an injury: an online Delphi study', International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 94(5), pp. 1085-95. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-021-01661-7

Noll, L., Moran, J. and Mallows, A. (2022) 'Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of return-to-work screening tests for UK firefighters following injury', Healthcare, 10(12), pp. 2381. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10122381

Recent presentations and conferences

Noll, L. (2026) 'Implementation of the Fit for Operational Duty Screening Tool as national guidance', NFCC Health, Wellbeing & Safety Conference.

Noll, L. (2025) 'How academic research can be practically applied within uniformed services', International Women’s Day Conference, Essex Fire Service Headquarters.