Martyn Standage is Professor of Psychology, Health, and Applied Science in the Department for Health. He is also the Director of Research for the Department for Health, the Director of the University's Centre for Motivation and Behaviour Change, and the REF Lead for Unit of Assessment 24. Martyn received his PhD from the University of Birmingham in 2003.

The major focus of Prof Standage's work is to: (i) map the motivational determinants of adaptive and maintained engagement in health, exercise, sport, organisational, and education settings; and (ii) utilise this information to inform the design, development, and evaluation of interventions targeted at enhancing effective functioning, health, performance, and wellbeing. Professor Standage recently extended his work to include a broader interdisciplinary perspective on physical activity, sedentary behaviours, and objective health outcomes (including integrating motivational perspectives within models that specify multiple levels of influence across 24-hour periods).

Professor Standage has authored over 200 publications, with his research widely cited (>26,000 citations; H-index = 81). These publications can be accessed via this link [List of Publications].  To support his research, Martyn has secured grants totalling over £8.5 million from funders such as the Medical Research Council (MRC), Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC), Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), National Institutes for Health Research (NIHR), The British Academy, and The Leverhulme Trust. Professor Standage's empirical research findings have also contributed to 4* Impact Case Studies in REF2014 and REF2021.  

Martyn served as the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology (2016-2024); he is a former Associate Editor for Motivation and Emotion (2010-2017) and has sat on the Editorial Boards of several internationally-leading peer-review journals. Prof Standage was a member of the Implementation and Surveillance Expert Working Group for the 2019 Chief Medical Officer's UK Physical Activity Guidelines. He was also a member of the Development Team for Public Health England's 'Moving Medicine' work that is conducted in liaison with the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine and an expert panel member for Sport England's 'National Physical Literacy Consensus for England' project. Martyn is the Chief Scientific Officer for Active Healthy Kids England, producing a national 'report card' for the 'state of the nation' regarding children and adolescents' physical activity. Prof. Standage is a member of the Peer-Review College of the ESRC and regularly sits on grant panels nationally and internationally.