Dr Danny Longman

Dr Danny Longman graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences (2005–08), followed by an MPhil (2008–09) and PhD (2011–14) in Human Evolution. He remained at Cambridge as a Postdoctoral Researcher (2015–19) before joining Loughborough University as a Lecturer. He has since been promoted to Senior Lecturer.

Outside work, Danny is a keen sportsman with a passion for ultra-endurance sport, nature and travel.

Dr Danny Longman co-leads the Human Evolutionary Eco-Physiology (HEEP) research group.

Throughout human evolution, natural environments have shaped our biology by providing the ecological context in which natural selection has acted. In the last 200–300 years, however, human environments have become increasingly industrialised, with urban centres rapidly becoming our primary habitat. This rapid habitat change presents novel challenges (e.g., air pollution, microplastic accumulation and reduces contact with beneficial aspects of nature. The HEEP group’s research is grounded in the idea that this transition has created an environmental mismatch between our nature-adapted biology and our modern industrialised surroundings, contributing to widespread physiological and psychological stress and impaired biological function in urban industrialised areas.

Rooted in human evolutionary theory, the group conduct experimental research examining how natural and industrial environments influence human biological function and health.

Leadership

• Co-Director of ‘The Athletic Ape: Merging Human Evolutionary Biology with Sports Science’ conference. Erice, Sicily, Italy. 2023.
• Editorial Board Member, Annals of Human Biology, Human Metabolism & Physiology Section.
• Treasurer, Society for the Study of Human Biology

Selected conference presentations

• Longman, D. (2023). Human athletic paleobiology, life history and energy allocation. Invited podium presentation. The Athletic Ape: Merging Human Evolutionary Biology with Sports Science conference. Sicily, Italy.
• Longman, D. (2022). The athletic ape – energy as the currency of evolutionary fitness. Invited podium presentation. Extremes of human energy balance: Connecting the dots between energy surplus and deficiency. Munich, Germany.
• Longman, D. (2022). Evolutionary perspectives of endurance exercise in extremes of temperatures. Invited podium presentation. European College of Sports Science Annual Congress, Seville, Spain.
• Longman, D., Wells, CK., Stock, JT. (2022). Human energetic stress associated with upregulation of spatial cognition. Virtual podium presentation. Podium presentation (virtual). American Association of Biological Anthropologists. Denver, USA.
• Longman, D., Oyama, S., Cracknell, J., Thompson, N., Gordon, D., Stock, JT., Wells, JCK. (2020). Trade-off between resting metabolic rate and growth quality in men but not women. Poster presentation (virtual). American Association of Physical Anthropologists.
• Longman, D., Macintosh, A., Roberts, R., Oakley, S., Wells, JCK., Stock, JT. (2019). Endurance activity as a driver of morphological thermal adaptation; an investigation considering the energetics of endurance running. American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Cleveland, USA.
• Longman, D., Wells, CK., Stock, JT. (2017). Signals in evolutionary and ecological context. Podium presentation. American Association of Physical Anthropologists. New Orleans, USA.
• Longman, D., Prall, SP., Shattuck, EC., Stephen, I., Stock, JT., Wells, JCK., & Muehlenbein, M. (2017). Short-term resource allocation during strenuous and prolonged athletic competition. Poster. The Human Diversity & Adaptation Meeting. Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
• Longman, D., Surbey, M.K., Stock, JT., Wells, JCK. (2017). Tandem androgenic and psychological shifts in male reproductive effort following a manipulated “win” or “loss” in a sporting competition. Poster. European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association. Paris, France.

Professional Memberships

• Society for the Study of Human Biology (SSHB): Committee Member and Grants & Awards Officer
• American Association of Physical Anthropologists
• Society for Endocrinology
• Physiology Society

Reviewer

Invited reviewer for:

• PLOS ONE
• American Journal of Human Biology
• American Journal of Biological Anthropology
• Evolutionary Human Sciences
• Frontiers in Psychology
• Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A
• Adaptive Human Behaviour and Physiology
• Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
• Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied
• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sport
• Biology of Sport
• Journal of Physical Education

Professional Memberships

• American Association of Physical Anthropologists
• Society for Endocrinology
• Physiology Society

Consultancy

• 2015-Present: Helly Hansen
• 2015-2017: Scientific Director, Jump Nutrition, Ltd.
• 2012-2014: Nike, Inc

Selected Media

Television:

• 2021-22: BBC East Midlands TV
• 2018: BBC Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Demonstration of evolved thermoregulatory mechanisms broadcast 27 December 2018, BBC 4. TV audience of ~2 million.

Radio:

• 2019-23: BBC Radio Leicester

Podcasts:

• 2023: Invited Guest on Experts in Sport Podcast, The MindBodyRow Podcast,
• 2022: Adventure Sports Podcast invited guest.
• 2021: Into the Wee Hours Podcast invited guest.

Print and Online Media:

• 2023: American Journal of Biological Anthropology paper reported in various publications, including Runner’s World.
• 2018: CNN ‘Evolution Expert’.
• 2017: Selected media following publications. The New York Times, The Telegraph, Runners’ World, Sky News, Men’s Health, Daily Mail, The Economic Times of India, The South China Morning Post

• Longman, D. & Shaw, CN. (2025). Homo sapiens, industrialisation and the environmental mismatch hypothesis. Biological Reviews.
• Longman, D., Todorova, Y., Bishop, NC., Coates, JK., James, LJ., Lintuluoto, A., & Shaw, CN. (2025). Forest breaks improve employees’ health and attitudes towards work. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 129142.
• Longman, D., Van Hedger, SC., McEwan, K. et al. (2025). Forest soundscapes improve mood, restoration and cognition, but not physiological stress or immunity, relative to industrial soundscapes. Nature Scientific Reports 15, 33967.
• Chandanathil, M., Longman, D., Nowak, T., Wells, JCK., Muehlenbein, MP., Stock, JT., Schneiders, H., Kelly, NK., Gorantla, VR., Lewis, C., Millis, RM. (2025). Waves of endurance: A pilot study of beta brain wave signatures linked to immune adaptation in transatlantic rowers. Cureus. 17(5): e84059.
• Longman, DP., Wells, JC., & Stock, JT. (2023). Human energetic stress associated with upregulation of spatial cognition. American Journal of Biological Anthropology.
• Dolan, E., Koehler, K., Areta, J., Longman, D., & Pontzer, H. (2023). Energy constraint and compensation: Insights from endurance athletes. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, 111500.
• Todorova, Y., Wellings, I., Thompson, H., Barutcu, A., James, L., Bishop, N., O’Donnell, E., Shaw, C., Longman, D. (2023). Additional health benefits observed following a nature walk compared to a green urban walk in healthy females. Urban Science, 7(3), 85.
• Longman, DP., Dolan, E., Wells, JC., & Stock, JT. (2023). Patterns of energy allocation during energetic scarcity; evolutionary insights from ultra-endurance events. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, 281, 111422.
• Shirley, MK., Longman, D., Elliott-Sale, KJ., Hackney, AC., Sale, C., Dolan, E. (2022) A life history perspective on athletes with low energy availability. Sports Medicine.
• Oliveira-Junior, G., Pinto, RS., Shirley, MK., Longman, D., Koehler, K., Saunders, B., Roschel, H., & Dolan, E. (2022). The skeletal muscle response to energy deficit; a life history perspective. Adaptive Human Behaviour and Physiology. 1-16.
• Longman, D., Merzbach, V., Pinto, JM., Atkinson, LH., Wells, JCK., Gordon, D., & Stock, JT. (2022). Alternative metabolic strategies are employed by runners of different body sizes; implications for human evolution. Adaptive Human Behaviour and Physiology. 1-19.
• Longman, D., Oyama, S., Cracknell, J., Thompson, N., Gordon, D., Stock, JT., & Wells, JCK. (2021). Fluctuating asymmetry, a marker of poor growth quality, is associated with adult male metabolic rate. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 1-10.
• Longman, D., Macintosh, A., Roberts, R., Oakley, S., Wells, JCK., Stock, JT. (2021). Energetics as a driver of human morphological thermal adaptation; evidence from female ultra-endurance athletes.  Evolutionary Human Sciences, 3, E22.
• Longman, D., Shaw, CN., Varela-Mato, V., Sherry, AP., Ruettger, K., Sayyah, M., Guest, A., Chen, YL., Paine, NJ., King, JA., Clemes, SA. (2021) Time in Nature Associated with Decreased Fatigue in UK Truck Drivers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 18, 3158.
• Longman D., Wells JCK. & Stock JT. (2020). Human athletic palaeobiology; using sport as a model to investigate human evolutionary adaptation. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology
• Longman D, Macintosh A, Roberts R, Oakley S, Wells JCK & Stock JT (2019). Endurance activity as a driver of morphological thermal adaptation; an investigation considering the energetics of endurance running. Evolutionary Human Sciences 1.
• Longman D. (2019). Fitness Benefits of Costly Signalling. In: Shackelford T., Weekes-Shackelford V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham.
• Longman, D., Surbey, MK., Stock, JT., & Wells, JCK. (2018). Physical dominance or all in the mind? Experimentally induced tandem androgenic and psychological shifts in male reproductive effort following competitive "win" or "loss". Human Nature. 29 (3), 283-310.
• Longman, D., Wells, JCK., & Stock, JT. (2017). A trade-off between cognitive and physical performance, with relative preservation of brain function. Nature Scientific Reports. 7 (1), 13709.
• Longman, D., Prall, SP., Shattuck, EC., Stephen, I., Stock, JT., Wells, JCK., & Muehlenbein, M. (2017). Short-term resource allocation during strenuous and prolonged athletic competition. American Journal of Human Biology. E23052.
• Longman, D., Wells, JCK., & Stock, JT. (2015). Can persistence hunting signal male quality? Having versus getting: a test using endurance athletes. PLoS ONE. 10.4.
• Longman, D., Hutchinson, JC., Stock, JT., & Wells, JCK. (2014). Attentional strategies during rowing. Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences. 10:321-331.
• Longman, D., Stock, JT., & Wells, JCK.. (2011). Digit ratio (2D:4D) and rowing ergometer performance in males and females. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 144 (3), 337- 341.
• Longman, D., Stock, JT., & Wells, JCK. (2011). Fluctuating asymmetry as a predictor for rowing ergometer performance. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 32 (8), 606-610.