David Markland obtained both his undergraduate degree and his PhD in Bangor. He was appointed as a member of staff in the School in 1994 and became a Senior Lecturer in 2004. He is a member of the Institute for the Psychology of Elite performance and the Health and Exercise Research Group. He has strong collaborative links with colleagues at Western University, Ontario, the University of Lisbon and the University of Alberta. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. His research centres on motivation for exercise and the role of implicit social cognition in exercise. He has published extensively in the area of exercise motivation and his Exercise Motivation Measurement website is a very widely accessed resource providing information on published research instruments he has developed:

Motivation and self-regulation and in particular the application of self-determination theory to physical activity and other health behaviours; the role of implicit cognitive processes in exercise and health behaviours.