Academic staff in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences

Professor Sarah Aldred is an exercise biochemist interested in oxidative stress. She is interested in how exercise can perturb redox homeostasis in both health and disease. Sarah has worked with young and old, and with those suffering from psychosis and schizophrenia, cardiovascular disease and dementia. 

Sarah is Head of the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences.

Dr Agyapong-Badu is a chartered physiotherapist with research interests in sedentary behaviour and enabling active living through studies into healthy ageing of the musculoskeletal system. She is currently working on a Dunhill Medical Trust funded project investigating the acute effects of sitting time on psychophysiological stress, psychological and physiological function in older healthy men ...

Christina Anderson spent 18 years in clinical practice as a physiotherapist before moving to the University of Birmingham in 2005 to be a clinical tutor. Her clinical interest is in children's physiotherapy. Currently she has the practice placement lead role for physiotherapy. Christina has completed a Masters degree in Advancing Physiotherapy Practice at the University of Birmingham, in which ...

Paul current work concerns testing and validating the Empowering Coaching^TM (www.empoweringcoaching.co.uk) and associated family of education programmes in different physical activity settings (e.g., PE, sport, education, dance). Empowering Coaching^TM and associated programmes aims to help leaders/coaches/teachers/instructors foster quality motivation and make physical activities more ...

George is a respiratory physiologist with an interest in pulmonary blood flow and sleep disordered breathing. He is an expert in blood gas manipulation and he uses ultrasonography for non-invasive measurement of physiological variables. George is a dedicated and popular lecturer having received the Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Teaching Award four times. 

Nick is a Lecturer in Physiotherapy. He is Year 1 Tutor for the BSc Physiotherapy programme.

Dr Andy Blannin is an expert in the mechanisms through which exercise can be helpful for people with (or at risk of) obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.

Dr Boardley is internationally known for his expertise on the psychosocial processes governing moral behaviour in physical activity contexts. This work includes moral behaviours that occur on the sports field (e.g., prosocial and antisocial behaviour), as well as those that occur in sport, exercise, and dance (use of supplements and image and performance enhancing drugs). Ian’s research has ...

Dr Leigh Breen is a leading expert in the field of skeletal muscle metabolism. His group are nationally and internationally renowned for their work into the metabolic and molecular regulation of skeletal muscle plasticity and function in health and disease, as well as specific expertise in the role of dietary protein as a key modulator of skeletal muscle metabolism. 

Matt has an international reputation for research in coaching and applied sports science.  He investigates the development of sporting skill in applied settings and pathways to expertise in sports people.

Dr Vikki Burns is a Professor of Higher Education, with a special interest in how we can support students to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes that they need to be effective, educated citizens.   She uses experiential learning, innovative assessments, and extracurricular activities, to give students opportunities to connect theory to practice, learn to communicate effectively ...

Dr Shushu Chen is a Lecturer in Sport Policy and Management. Her principal research interests include sport policy analysis and evaluation, and Olympic studies (particularly in the areas of Olympic legacy evaluation). Her recent research projects examine policy and management issues of sport in China, as well as on evaluating Olympics legacies.

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Dr Chiou’s research focuses on studying motor cortical involvement in postural control in healthy and in clinical populations. Her work utilises neurophysiological measures to investigate the control of movement and how it is affected or adapted following central or peripheral injuries. Her research interests also include improving the effectiveness of therapeutic exercises using ...

Katie Cronin is a practicing physiotherapist as well as a Teaching Fellow at the University predominantly focused on Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy. She is the admissions Tutor for the MSc (Pre-registration) Physiotherapy alongside her role on the Clinical Team.

Dr Jennifer Cumming is a community-based researcher with expertise in sport and exercise psychology.  She works collaboratively with clubs, organisations, and services in innovative and creative ways to develop and/or evaluate psychosocial interventions for improving performance, personal development, health, and well-being. 

Barry is an applied exercise physiologist with a particular interest in intermittent exercise and the sport of football.  He is recognized internationally for his research in the area of football performance and player preparation and his applied experience working within the sport. He is also the programme leader for the Doctorate in Sport and Exercise Science at the University.

Professor Duda is internationally known for her expertise on motivational processes and determinants of adherence and optimal functioning in sport, exercise, and dance. She is an experienced mental skills consultant, working with athletes, coaches/instructors, and other performers at all levels. Joan is Director of a large multi-national EC-funded project which aims to promote quality ...

Ben is an innovative and forward-thinking physiotherapy lecturer with an interest in using active learning approaches to develop critical thinking, evidence-based physiotherapists. His research interests include collaborative and digital educational approaches, simulation and clinical reasoning.

Dr Richard Elsworthy is primarily interested in the mechanisms underlying neurological disease. Richard works with stem cells, modelling the brain to detect early pathological features of both neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. Richard also has an interest in how exercise can be used to improve brain health and prevent disease.

Dr David Evans is an expert in musculoskeletal pain. His research interests are broad but are centred around better understanding and measuring disabling pain, with a view to matching the right treatment to the right patients at the right time.

Professor Falla is an expert in rehabilitation science and musculoskeletal physiotherapy. Her research utilises state of the art electrophysiological measures to evaluate the control of human movement and how it is affected or adapted in response to various states including pain, injury, fatigue and training. Her research interests also include optimising the management of musculoskeletal ...

Sally is a physical activity and exercise psychology researcher, with expertise in the objective measurement of physical activity and sedentary behavior.

ResearchGate profile

Dr Gallina’s research focuses on neuromuscular adaptation to musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation. He is specifically interested in understanding whether and how neuromechanical impairments have a role in the onset and maintenance of pain in chronic musculoskeletal disorders. His work combines electrophysiological and biomechanical techniques to study human movement in people with and ...

Lucy Gardiner is a teaching fellow in Physiotherapy, within the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences. She specializes in the cardio-respiratory field.  

Victoria is a pedagogical researcher in sport, physical activity and health. Her main research area focuses on social media/digital technologies and young people’s health and wellbeing, and she is interested in the professional learning needs of teachers/coaches.

Professor Greaves conducts internationally recognised research on health behaviour change. He develops and evaluates practical behavioural interventions to prevent and treat chronic illnesses.

Carolyn Greig is a physiologist with expertise in muscle health in older age. She is particularly research active in the design and conduct of nutritional and physical activity interventions to maintain functional ability in older adults living with frailty. Carolyn has a number of national and international collaborations and is currently involved in healthy ageing projects in Brazil, Rwanda, ...

Mark qualified as a PE Teacher from the West London Institute in 1990. After lectureships at the Universities of Kingston and Oxford Brookes, he went on to study for a PhD in Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy before joining Birmingham in 2009. Mark has published research papers in scientific journals as well as reviews and book chapters in the fields of sport pedagogy, professional ...

Dr Nicola Heneghan is an expert in musculoskeletal rehabilitation sciences research and postgraduate musculoskeletal/manipulative physiotherapy. Her research is primarily focused to spinal pain and rehabilitation in different populations (trauma, low back and neck pain, athletes etc.) with a specific interest in the thoracic spine pain and dysfunction.  

Dr Herold has a broad research and teaching interest in professional learning and pedagogy of teaching and learning in Physical Education. His main research interests are concerned with significant developments in national and international Initial Teacher Education in Physical Education. A particular research focus is the exploration of the development of subject knowledge and in particular ...

Ned’s research incorporates a range of techniques including non-invasive brain stimulation, electrophysiological recording, eye-tracking, neuroimaging and behavioural techniques. He uses these techniques to investigate how the brain controls movement and how it allows us to - seemingly effortlessly - learn new motor skills. His research is not only intended to help us understanding how the ...

Professor Maria Kavussanu is an expert on morality in sport. In her research, she is trying to understand antecedents and consequences of prosocial and antisocial sport behaviour and has conducted extensive work in understanding and preventing doping in sport. Recently, she has developed moral, interventions to combat doping in athletes and to enhance authentic leadership in coaches.

Yu-Chiang is a Birmingham Fellow in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences and affiliated in the Mitochondrial Profiling Centre (MPC), MRC-ARUK Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research and the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research (IMSR).   

Yu-Chiang’s group focuses on deciphering the signalling networks that regulate muscle metabolic functions. We ...

Dr François-Xavier Li is primarily interested in the optimisation of movement in a variety of contexts, population (elite to elderly) and tasks (running, cycling, golf, walking). 

Clive Liles is programme director for the BSc Physiotherapy (Hons) offered within SportExR. His interests are in the development and implementation of training and education of healthcare professionals, inter-professional learning and professional practice and service development.  

Dr Rebekah Lucas is an integrative physiologist who is interested in how exercise and environmental medicine translates to clinical medicine and public health. Her research examines human tolerance and adaptation to physical and environmental stressors, with a particular focus on thermal vascular physiology.

Dr Sam Lucas is an integrative physiologist with a primary research interest in brain health; specifically he is interested in how cerebral blood flow is regulated in health and disease, and the resultant impact on brain function (e.g., neurophysiological and psychological/behavioural responses). His broader interests and expertise are in the areas of exercise and environmental physiology, as ...

Dr MacDonald’s research focuses on the behavioural, neurophysiological and genetic mechanisms of impulse control i.e. how we control our actions. She is especially interested in how these mechanisms may be influenced by dopamine dysregulation as seen in Parkinson’s disease and other dopamine-related disorders. She utilizes techniques such as non-invasive brain stimulation, genotyping, ...

Dr. Kyriaki Makopoulou is an expert in examining the complex process of professional learning and in evaluating the impact of large-scale national Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes on both teacher and pupil learning outcomes. She is currently supervising postgraduate research in the fields of physical education (with a focus on the cross-curriculum potential of PE and dance) ...

Dr Eduardo Martinez-Valdes is an expert in electrophysiology. His research utilizes advanced surface electromyography techniques to study the neuromuscular adjustments behind musculoskeletal disorders, exploring exercise interventions which could potentially improve neuromuscular function. 

Dr Craig McAllister has a passionate interest in understanding the neural mechanisms of human movement in both healthy and disease states. His current research utilises a combination of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques and neuroimaging methods to understand the role of rhythmic brain activity in motor and cognitive processes.

Nicola is an experienced musculoskeletal physiotherapist with a particular interest in pain mechanisms and pain management. Nicola joined the University of Birmingham in 2015 as a Teaching Fellow and a Clinical Tutor in physiotherapy and started her role as a Research Fellow in the Centre of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain in April 2020.  

Dr. Nightingale is an integrative physiologist with an interest in understanding the impact of physical activity on cardiometabolic and cerebrovascular health outcomes in individuals with neurological conditions. Primarily, Tom’s research has focused on the efficacy of therapeutic interventions (exercise and neuromodulation) to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals with a spinal ...

David is interested in both cognitive and motor difficulties that can arise following stroke, and how these interact, affecting the way people move and function; he has a particular interest in the neglect syndrome.  David undertakes experimental research that aims to understand related problems arising in stroke survivors and contributes to the development of rehabilitative strategies to ...

Dr Quinton is interested in how positive youth development approaches in sport and community settings improve emotional regulation, social connectedness, and mental well-being in young people. Dr Quinton uses sport psychology and pedagogical theories to understand how young people’s backgrounds and support needs influence their development, engagement, and motivation to learn and perform in ...

Jill Ramsay is the Programme director for the undergraduate physiotherapy programme in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences.

 

Jill has a particular interest in developing interactive educational activities, both in delivering teaching and learning opportunities and in assessment. Jill has experience in programme development, course evaluation and design together with ...

Dr Catarina Rendeiro is a nutritional scientist with an interest in linking molecular, physiological, and cognitive outcomes in response to nutritional interventions. Her research interests include understanding the mechanisms by which plant-derived compounds (particularly flavonoids) and physical exercise can improve both peripheral vascular function and cerebrovascular brain health.

Dr Raymond Reynolds has a wide range of interests within the field of human motor control. This includes sensorimotor control of balance, reaching and tremor. His research is supported by the BBSRC.

Professor Christopher Ring is a professor of psychology and has enjoyed working in the school of Sport, Exercise and rehabilitation Sciences since 1995. He has published over 150 research articles, won grants from research councils, charities and industry, collaborated with experts from many other countries, and supervised 30 doctoral students who are now working at universities around the world. ...

Dr Sheeba Rosewilliam is a lecturer in Physiotherapy in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences. Her research focuses on goal setting in various areas of rehabilitation and through incorporating goal setting within self-management for community based interventions. Her pedagogical research focusses on patient-centred philosophy and developing these attributes in students.

Dr Carolyn Roskell is the Postgraduate Taught (PGT) Lead in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences. She is committed to providing educational opportunities which enable individuals to maximise their personal and professional potential. Carolyn has published extensive work related to educational and professional development which she has used to develop new programmes at both ...

Dr Andrew Soundy undertakes research into chronic neurological conditions and severe mental illness. His works looks to combine physical activity with medical sociology and psychology. 

Professor Afroditi Stathi is an expert in the field of the promotion of active and healthy ageing.  She leads a portfolio of international, interdisciplinary research which investigates ways of supporting older people achieving meaningful and lasting lifestyle changes and living healthier and fulfilling lives.

Melrose Stewart is a lecturer in the School of Sports, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, TEDx speaker and Chartered Physiotherapist. One of her recent and most ambitious project was her expert role in the remarkably successful Channel 4 television programme, ‘Old people’s Home for 4 year Olds’ in 2017.  Based on her involvement in the programme, she delivered a TEDx ...

Professor Janice L. Thompson is a leading expert in the field of public health nutrition and exercise, and their role in preventing and treating risks for obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes across the lifespan.

Dr Martin Toms is a senior lecturer in Sports Coaching in the School of Sport & Exercise Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences. 

Dr Toms has been involved in sport coaching and development for a number of years, and has experience of teaching in schools, as well as coaching (Professionally) prior to undertaking posts at University. He has researched, presented and ...

Mr Isaak Tyros is a highly-trained physiotherapist specialising in musculoskeletal rehabilitation sciences. He is involved with teaching musculoskeletal/manipulative physiotherapy at postgraduate level and his research activities are currently focused on spinal conditions and exercise prescription.

Dr Jet Veldhuijzen van Zanten’s interdisciplinary research focusses on the influence of behaviour on psychological and physiological health and wellbeing in various populations, including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, older adults, and young people.  

Jasper is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in biomechanics at the University of Birmingham. His main research interests are in muscle biomechanics, and the biomechanical loading and adaptation of the musculoskeletal system.

Alex’s work centres on understanding how exercise can prime the immune system to improve patient responses to treatment and reduce disease activity. Alex has worked with patients with type-1 diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, chronic kidney disease and obesity to examine the anti-inflammatory effects of exercise in these populations.

Dr Wallis is an Exercise Scientist with major interests in Nutrition and Metabolism. He studies dietary influences on exercise metabolism, with a particular focus on macronutrients and their roles in performance, training adaptation and health.

Dr Martin Whitham is an integrative physiologist primarily interested in endocrinology and tissue cross-talk in the context of exercise. Since physical activity represents a broad and effective preventative treatment for a host of non-communicable diseases, the main focus of his group’s work is to examine the role small vesicles, exosomes and proteins play in inter-tissue signalling during ...

Matthew Willett is a lecturer in physiotherapy with a research interest in pain mechanisms, sports medicine, and patient physical activity behaviours. He is the programme lead of the MSc Exercise and Sports Medicine (Football), and contributes to the musculoskeletal teaching across several post graduate programmes offered within the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences.

Sarah is internationally known for her work in imagery to enhance performance and wellbeing. She has published over 30 papers related to imagery ability and imagery use. She has a particular interest and focus in using mental imagery to elicit more facilitative appraisals and responses to stress.

Dr Janet Withall is an experienced researcher in the field of the promotion of active and healthy ageing.  She currently manages the NIHR funded ACE randomized controlled trial investigating ways of supporting older people achieving meaningful and lasting lifestyle changes and living healthier and fulfilling lives.

Sang-Hoon has an academic and industrial background in mechanical engineering and computer science. He uses techniques in robotics and virtual reality to understand how the brain collaborates with eyes, muscles and bones to coordinate our sensation and movement and is keen to apply the outcomes of research to diagnose and rehabilitate motor diseases and injuries. His current research interest ...