Dr Emma Cowley is a postdoctoral researcher at the SHE Research Centre in TUS Athlone . She is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie alumna and earned her PhD from Liverpool John Moore’s University ; her research focused on increasing adolescent girls' participation in physical activity. Emma leads the Invisible Sportswomen international research group which aims to address the gender data gap in sport and exercise science. Previously, she held a postdoc position at the Cardiometabolic laboratory at UNC Chap...
Jun 21, 2025•25 min
Dr Stacey Emmonds is an Associate Professor in SportsPerformance in the Carnegie School of Sport at Leeds Beckett University. Dr Emmonds has extensive experience of working with professional sports teams, governing bodies and policy makers on consultancy and research projects. Shehas published over 50 research articles, book chapters andconference presentations in relation to sports performance and particularly women’s football. Alongside her research role, she works as a physical performance co...
May 17, 2025•31 min
Harry Meadley is an artist, researcher and skateboarder based in Leeds, UK, who initiates projects that, through inclusion, participation and co-production, seek to reclaim and reappropriate civic space. From municipal art galleries, universities and city centres to remote locations, Meadley’s socially engaged artistic practice aims to question not just the structures of power within society but of artistic production itself. Recent projects include the Ci vic kateboarding festival for marginali...
Apr 30, 2025•33 min
Dr Margie Davenport leads the Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health , and has published more than 175 manuscripts related to physical activity and sport during preconception, pregnancy and the postpartum period. Over the last decade she has worked with a number of National/International organisations including FIFA, the World Health Organization, International Olympic Committee, Sport Canada, the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology and the American College of Sports Medicine, to suppo...
Apr 08, 2025•32 min
Dr Alex Culvin is the Director of Global Policy and StrategicRelations, Women’s Football at FIFPro , theglobal player union. Alex is also an academic at Leeds Beckett University at the Centre for Social Justice in Sport andSociety. She is a former professionalfootballer , who played in both Englandand Europe. Items discussed Former footballer experience and own transition experience out of football. Barriers/opportunities as a former player. Research on work practices/professionalisation. Best p...
Mar 10, 2025•34 min
Dr Ali Bowes is a Senior Lecturer in the Sociology of Sport at Nottingham Trent University . Ali primarily researches the sociocultural dimensions in elite women’s sport and is the co-editor of two books: The Professionalisation of Women’s Sport and Women’s Football in a Global, Professional Era . Ali has published 40 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters , focusing mainly on qualitative methodologies from feminist perspectives, spanning topics including gender inequality in elite sport, equal ...
Dec 12, 2024•31 min
Kerry McGawley is a professor in sports science at the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre , part of Mid Sweden University . She is also the senior manager of the female athlete programme at Orreco (Fitrwoman). Kerry is passionate about supporting and developing women in sport and much of her research is conducted in collaboration with national and international sports organisations. In line with her research focus, Kerry leads a M.Sc. programme in Sports Performance and Athlete Health and she...
Oct 31, 2024•33 min
Christy Greenleaf , Ph.D. is a Professor of Kinesiology at Zilber College of Public Health, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Dr Greenleaf’s research focuses on psychosocial aspects of weight, physical activity and body image. In particular, she is curious about the lived experiences of individuals with larger bodies in health and fitness contexts and how weight bias, or negative attitudes and stereotypes towards individuals who appear to be overweight, manifests itself within physical activity...
Sep 01, 2024•35 min
Dr Marlize De Vivo is a qualified Biokineticist, Sports Rehabilitator and Sport & Exercise Scientist with extensive experience spanning health and sports settings. During her PhD, she focused on understanding and predicting the physical activity behaviour of pregnant women, leading to the development of This Mum Moves , a national educational initiative to upskill workforces, supported by National Lottery and Sport England funding. Since then, she has co-directed the Perinatal Physical Activ...
Aug 09, 2024•33 min
In this podcast, I chat with Dr Jenny Burbage, who is a senior lecturer in biomechanics and part of the Research Group in Breast Health within the School of Sport, Health and Exercise Science at the University of Portsmouth . Her research focuses on biomechanics, health and education related to the female breast, and she is one of the few world experts in this area. She is passionate about ensuring functional breast support and comfort for workers, especially when additional equipment needs to b...
May 22, 2024•29 min
Emma completed her BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy from Trinity College Dublin. She completed rotations in Geriatrics, General Medicine, Neurology and Sports Medicine at Changi General Hospital in Singapore before travelling to the US, where she was the physiotherapist for the 3,000-mile bicycle race ‘Race Across America’ in 2015 and 2016. She then moved to Switzerland where she worked in musculoskeletal private practice with skiers in Verbier. Emma moved to New Zealand in 2017, and currently works as ...
May 04, 2023•20 min
About Dr Hanya Pielichaty and Critical Pedagogies in Sport When I retired from playing football in 2015, I had clocked up three decades of unwavering dedication to the sport. My experience of, and within, football shaped my childhood and adulthood in many personal and professional ways. My memories of football include wearing oversized shirts designed for the male form, playing on undulating pitches, paying my subs and of overwhelming joy. The joy football brings cannot be under-estimated; it st...
Mar 23, 2023•30 min
Professor Győző Molnár joined the University of Worcester in September 2008. Győző is a critical sociologist with a research focus on identity politics, political populism, gender and empowering marginalised populations. His current research has focused on the migratory and gendered aspects of Fiji rugby, challenging dominant perspectives in Adapted Physical Activity research and unfolding connections between sport and populist politics in Hungary. He is co-editor of The Politics of The Olympics...
Jan 03, 2023•28 min
Gráinne Donnelly is an Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner and clinical researcher from N. Ireland in the UK. She is incoming co-editor for the journal of Pelvic, Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy and will sit on the Board of Trustees for the Pelvic Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy Association . She is on the specialist advisory board for the Active Pregnancy Foundation and is an associate member of the Perinatal Physical Activity Research Group at Canterbury Christ Church Uni...
Nov 28, 2022•28 min
Emma Brockwell is a Specialist Pelvic Health Physiotherapist. She treats women of all ages with all women’s health-related conditions. She is passionate about pre and postnatal rehabilitation and exercise. She specialises in supporting women back to exercise, particularly running and netball if they have any pelvic health dysfunction or are postnatal. She has co-authored the first ‘Returning to Running Postnatal Guidelines’ and has spoken about this subject at many medical and exercise conferenc...
Oct 25, 2022•23 min
Dr Natalie Brown is a research associate based at Swansea University and Sport Wales, working with the Welsh Institute of Performance Science . Her specialist area is the menstrual cycle and sport, supporting all levels of performance, whether that is the Olympic Games or helping women and girls have an active lifestyle. Both her research and applied work focusses on understanding the menstrual cycle, increasing awareness and understanding, and promoting a proactive approach to menstrual-related...
Oct 04, 2022•17 min
Dr Lori Gano-Overway is the director of and instructor in the coaching education minor program at James Madison University . She has been involved in coaching education for over 20 years teaching coaching courses and workshops, collaborating with coaches on creating environments that foster positive experiences and performance enhancement outcomes for athletes as an Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)-certified mental performance consultant, assisting with programme development and ev...
Jun 07, 2022•35 min
Dr Georgie Bruinvels is a Research Scientist and the Female Athlete lead at Orreco . Georgie is also an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at University College London . Both her applied and research focus is on better understanding female physiology and in particular focusing on how the hormonal fluctuations throughout the menstrual cycle impact physiological, physical and psychological readiness. At Orreco , Georgie works across a wide range of both team and individual sports including both Natio...
Mar 22, 2022•23 min
Lorna Mackay runs her own business as a personal trainer and Zumba instructor. Her specialist interest lies in the management of chronic pain through the participation in exercise. She is a strong believer in both the physiological and psychological benefits of exercise. Lorna holds an MSc in Applied Sport an Exercise Science; her research considered the effect of Zumba® and ZumbaGold® on non-specific, pre-existing musculoskeletal pain. Lorna is currently a PhD student and is building on her pre...
Mar 07, 2022•13 min
Dr Philippa Velija is Head of School for Social Sciences, Psychology and Education and Associate Professor in the Sociology of Sport at Solent University, Southampton. She is author of Women’s Cricket and Global Processes which explores the development and emergence of the global game in relation to broader changes in gender relations. She has also co-edited Gender Equity in UK Sport Leadership and previously co-edited Figurational Research in Sport, Leisure and Health . Her research , which has...
Jan 28, 2022•24 min
Dr Naomi Datson is a Reader within the Institute of Sport, Nursing and Allied Health at the University of Chichester . Naomi is an experienced practitioner and has provided sport science support to elite female soccer players for over 15 years. Previously, Naomi was employed as Head of Sport Science (women’s) for the English FA . In this role, Naomi worked with the England women’s senior and youth teams at numerous international tournaments as well as Team GB for the London 2012 Olympics. Naomi ...
Jan 09, 2022•24 min
Dr Maurizio Valenti is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Law at Manchester Metropolitan University and member of the Faculty’s Sports Policy Unit. He is the leader of the BSc (Hons) Sport Business and BSc (Hons) Sport Marketing undergraduate programmes that are offered at Manchester Met. His principal research interests reside around the development of women’s football. He has received support from UEFA to conduct a project on the organisation and management of European women’s fo...
Oct 26, 2021•30 min
Dr Emma Ross was, until recently, the Head of Physiology at the English Institute of Sport (EIS), supporting practitioners working across Olympic and Paralympic sports and leading the EIS Female Athlete Programme . This programme aimed to empower coaches, athletes and sports practitioners to better understand the exercising female, and how to capitalise and cope with her physiology and psychology in the context of sport. Emma recently co-founded The Well HQ , to continue this mission to tackle t...
Sep 20, 2021•28 min
In this podcast I talk to Marie-Stéphanie Abouna and Balkis Lefebvre . We talked about the 3-year, Erasmus+-funded project, E-WinS, but I also asked Marie-Stephanie about her research and future goals, and from Balkis, I asked about her tips on how to have success in applying for grants for large, multi-partner projects, from funding sources such as Erasmus+. After working in various intercultural environments, Balkis Lefebvre has been working at CY Cergy Paris University European Affairs as a p...
Apr 13, 2021•29 min
Kelly McNulty is a PhD student at Northumbria University in the UK, investigating the effects of the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptive use on performance, recovery, and adaptation in sportswomen. She has recently launched a project and podcast (*coming soon*) – the period of the period – which aims to promote awareness and increase evidence-based education on the topics surrounding women's health and performance in sport and exercise. In this podcast, Kelly, gave some insights and advic...
Feb 01, 2021•28 min
Dr John W. Dickinson , PhD is Reader within the School of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Kent , UK. He has over 17 years’ experience of helping athletes optimise their airway health. Over this time, he has seen in excess of 2000 athletes. His work has influenced policy on the management of athlete respiratory health, helping practitioners differentiate between various respiratory problems experienced by athletes. He has worked with elite organisations including the British Olymp...
May 17, 2020•18 min
Rebecca Myers is a journalist for The Times and Sunday Times and the lead reporter for the prestigious Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year awards. She has covered major sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games, the World Athletics Championships, and the FIFA Women's World Cup, and her work focuses on women's sport. She was shortlisted for the Society of Editors’ Young Journalist of the Year award 2018. In this podcast, I asked Rebecca about the female athletes she has reported on and inte...
May 14, 2020•20 min
Dr Glen Davison is Reader and Director of Research in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Kent, where he also co-ordinates the Endurance Research Group. Glen’s research interests include: Nutrition and exercise immunology; interval training; and strategies to maintain optimal health and performance in athletes. Glen is a BASES-Accredited sport and exercise scientist (Physiology) and a Chartered Scientist (CSci) . He has worked with amateur, elite and professional athle...
Apr 26, 2020•31 min
Dr Nicola Keay BA, MB (Cantab), MB, BChir, MRCP, studied medicine at Cambridge University, with clinical attachments including sports medicine clinics in Australia and University of Geneva. After gaining Membership of the Royal College of Physicians, Nicky trained in endocrinology. As a Research Fellow at St Thomas’ Hospital, she was part of the international medical team which developed an anti-doping test for growth hormone. With sport medicine grants, Nicky researched and published on the tra...
Apr 06, 2020•29 min
Áine Brislane is a lecturer in exercise physiology at York St. John University (YSJU) within the School of Sport, where she is responsible for delivering teaching in exercise physiology and supervising dissertation projects at undergraduate level. Áine is particularly interested in how physical activity, sedentary behaviour and exercise affect various aspects of vascular health during the lifespan. She is a member of the newly established Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health (PAtCH) resea...
Jan 08, 2020•27 min
