Generally speaking, there is a lack of sport science research into the female athletes and female athlete health. Many staff members in our department are actively pursuing research questions in this area and a selection of the work is detailed below.
Professor Glyn Howatson & Dr Noe Mkumbuzi
Glyn and Noe are part of ~20 experts worldwide developing the FIFA women's health project that aims to provide research informed education to the whole of the female football community across the globe. Glyn's expertise is specifically focussed on athletic preparation and exercise recovery, whilst Noe’s work focuses on marginalised athletes such as women and girls of colour, and those from low- and middle-income settings in Africa. In addition to Noe’s work with FIFA, she is also a consultant for the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Dr Louise Burnie
Louise is leading several research projects around the female cyclist. These include the effects of sex differences and the menstrual cycle on performance, physiology, and biomechanics during cycling, along with capturing the lived experiences and perceived effect of the menstrual cycle and saddle sores on cycling training and performance.
Dr Kirsty Hicks
Along with being an Associate Professor in the department, Kirsty is currently on a secondment as the Director of Performance and Innovation at Washington Spirit Soccer. Kirsty is leading the support provided to elite female athletes at Washing Spirit Soccer. Kirsty is embedded within the club where she works daily with the players around their female health to ensure that the players receive MDT support bespoke to them and their individual needs. Kirsty’s desire is to enable the conversation to empower the athlete, creating a support system where players can train, perform and recovery to the best of their ability. This support is being shared and implemented across an elite female support multi-club system.
Drs Liz & Sarah Partington
Liz and Sarah offer a psycho-social perspective on the sport-related experiences of women athletes, and how their experiences may differ from those of men. They use narrative methodology to develop ‘gendered’ approaches to understanding and supporting women athletes' mental health and well-being. Their recent research suggests that how and why female student athletes engage in sport-related drinking is complex, multi-layered and different to their male counter-parts.
Dr Paul Ansdell
Paul leads research into how biological sex and hormonal status affect the nervous system and physiological responses to exercise across the lifespan. He is leading and supervising projects about how the menstrual cycle, oral contraceptives, menopause, and hormone-replacement therapy all affect the brain's ability to control movement. The other line of investigation looks at how males and females differ in their acute and chronic response to exercise, focussing on the integrative mechanisms of fatigue and recovery. His work is funded by the Office for Veteran's Affairs, BBSRC, Royal Society, and the Physiological Society.
Dr Kevin Thomas
Kevin has active research interests in female sport, especially elite senior and youth womens' football. Previously Dr Thomas has conducted projects in elite female sporting populations in collaboration with GB Cycling, GB Gymnastics, and the English Institute of Sport. Currently Dr Thomas is leading research in women's and girls football, with the ultimate aim of positively impacting the practice of coaches and players, and helping the growth of the women's game. Dr Thomas is also an active football coach, working within the Sunderland AFC Women's Academy to apply his research to practice.
Dr David Hendry
David is involved in a body of research exploring the developmental pathways to expertise in women's football. Using a multidisciplinary approach, this work examines the outcomes associated with the macro-structure and micro-structure both in the UK and in North America. Currently, he is leading a research project examining how the technical, tactical and physical demands of mixed, versus same gender match conditions, may influence the development of elite female players.
Dr Justine Allen
Justine's research focuses on female coaches rather than athletes. This line of research examines the experiences of female coaches, the extent to which psychological needs are satisfied or thwarted through the actions of other key stakeholders in sport (e.g., organisations), the social practices that serve to legitimise and delegitimise women as coaches. The work also explores and implements means to better advocate for and support women coaches.
Dr Eurico Wilhelm
Endothelial vascular function decreases with age and exercise is generally viewed as a countermeasure for the age-related decline in vascular health. However, post-menopausal women does not seem to respond to exercise therapy in the same way as males and pre-menopausal females. Eurico, working with Faculty wide collaborators within NUTRAN are currently investigating whether dietetic interventions could interact with physical activity to restore the vascular responsiveness to exercise training after menopause.
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