In this podcast I talk to Marie-Stéphanie Abouna and Balkis Lefevre. 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 project officer in charge of managing and submitting European projects of the Erasmus+ Programme, in collaboration with her colleagues. She is currently involved in the organisation of activities in the EUTOPIA 2050 project, one of the 41 projects funded under the Erasmus+ “European Universities” call. She is also in charge of the project management of two selected Erasmus+ projects, of which CY is the coordinator: INPAD, a strategic partnership for school education and E-WinS, a collaborative partnership in the Sport action. Marie-Stéphanie Abouna is an Associate Professor in sociology and head of a two-year University degree in Scientific and Technical Studies in Sport Management at CY-Ileps (Cergy Paris Université). She is a member of the Laboratory of Information and Communication Sciences (CIMEOS) in Dijon (France). Marie-Stéphanie’s research focuses on gender, sport, health and communication. She is particularly interested in women's football, studying aspects such as the influence of local and national contexts in its development through international comparisons, its visibility in social media, and its evolution of gender norms. She considers both popular and professional clubs such as Paris Saint Germain. She is currently working with a network of researchers and sport stakeholders from several European countries on two projects funded by the Erasmus+ Sport programme: "European Women in Sport" (E-WinS), for which she is the scientific leader, and "Sport without Stereotypes" (SWOST). 

WISEAN podcasts

Dr Marie-Stephanie Abouna and Mme Balkis Lefebvre on the European Women in Sport (E-WinS) Erasmus project

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 advice for researchers and practitioners based on the results of her systematic review and meta-analysis on menstrual cycle and its effects on performance and her sister study on oral contraception. We also talked about her Twitter and podcast project - the period of the period - as well as her future PhD study, and how she has had to adapt it, in light of COVID-19. Instagram: @periodoftheperiod Twitter: @periodofperiod Spotify: Spotify – the period of the period. | Podcast on Spotify

Kelly McNulty on menstrual cycle/oral contraception effects on performance and 'the period of the period'

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 Olympic Association, the English Institute of Sport, the Football Associationand UK Anti-Doping. He has also featured in multiple media stories explaining respiratory issues faced by athletes (e.g., Exercising with asthma during COVID). In this podcast, I asked John about COVID-19-related issues as well as breathing issues and dysfunction that are specific to females. John gave some advice for asthmatics who exercise, his thoughts on mask use during exercise, and advice for recovery for individuals who have suffered from Coronavirus. The gaps in the literature on female-specific respiratory research were also discussed.

Dr John Dickinson on respiratory issues related to COVID-19 and females

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 interviewed during the COVID-19 lockdown – how they have been able to keep up with their training, and what restrictions, including financial restrictions, they have encountered. Rebecca talks about the positive outcomes – the silver lining – of being confined to the house for these athletes and how she hopes that the balance in the portrayal and coverage of sports women in the media, although currently not favourable for women, might be more promising in the future. I am pleased to discover that you don’t need to be ‘sporty’ or know the sports ‘lingo’ to be a successful female sports journalist!

Rebecca Myers talks about journalism in women's sport & COVID-19-related issues

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 athletes from a range of sports, including football, rugby, hockey, athletics, triathlon and cycling. This podcast has been recorded during the COVID-19 outbreak, so I ask Glen questions about why women seem to be at a reduced risk compared to men for Coronavirus, and whether, as a female, you can reduce your risk further. I also ask him about what exercise you should be doing to improve your immune response, both when you do not have the disease and when you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. Glen also gives some tips on what nutrition and supplements could be used to improve an individual’s immune response, as well as his thoughts on differences that might occur in response to respiratory infections in female athletes.

Dr Glen Davison on COVID-19 risk, females, exercise & nutrition

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 training effects on the endocrine system. More recent publications include those on competitive male cyclists and relative energy deficiency in sports (RED-S). Currently, Nicky is an Honorary Fellow at Durham University in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences researching the risk of RED-S in dancers and athletes. Nicky wrote the British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine (BASEM) educational website Health4Performance on RED-S. She is the medical advisor to Scottish Ballet, part of multidisciplinary team at EN:SPIRE clinic for dancers and athletes and Chief Medical Officer of Forth Edge, providing medical interpretation of blood tests to athletes. Nicky frequency writes blogs for the British Journal of Sport Medicine (BJSM), such as “Of Mice and Men…” In this podcast, I asked Nicky about the energy availability questionnaire that she has developed, her personal experiences and thoughts on reversibility and treatment for amenorrhoea, the lack of research on women within medicine, her current research and her future plans. www.nickykeayfitness.com Selected Publications Clinical evaluation of education relating to nutrition and skeletal loading in competitive male road cyclists at risk of relative energy deficiency in sports (RED-S): 6-month randomised controlled trial Keay N, Francis G, Entwistle I, Hind K, BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 2019 Infographic. Energy availability: Concept, control and consequences in relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) Keay N, Francis G, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2019 Low energy availability assessed by a sport-specific questionnaire and clinical interview indicative of bone health, endocrine profile and cycling performance in competitive male cyclists Keay N, Francis G, Hind K, BMJ Open Sports and Exercise Medicine, 2018 Growth hormone (GH) effects on bone and collagen turnover in healthy adults and its potential as a marker of GH abuse in sports: A double blind, placebo-controlled study, Keay N, Longobardi S, Ehrnborg C et al., Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (2000) 85(4) 1505-1512 Bone mineral density in professional female dancers, Keay N, Blake G, Fogleman I, British Journal of Sports Medicine (1997) 31(2) 143-147

Dr Nicky Keay: energy availability questionnaires, amenorrhoea treatment, and RED-S

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) research group at YSJU, where she, along with colleagues, is currently setting up a research laboratory. Here, she intends to continue her research in the area of women’s cardiovascular physiology. Áine has a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science from the University of Limerick and an MSc by distinction from Manchester Metropolitan University, where she investigated the effect of antioxidant supplementation on recovery from exhaustive exercise in recreationally active women. Áine gained her PhD from Liverpool John Moores University, investigating how menopause and pregnancy influence the peripheral and cerebrovascular system. Twitter: @ainebrislane

Áine Brislane on vascular function in postmenopause and pregnancy

Jane Dowling is a clinical exercise specialist and has over 20 years’ experience in the health and fitness arena. She is a public speaker and blogger, as well as running a successful fitness 1-2-1 personal training studio in London Bridge. Inspired by her own menopause experiences, she founded MENO&ME, which offers evidence-based exercise, diet and lifestyle advice to women on how to find their fabulous again through menopause and beyond! Jane has extensive experience in dealing with a variety of clients, including older adults suffering from heart disease and osteoporosis. This ignited a passion to help educate younger women on how to take preventative measures towards improving their overall health. You can follow Jane on Instagram for dally tips @menoandme. She also has a closed Facebook group, Meno and Me Ageless goddesses. Jane has just launched a free health initiative to help menopausal women become more active which will help with bone, heart and mental health. It is called Menopause Active and she is training women as volunteers to lead walks across the country to help other women. In this podcast, I talk to Jane about this latest initiative, Menopause Active, the content of her exercise programmes for postmenopausal women and her thoughts on areas of research that are lacking in this particular population.

Jane Dowling from Meno & Me, on exercise in the menopause

Emily Pappas has a strong background in the physiological sciences, holding a bachelor’s degree in biology with a concentration in biochemistry, and a master’s in exercise physiology. She is an adjunct instructor at Temple University and the founder of Relentless Athletics. Relentless is a company driven by science that focuses on the development of female athletes through strength training, sports nutrition, and sports injury rehabilitation. For more information on Emily, you can listen to her podcasts: Travis on Barbell Life; Deshawn on SportsMastery . Stronger Experts Roundtable, Kati Galli’s Keep Moving Forward, The Speed, and Complete Football Health. She has also written articles on her subject area: hormones & anatomy. In this podcast, I chat with Emily about why she started her company Relentless and we debate and discuss various issues such as the gap between research and applied practice, her thoughts and perceptions about ACL injuries in a female athletic population, what she feels should constitute a module in strength and conditioning on females and where she thinks research might be lacking in this area.

Emily Pappas talks about Relentless Athletics and issues around strength & conditioning for females

Julie Harrington was announced as British Cycling’s new chief executive in March 2017. Before her current role, Julie amassed almost 15 years’ experience in senior leadership roles in a sports environment. In her former role as group operations’ director at the Football Association, Julie was responsible for running both Wembley Stadiumand St George's Park, in addition to women's and development team games away from Wembley. Julie joined the FA in 2011 as managing director of St George's Park, tasked with the final stage of construction and launch of a £100-million elite training centre, home to the 24 England teams. She was also responsible for developing the strategy for the centre and its commercial performance against its business plan. Since joining British Cycling, Julie has overseen the implementation of the organisation’s action plan following the Cycling Independent Review, as well as widespread changes to allow the governing body to comply with the government’s new Code for Sports Governance.

Podcast with Julie Harrington, Chief Executive of British Cycling

Professor Nanette Mutrie is the Chair of Physical Activity for Health at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and directs the Physical Activity for Health Research Centrethere. She has extensive experience of conducting interventions aimed at increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary time. She has contributed to policy, for example, ‘Let’s make Scotland more active’ and has published on psychological and public health aspects of physical activity for health with over 200 publications. Nanette received an MBE from the Queen in 2015 for services in Physical Activity for Health in Scotland. Her own activity involves dog walking, walking the golf course and commuting by bike whenever possible. Nanette’s research in a nutshell: https://media.ed.ac.uk/media/1_y78n3nfc For information about the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre and how to get in touch, visit: https://www.ed.ac.uk/education/rke/centres-groups/pahrc In this podcast, I had the pleasure of talking to Nanette about a range of physical activity related topics, including the ‘sit less, walk more’ campaign, which also forms part of the ‘ActWELL’ study for female breast cancer patients. Nanette discussed the relative importance of sitting less versus moving more. She also spoke about how physical activity levels, especially for women, have increased in Scotland through the use of walking interventions, and about future projections. I asked Nanette about her legacy, her career journey and about her advice for others in academia. My take-home message that I got from Nanette was about how collaboration and a positive, supportive environment are the keys to a successful research centre. It was a pleasure to chat with Professor Nanette Mutrie, MBE!

Podcast with Professor Nanette Mutrie MBE

 Dr Wolfgang Kemmler is a professor and research director at the Institute of Medical Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-University, Erlangen-Nürnberg. He is a leading expert on the effects of exercise on osteoporosis and sarcopenia, carrying out extensive research within these areas. Exercise interventions, as part of the research carried out by Professor Kemmler's research group, have included resistance training as well as whole-body electromyostimulation. This podcast came about as a result of staff mobility funding from Erasmus+ and features the research that Professor Kemmler and his team have carried out on osteoporotic fracture in postmenopausal women and on whole-body electromyostimulation 

Professor Wolfgang Kemmler on osteoporosis and whole-body electromyostimulation

Dr Jenny Burbage completed a BSc (Hons) Sports Science degree in 2006 at the University of Portsmouth and an MSc Sport & Exercise Biomechanics degree in 2007 at the University of Chichester. She completed a part-time PhD in July 2013, which focused on the breast support implications for female recreational athletes. Jenny is currently a Senior Lecturer in biomechanics and the Recruitment & External Promotions Lead for the Department of Sport & Exercise Science at the University of Portsmouth. She continues to carry out research and innovation activities as part of the Research Group in Breast Health, focusing on functional breast support, bra fit and breast health education. Brogan Horler graduated from the University of Chichester in 2011 with a BSc (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Science. She then went on to complete an MSc in Sports Performance Analysis. Brogan joined the University of Portsmouth in 2015 and works as a Research Associate and member of the Research Group in Breast Health (RGBH). Her main responsibility is to lead the RGBH Bra Testing Unit which offers product testing and consultancy work to some of the major lingerie, sports bra and apparel manufacturers around the world.  In this podcast I talk to Jenny and Brogan about their work as part of the Research Group in Breast Health at the University of Portsmouth, their advice and tips for appropriate bra support and their future planned research in this area.   For more information on the Research Group in Breast Health: Website: port.ac.uk/breastresearch Email: breastresearch@port.ac.uk Twitter: @UOP_RGBH

Dr Jenny Burbage and Miss Brogan Horler on breast health, bra fitting and breast support for the exercising female

Joan Eckerson, PhD, FNSCA, FACSM, CSCS, CEP is Professor and Chair in the Department of Exercise Science and Pre-Health Professions at Creighton University. Dr Eckerson joined the Exercise Science faculty in the Autumn of 1995. She has over 55 publications in the area of body composition and dietary supplementation and has received a number of awards acknowledging her accomplishments in teaching and research. She is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Certified Exercise Physiologist. She is past President of the NSCA Foundation, and currently serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research and the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. In the podcast, Joan talks about the nutritional needs of female athletes, creatine supplementation for females, her plans for research within the area of nutrition and supplementation and her advice for female academics. 

Joan Eckerson and nutrition and supplements for the female athlete

Dr Lucy Piggott is a Research Fellow at the University of Chichester. Both her research and applied activities are focused around women and sport. She has recently completed a doctorate looking at gender equity within English sport governance and used a multi-method approach of semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and an analysis of supporting documents to understand the workings of dominant gender power relations within two large English national governing bodies of sport: England Golf and the Lawn Tennis Association. Using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice as a theoretical framework, she found evidence of simultaneous conservation and resistance of practices that privilege and profit male leaders. She recommends that resistance to male-dominated sport governance needs to occur at all levels of sport organisations (macro/structural, meso/cultural, and micro/individual) to enable sustainable change. She also suggests that gender equitable governance should be linked to organisational values and performance to provide motivation for organisations to make change.  In her current role, Lucy is working with both internal and external colleagues on research ideas, proposals and bids across a range of topics. In addition to her research activities, Lucy sits on the Operational Management Group for the Anita White Foundation (AWF), which is a part of the University of Chichester and aims to combine scholarship and activism for women and sport. The AWF has three key areas of focus: the education and development of women leaders and scholars in sport, preserving the heritage of women and sport, and research and scholarship. The primary project of the AWF is the Women’s Sport Leadership Academy (WSLA), which has a its main component a residential week held at the University of Chichester for women working in middle to senior sport leadership to develop their confidence and competence across a range of leadership behaviours. Lucy was coordinator for the 2019 Women’s Sport Leadership Academy which saw 36 women from 19 countries attend the residential week. WSLA has also run programmes in Botswana and New Zealand. Excluding WSLA 2019 participants, WSLA has a global network of 228 women from 41 countries who have graduated from a WSLA programme.   In this episode, Lucy talks about her PhD on gender equity in sport governance, her advice she has for organisations and individuals to foster gender equality and also her current research projects and activities.

Dr Lucy Piggott on gender equity in sport governance

Women in Sport and Exercise Academic Network (WISEAN) podcasts

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WISEAN podcasts

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