Research & Innovation in Elite Sport

We are fortunate to have many links within elite sport ensuring that our research is making a difference at the highest level. A selection of this work is introduced below.

Dr Luke Hughes

Luke is working with several football clubs (such as Wolves, Manchester City, and Juventus) to help them integrate blood flow restriction exercise (BFRE) into their programmes for rehabilitation, recovery, and performance. He is also working with TASS and the UK Sports Insitute (formally the English Institute of Sport) to upskill clinicians on how to use BFRE, developing internal training and policies. Part of his collaboration with the UK Sports Insititute involves research investigating the efficacy and feasibility of using BFRE in para-athletes within para-cycling, para-table tennis, and para-athletics.

Dr Tom Jones

Tom is leading a research programme in collaboration with Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence (Doha, Qatar) examining growth and maturation and performance in youth track and field. He also provides sports science support to Newcastle United Football Club Academy with a focus on integrating long term athletic development strategies within physical preparation programmes.  

Dr Tom Macpherson

Tom is currently working in collaboration with sportscotland and Snowsport Scotland with PhD student Steven Morton examining the validation of their physical assessment techniques with the Ski ergometer. 

Dr Justine Allen

Justine has worked with coaches in elite sport settings to research coaches' experiences, coaching practices and processes. Sports involved include athletics, football, parasnowsport, basketball, golf, endurance sport, judo, and paddlesport.

Professor Glyn Howatson

Glyn has a long-standing relationship with various elite sport partners such as the UK Sports Institute (formally the English Institute of Sport). His work in this space has led to numerous research projects, including collaborative doctoral studies, that directly impact the practitioners and athletes to improve athletic performance at the highest levels. Additionally, Glyn is currently one 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.

Dr Kirsty Hicks

Kirsty is Director of Performance and Innovation at Washington Spirit Soccer where she creating a research agreement between the club and university. Kirsty is leading a number of Northumbria PhD students embedded within the Elite Female Soccer club, with the aim of informing applied practice, and breaking barriers within elite female sport. As part of Kirsty's Director of Performance and innovation role she is also leading the female health support provided to the elite female athletes and implementing and collaborating these ideas across an elite female multi club system. Kirsty expertise is optimising female health,  performance, and recovery specifically within elite female athletes. 

Kirsty has created similar research embedded opportunities at Newcastle United Women, where she formed part of their development board. In addition, Kirsty is also an active member of Taskforce of Research in soccer within the Nation.

Dr Louise Burnie

Louise works with British Cycling on collaborative research around cycling biomechanics and physiology in particular around the female cyclist to improve performance.