2023 SHPRC Lecture Series
Dr Cormac Powell, Sport Ireland High Performance Unit.
Title: "Practical Applications of Athlete Monitoring" - 23 March 2023.
View Seminar - https://youtu.be/CZ0tCiPAC_c
Dr. Cormac Powell is part of the Sport Ireland High Performance Unit, which aims to support the achievement of a number of objectives, primarily the delivery of systemic and sustained success at European, World, Olympic and Paralympic level. As the High Performance System Evaluation Manager, Dr. Powell manages the systematic approach to researching, monitoring and evaluating high performance sport. Cormac has a PhD in Physical Activity and Cardiometabolic Health from the University of Limerick, and held a post-doctoral position in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences also at UL, where he was the project manager for a large all-Ireland physical activity surveillance study. Dr. Powell has a strong publication profile in topics ranging from physical activity and cardiometabolic health, to performance trends/predictions and the physiology of high performance athletes. Cormac was previously Associate Head of Performance Services (Applied) with Swim Ireland, where he oversaw for national swimmers the sports science and sports medicine (SSSM) interventions and projects, in the disciplines of physiology, performance analysis, biomechanics, lifestyle and psychology. Dr. Powell discussed his current role with Sport Ireland as well as athlete monitoring processes within Swim Ireland.
Dr Tom Allen, Senior Lecturer in Sports Engineering, Department of Engineering at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
Title: The Tennis Racket - Thursday 16 March, 2023.
Dr Thomas Allen is a Senior Lecturer in Sports Engineering, based in the Department of Engineering at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. He is a chartered engineer, Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) UK. Thomas' work focuses on the effect of engineering and technology on sport, in terms of performance, participation and injury risk. Thomas is the editor-in-chief of the journal Sports Engineering, associated with the International Association of Sports Engineering (ISEA). A regular part of his work is as a science communicator and he has delivered invited talks at the Royal Institution’s Faraday Lecture Theatre and the Danish Design Centre, and for a number of organisations, including the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the British Institute of Non-destructive Testing and ANSYS. Dr Allen’s talk focused on the engineering and technology of the tennis racket, development of materials, and design changes over the years.
Dr John Mulvihill (Lecturer, Biomedical Engineering, Bernal Institute, UL)
Title: Concussion Biomechanics. 9 February 2023
Dr John Mulvihill is a Marie-Curie Fellow and has spent time in Trinity College Dublin, Georgia Tech as well as collaborating with MedTech companies nationally (Class Medical, Serosep, Atlantic Therapeutics) and internationally (Boston Scientific, Beckman Coulter, Neuravi). His current scientific activities are based on two strands; biomechanics and cellular mechanobiology. In the context of the brain they are interlinked as mechanical stimulation causes alterations to how cells behave in the brain. With this in mind, Dr Mulvihill’s research aims are to study cell behaviour under various loading conditions that mimic concussion. Further, Dr Mulvihill wants to identify and measure the brain derived proteins that enter the bloodstream which can be used as biomarkers for disease. This work will be a crucial step in understanding how and why certain proteins enter the blood and the significant step in developing a device for real-time concussion diagnosis. Dr. Mulvihill leads the concussion research strand within UL IRIS' research collaboration with the Irish Rugby Football Union.
Presenter - Ruth Wood-Martin (Registered Dietitian)
Title: Lessons Learned from a Career in Sport. January 9th 2023.
View Seminar here: https://youtu.be/GV6mUV2Snps
Ruth Wood-Martin is a Dietitian (RD) registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC). After 16 years of service as the Head of Nutrition with the IRFU, working primarily with the Senior Men’s squad, Ruth has recently retired (2022) from this position, having developed a nutrition team of 11 Performance Nutritionists across Elite Player Pathways and professional rugby programmes on the island of Ireland. Throughout her career, Ruth has promoted the value of research to develop both performance nutrition practice and practitioners. She has been directly involved in research on gut health in professional rugby players as well as examining the dietary behaviours and attitudes of young players to nutrition.
