Women in Sport and Exercise Academic Network Podcast

Jacky Forsyth
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These are the Women in Sport and Exercise Academic Network (WiSEAN) podcasts. The overall purpose of WiSEAN is to grow, strengthen and promote research on women in sport and exercise, with the ultimate goal of optimizing women’s athletic success and their participation. We, therefore, invite academics, researchers and practitioners from sport and exercise to join us for our podcast, so they can share their thoughts, activities, research and advice. linktr.ee/wisean

  1. Dr Britta Sorensen: Understanding Pain in Women’s Ultra-Endurance Sports

    FEB 9

    Dr Britta Sorensen: Understanding Pain in Women’s Ultra-Endurance Sports

    ⁠Dr Britta Sorensen⁠⁠ is a researcher specialising in female athletes’ pain experiences through holistic, biopsychosocial approaches. Her PhD examined how female ultra-endurance athletes perceive and manage pain, combining retrospective, longitudinal, and real-time methodologies. With 19 years in sport science teaching and management, an MPhil in Sport Performance Psychology, and soft tissue therapist experience supporting athletes from club to Olympic and Paralympic level, Britta brings diverse expertise to WiSEAN. Her research advocates for interdisciplinary support networks and personalised pain-coping strategies that balance physical performance with psychological wellbeing, contributing both academic rigour and practical experience to advancing women's representation in sport. Topics covered: New role as podcast host, supplementing current podcasts. Plans for guests, considering personal interests and background.PhD work and publications from this.Work as applied practitioner, e.g., therapist, applied work with endurance athletes, and how research has informed this.Involvement, to date, at WiSEAN, e.g., conference presentations. Future research/work plans.

    22 min
  2. Dr Britta Sorensen: Understanding Pain in Women’s Ultra-Endurance Sports

    FEB 9

    Dr Britta Sorensen: Understanding Pain in Women’s Ultra-Endurance Sports

    Dr Britta Sorensen is a researcher specialising in female athletes’ pain experiences through holistic, biopsychosocial approaches. Her PhD examined how female ultra-endurance athletes perceive and manage pain, combining retrospective, longitudinal, and real-time methodologies. With 19 years in sport science teaching and management, an MPhil in Sport Performance Psychology, and soft tissue therapist experience supporting athletes from club to Olympic and Paralympic level, Britta brings diverse expertise to WiSEAN. Her research advocates for interdisciplinary support networks and personalised pain-coping strategies that balance physical performance with psychological wellbeing, contributing both academic rigour and practical experience to advancing women's representation in sport. Topics covered: New role as podcast host, supplementing current podcasts. Plans for guests, considering personal interests and background.PhD work and publications from this.Work as applied practitioner, e.g., therapist, applied work with endurance athletes, and how research has informed this.Involvement, to date, at WiSEAN, e.g., conference presentations. Future research/workplans.

    22 min
  3. Dr Tegan Hartmann & Dr Danielle Girard: Reproductive Health and Advancing WiSEAN across Australasia

    JAN 20

    Dr Tegan Hartmann & Dr Danielle Girard: Reproductive Health and Advancing WiSEAN across Australasia

    Dr Tegan Hartmann Tegan is a Senior Lecturer in Exercise Science at Charles Sturt University. Her research is focussed on women’s health, particularly examining the links between physical activity, mental wellbeing and complex health conditions. She is passionate about addressing conditions such as endometriosis, pregnancy loss and other under-researched areas that significantly impact women’s quality of life. Through her work, she advocates for greater awareness, education and strategies to support women across the lifespan. Dr Hartmann also mentors students and early career researchers, encouraging innovation, compassion and evidence-based practice in the exercise sciences. Dr Danielle Girard Dani is a Senior Lecturer and Program Director of the Clinical Exercise Physiology degree within the Allied Health & Human Performance Unit at the University of South Australia. She is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist with Exercise & Sports Science Australia and currently serves as Vice President of the Council of Heads of Exercise, Sport and Movement Sciences (CHESMS), Australia. Her research focusses on exercise-based interventions for the prevention and management of cancer, mental illness and cardiovascular disease, with a particular emphasis on women’s health conditions such as pregnancy loss, endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Themes: Introduction to guests' physical location, e.g., University, location.How/why their varied backgrounds have progressed into doing research on women’s health, such as pregnancy loss, endometriosis, PCOS and exercise? Future research plans/direction in this area.Role for WiSEAN, and how they became aware of WiSEAN.Aims for volunteer role for WiSEAN in the next 12 months/mentoring.Typical academic/researcher pathway in Australia.Research culture on women’s sport and exercise in Australia and pertinent/hot topics. Opportunities for work in Australia.

    43 min
  4. Dr Tegan Hartmann & Dr Danielle Girard: Reproductive Health and Advancing WiSEAN across Australasia

    JAN 20

    Dr Tegan Hartmann & Dr Danielle Girard: Reproductive Health and Advancing WiSEAN across Australasia

    Dr Tegan Hartmann Tegan is a Senior Lecturer in Exercise Science at Charles Sturt University. Her research is focussed on women’s health, particularly examining the links between physical activity, mental wellbeing and complex health conditions. She is passionate about addressing conditions such as endometriosis, pregnancy loss and other under-researched areas that significantly impact women’s quality of life. Through her work, she advocates for greater awareness, education and strategies to support women across the lifespan. Dr Hartmann also mentors students and early career researchers, encouraging innovation, compassion and evidence-based practice in the exercise sciences. Dr Danielle GirardDani is a Senior Lecturer and Program Director of the Clinical Exercise Physiology degree within the Allied Health & Human Performance Unit at the University of South Australia. She is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist with Exercise & Sports Science Australia and currently serves as Vice President of the Council of Heads of Exercise, Sport and Movement Sciences (CHESMS), Australia. Her research focusses on exercise-based interventions for the prevention and management of cancer, mental illness and cardiovascular disease, with a particular emphasis on women’s health conditions such as pregnancy loss, endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Themes: Introduction to guests' physical location, e.g., University, location.How/why their varied backgrounds have progressed into doing research on women’s health, such as pregnancy loss, endometriosis, PCOS and exercise? Future research plans/direction in this area.Role for WiSEAN, and how they became aware of WiSEAN.Aims for volunteer role for WiSEAN in the next 12 months/mentoring.Typical academic/researcher pathway in Australia.Research culture on women’s sport and exercise in Australia and pertinent/hot topics. Opportunities for work in Australia.

    43 min
  5. Dr Ross Julian: Researching Performance in Women’s Football

    12/19/2025

    Dr Ross Julian: Researching Performance in Women’s Football

    Dr Ross Julian: Researching Performance in Women’s Football (video version) Dr Ross Julian is the International Study Programme Coordinator, researcher, and lecturer at the University of Münster (Germany). His work focuses on advancing understanding of women’s health and performance in sport, with particular emphasis on sex-specific physiological responses and evidence-based training approaches for female athletes.Ross has previously worked closely with elite female footballers and is recognised as one of the early researchers to investigate the effects of the menstrual cycle on performance in elite women's football. He is passionate about improving sex-specific training strategies and exploring how menstrual cycle-related hormonal fluctuations may influence performance outcomes and injury risk.In addition to his work in Münster, Dr Julian is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Gloucestershire, where he mentors early-career researchers and supports menstrual cycle research initiatives, helping to address common methodological challenges and limitations in this complex and under-researched field.Themes talked about:       Reasons for initial interest in doing research on the effects (or perceived effects) ofmenstrual cycle on football performance. Three chapters in the Women’s Football book (Women’s Football: From Science to High Performance), with the lead one on menstrual cycle monitoring, application and implementation: How can stakeholders be convinced to invest in menstrual cycle monitoring, using key performance effects.Future utopia for physiological and physical profiling of women footballers, given optimal resources.More recent publication, ‘Sex differences in cognitive performance persist into your80s’. Overview of findings and interest. Differences in approach to research/academia in Germany versus UK. Future research plans.

    27 min
  6. Dr Ross Julian: Researching Performance in Women’s Football

    12/19/2025

    Dr Ross Julian: Researching Performance in Women’s Football

    Dr Ross Julian: Researching Performance in Women’s Football Dr Ross Julian is the International Study Programme Coordinator, researcher, and lecturer at the University of Münster (Germany). His work focuses on advancing understanding of women’s health and performance in sport, with particular emphasis on sex-specific physiological responses and evidence-based training approaches for female athletes.Ross has previously worked closely with elite female footballers and is recognised as one of the early researchers to investigate the effects of the menstrual cycle on performance in elite women's football. He is passionate about improving sex-specific training strategies and exploring how menstrual cycle-related hormonal fluctuations may influence performance outcomes and injury risk.In addition to his work in Münster, Dr Julian is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Gloucestershire, where he mentors early-career researchers and supports menstrual cycle research initiatives, helping to address common methodological challenges and limitations in this complex and under-researched field.We talked about: Reasons for initial interest in doing research on the effects (or perceived effects) of menstrual cycle on football performance. Three chapters in the Women’s Football book (Women’s Football: From Science to HighPerformance), with the lead one on menstrual cycle monitoring, application andimplementation: How can stakeholders be convinced to invest in menstrual cyclemonitoring, using key performance effects.Future utopia for physiological and physical profiling of women footballers, givenoptimal resources.More recent publication, ‘Sex differences in cognitive performance persist into your80s’. Overview of findings and interest. Differences in approach to research/academia in Germany versus UK. Future research plans.

    27 min
  7. Prof Charlie Pedlar: Building a Career in Sports Science and Supporting Women through Research and Practice

    12/09/2025

    Prof Charlie Pedlar: Building a Career in Sports Science and Supporting Women through Research and Practice

    Charlie is a Professor of Applied Sports and Exercise Science at St Mary's in the Faculty of Sport, Technology and Health Sciences. Charlie also has several consultancy roles outside of St Mary’s and is currently Chief Science Officer at Orreco, a sports bioanalytics compancy and creator of the FitrWoman app. He previously held positions at the British Olympic Association and the English Institute of Sport, and has worked with some of the best athletes in the world, often female. Charlie is an experienced research leader and has held the position of Academic Director of Research at St Mary’s University. In 2016 and 2017 Charlie undertook a 2-year research sabbatical at the Cardiovascular Performance Program and Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard Medical School), conducting research into the cardiovascular adaptations to marathon running. Predominantly, Charlie's research funding has come from the Sport and Exercise Science and Medicine Industry, including the Royal Ballet, FIFA, the Ministry of Defence. He is passionate about genuinely applied research that yields tools and guidance to those working with athletes and other high performing individuals. Topics Early career with the British Olympic Association and the English Institute of Sport. How these came about. Advice to others to get foot on the ladder. How informed rest of career.We fast forward through several years as a physiologist with the EIS to a two-year professional sabbatical at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston: How this happened; what he learnt from the experience. How research came to include women.Past research involving women: Research on low iron among female athletes, reasons for this and what can be done about it. PhD research on sleep and acclimatisation and whether sex differences were focussed on.Current work as Chief Science Officer at Orreco – what Orreco is and does and how Fitrwoman was established as part of that, and how more women athletes are accessing Orreco’s services. Direction of Orreco for athletes in the future, specifically on women.Collaboration/funding and how business/working with professional athletes can work symbiotically with research. Future ideas for research that use case studies to inform projects.

    28 min
  8. Dr Aoife Lane: Research in Ireland on Women in Sport

    11/01/2025

    Dr Aoife Lane: Research in Ireland on Women in Sport

    Aoife is Head of Department of Sport and Health Sciences in Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) Athlone, lead of the SHE Research Centre and co-founder of míde (an all island consortium for research on women in sport, exercise and physical activity). Aoife supervises PhD projects on sex and gender influences on sport and physical activity, many in the context of Gaelic games. Aoife is also a member of Sport Ireland’s Women in Sport Committee. Topics covered: Míde research: More about this consortium, e.g., how started, aims, mission, development, what next; advice for others.Aoife's initial research on community-based physical activity and how this has evolved into more of a focus on sex and gender influences on sport and physical activity.Context of Gaelic games: Explanation and explanation of context, e.g., cultural context, community. Head of Department role and Sport Health and Exercise role. How Aoife combines/manages/finds time for all activities.Future research activities/goals.

    30 min
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About

These are the Women in Sport and Exercise Academic Network (WiSEAN) podcasts. The overall purpose of WiSEAN is to grow, strengthen and promote research on women in sport and exercise, with the ultimate goal of optimizing women’s athletic success and their participation. We, therefore, invite academics, researchers and practitioners from sport and exercise to join us for our podcast, so they can share their thoughts, activities, research and advice. linktr.ee/wisean

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