Paediatric Work Physiology

Stuart Biddle is Professor of Physical Activity and Health and head of the Physically Active Lifestyles (PALs) Research Group in the Centre for Health Research. He is based at the Springfield campus near Brisbane. Prior to his move to Australia in 2014 Stuart was Professor of Physical Activity & Health at Loughborough University in the UK where he was Head of the School of Sport & Exercise Sciences between 2001 and 2007. Stuart has a PhD in social psychology and his current research interests centre on sedentary behaviour and physical activity correlates and behaviour change strategies, as well as mental health outcomes. He is past president of the European Federation for the Psychology of Sport & Physical Activity (FEPSAC) and International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA). He has published extensively in psychology, public health, and behavioural medicine, with a current H-index of 77 (Scopus) and 120 (Google Scholar). He is a Web of Science 'Highly Cited Researcher' 2018-2020, in the top 0.1% of scholars writing about Health Education over the past 10 years ("World Expert") calculated by Expertscape's PubMed-based algorithms, and ranked 19th all-time worldwide for career-long citation impact in ‘sport sciences’ up until the end of 2019 (ranked 8th for 2020). His co-authored book, Psychology of Physical Activity (Routledge, 2021) is now in its 4th edition. In 2018 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (Norges Idrettshøgskole; NIH).

Dr. Eisenmann is a scholar-practitioner with 25 years experience in Sports Science, 200+ scientific publications cited over 18,000 times, and 40+ invited national and international lectures. Possesses a diverse skillset that includes exercise physiology, human growth & maturation, epidemiology, talent identification, testing & assessment, data science, and strength & conditioning. Alongside the academic underpinnings, he also works "in the trenches" with coaches and athletes on a daily basis, and collaborates with sports medicine staff and others using a holistic, integrated approach to athlete development.
 

Dr. Takken is a medical physiologist and associate professor in Clinical Health Sciences at the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands with special interest in clinical pediatric exercise physiology. Dr Takken received his M.Sc. in Exercise Physiology from the Faculty of Human Movement Sciences of the Vrije University in Amsterdam in 1998. He received his Ph.D. from the Faculty of Medicine of Utrecht University in 2003. Dr Takken competed in road cycling at a national level for 20 years and was member of several semi-professional teams. He is currently director of the Clinical Exercise Testing Laboratory at the UMC Utrecht . Dr Takken has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers and authored 4 books including the title “Cycling & Science”. He is member of the North American Society of Pediatric Exercise Medicine, American College of Sports Medicine, European Working group on Paediatric Work Physiology, the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, and he is chair of the Dutch Chapter of CPX International.

Dr Tiina Ikäheimo has comprehensive knowledge in the area of environmental temperatures, human performance and health complemented with research related to exercise and health. Her experience includes branches of science, such as public, environmental and occupational health, biomedicine, as well as exercise sciences. She has in-depth expertise in physiology, but also experience in disciplines such as respiratory medicine, microbiology, and epidemiology. She has contributed to several peer-reviewed original articles and reviews, and produced international and national expert material, like chapters in text books and professional guides. She has participated as a coordinator, or co-PI, to R&D projects which have led to the production of one international standard for thermal environments, and contributed to a national model and recommendations for reducing adverse health effects of extreme temperatures. She has profound experience in international co-operation through her work as an editor, and later as Editor-in-Chief, of an international peer-reviewed scientific medical journal on health matters of the arctic areas. Being an active member of the international scientific community has also connected her to different international positions of trust which are linked to high profile decision making in the area of human health in the arctic. Dr. Ikäheimo has also worked as consultant in the area of extreme cold temperatures and human health, as well as having produced information material together with WHO experts. She is currently a professor in occupational health at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and continue her work at the University of Oulu, Research Unit of Population Health with a smaller share. Her research interests are focused on the effects of extreme temperature and climate change on human health, especially in identifying susceptible population groups and planning and implementing appropriate prevention and protection measures to mitigate the expected adverse health effects of climate change.
 

PhD Arja Sääkslahti, an associate professor of sport pedagogy and docent in children’s physical education works in the University of Jyväskylä in the faculty of Sport and Health Sciences. In my work, I strive to ensure that all children have a possibility to fulfil their right to play and be physically active. Therefore, one of my responsibilities is to ensure that we, as adults, provide enough opportunities for children to be physically active and learn in a way that is the most natural for them. I believe that "an active child is a playful and a happy child". “ Our latest nationally representative research projects (The Skilled kids, The Active family and TAITURIT) gather 9 years follow up among children from 3 to 12 years. This follow up has revealed many important factors from children’s early years that are meaningful for them in adopting physically active lifestyle. In my presentation the role of children’s perceived motor competence, actual motor competence, parental support, early childhood education, the amount of outdoor play and physical activity will be presented and suggestions for future actions will be discussed.      

Kevin Till is Professor of Athletic Development within the Carnegie School of Sport. He leads applied research, knowledge exchange and doctoral-level teaching activities across coaching and sport science focussed on youth populations and making a difference to policy and practice.

Kevin has an extensive research and knowledge exchange profile including author of over 200 scientific publications, 25 book chapters and editor of 3 books. His work covers a breadth of areas focussed upon developing the health and performance of youths. This includes topics on talent identification and development,  strength and conditioning, rugby, health, fitness and movement development, and coaching.

Kevin also has extensive experience of working within athletes in developmental and elite sport. He has worked as a strength and conditioning coach within professional sport where he still undertakes a role as academy S&C coach at  Leeds Rhinos RLFC. He has also provided services to national governing bodies / organisations including the Rugby Football League, Rugby Football Union, the UKSCA, BASES, English Institute of Sport, World Rugby and iCoachKids.