HomeFaculty
Centre Lead Sports and Exercise Medicine
- Professor Nicola Maffulli MD, MS, PhD, FRCS (Orth), FFSEM
- Dr Zoë Hudson PhD, MCSP, PGCert T&L in Higher Ed (Associate Lead and Senior Clinical Lecturer)
Senior Clinical lecturers
- Dr Dylan Morrissey
MSc, MMACP, MCSP - Chris Rufford
MBBS, DCH, DRCOG, DSSP, MRCGP, Dip Sports Med
Honorary titles
- Dr N Padhiar, BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, FCPodS
Honorary Senior Lecturer - Professor R Woledge, Visiting Professor
- Claire Small, Honorary Lecturer
Course Administrator
- Sue Tracey
Core Clinical Team
- Dr Ian Beasley, Consultant Sports Physician
- Mr Mike Glover, Specialist Sports Physiotherapist
- Mr David Goodier, Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon
- Dr Rosy Jalan, Consultant Radiologist
- Mr John King, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
- Dr Dylan Morrissey, Consultant Physiotherapist and Senior Clinical
Lecturer - Dr Nat Padhiar, Consultant Podiatrist and Honorary Senior Lecturer
- Dr Tom Crisp, Sports Physician
- Dr Chris Rufford, Sports Physician
- Dr Muaaze Ahmad, Consultant Radiologist
- Dr Sujit Vaidya, Consultant Radiologist
External Lecturers
Sports medicine specialists working with boxing, Formula One motor racing, judo, Premiership football, hockey, swimming, rowing, cycling, gymnastics, cricket, basketball, badminton, modern pentathlon, the Olympic Medical Institute, Rugby Football Union, UK Athletics and Lawn Tennis Association.
Biographies of Course Team
Professor Nicola Maffulli
Nicola Maffulli received his basic medical degree from the University of Napoli Medical School, Italy, in 1983. He was supposed to become a molecular biologist, but discovered Orthopaedics, and therefore embarked in a surgical career. After a stint at the Third Department of Physiology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, between 1984 and 1985, Nicola moved to the UK where he undertook the classical training that a young budding surgeon underwent at that time. He was appointed Clinical Lecturer in Sports Medicine at The Hospital for Sick Children and the Institute of Child Health, and at the then London Hospital between 1987 and 1990. During that period, he lead the clinical team in charge of the Training of Young Athletes (TOYA) study, the topic of his PgD, awarded in 1992 by the University of London. In 1991, he was appointed an Orthopaedic Registrar in the North East Thames Rotation, and in 192 he moved to Aberdeen as a Senior Registrar. In 1994, Nicola was awarded a Masters of Surgery by the University of London for his work on limb lengthening in congenital conditions. At the end of 1994, Nicola went to Hong Kong as a Lecturer in Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery. A six month stint became longer and longer, and he was appointed an Associate Professor in 1995. In Mid 1996, Nicola was back in Aberdeen as a Senior Lecturer in Orthopaedics, and in 1998 he gained the MD degree from that University for work on the Achilles tendon. In 2001, he moved to Keele University as the Professor of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery. There, he established an extremely productive research programme, and in December 2008 returned to London as the Centre Lead and Professor of Sports and Exercise Medicine. An ESSKA Sports Medicine Travelling Fellow in 1997 and an ABC Travelling Fellow in 1998, Nicola has been the President of the British Orthopaedic Sports Trauma Association, and sits on many committees in Sports Medicine and in Trauma and Orthopaedics. He is an Editorial Board Member of some ten Sports Medicine and Trauma and Orthopaedic Journals.
Nicola's continuing research interests are varied, and reflect his training in molecular biology, cardiovascular physiology, and musculo-skeletal medicine. The recent research thrust has been in the genetics of orthopaedic conditions, in tissue engineering of tendons, and mesenchimal stem cell therapy for tendinopathy. He performs clinical research on tendinopathy, and has carried out many randomized controlled trials in musculo-skeletal medicine. During the years, Nicola has established a host of collaborations in the UK and abroad, and has lead multidisciplinary research teams in multicentre trials.
He has published more that 450 articles in peer reviewed journals, and has edited several textbooks, the latest one being ‘Postgraduate Orthopaedics’. In 2009, 'Sports Medicine in Combat Sports' is due for publication. Please see: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed [new window].
Dr Zoë Hudson, Acting
Associate Lead and Senior Clinical Lecturer
Zoë is the Associate Lead and a Senior Clinical Lecturer in the Academic Department of Sports and Exercise Medicine (SEM) at Barts and the London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London where she runs the masters programme in Sports and Exercise Medicine. Advisor to London 2012 Olympic bid. Principal research interests include lower limb rehabilitation and return to elite sport, ACL injury, ITB biomechanics and physical activity and health in the general population. With publications to her credit, she has been editor for Physical Therapy in Sport, an international peer reviewed journal, for the last 6 years. An invited speaker to many national and international conferences. Zoë is an Honorary Fellow of the University of East London (UEL), and was invited to open the new campus in Docklands with Mayor Ken Livingstone. Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy at UEL 1996-2002. Prior to this, after qualifying from Sheffield, she worked clinically at Barts and North Middlesex Hospitals. As a private practitioner, Zoë has worked in sport for the last 10 years at international level. She has worked with national squads in rugby, swimming (able bodied and disabled), basketball and volleyball. Major competitions include Team England, Manchester 2002, GB Paralympic team, Sydney 2000, and GB team World University Games, Beijing 2001, Palma 1999.
Hauling a sledge more than her own bodyweight, Zoë was part of the first all-women’s expedition to reach the North Pole in 1997 and the first British women’s expedition to reach the South Pole in 2000. She ran an expedition base camp in the high Arctic for 3 months in 2002 and has recently been to Greenland and helped guide a ski tour in Spitzbergen. Honoured at the Pride of Britain and Women of the Year awards, Guinness Book of Records.
Dr Dylan Morrissey, Consultant Physiotherapist and Senior Clinical Lecturer
Dr Morrissey is a consultant physiotherapist and senior clinical lecturer with 15 years of experience working in sport and exercise medicine. After initial training he worked for four years at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, then ran the Sports Rehabilitation Gymnasium at Mile End Hospital for another four years. Since then he has developed a clinical academic role. He spent five years working with the London Leopards, the UK basketball champions for two of those years: and has also worked with professional rugby (both codes), paralympic athletes and international athletics. He has been a representative on the British Olympic Association physiotherapy committee. He leads the intercalated BSc in sports and exercise medicine and the MSc modules relating to sports injury assessment. The intercalated BSc is now the most popular at QMUL, having doubled its intake for the current academic year. He completed an MSc with research distinction (Manipulative Physiotherapy) at University College London in 1998 and a PhD in 2005 at King’s College London / QMUL investigating the link between movement and pathology at the shoulder. He is currently actively researching the following areas:
- Evidence and consensus based pathways for physiotherapy (funded by Nuffield Proactive Health)
- Effective delivery of exercise as a health tool (multiple strands)
- Trunk and lower limb muscle timing in patients with low back pain
- Measurement and management of tendinopathy
- Assessment and management of shoulder conditions (in collaboration with King’s College London and Southampton University)
- Rehabilitation of lower limb injury (in collaboration with King’s College London)
Dr Chris Rufford, Senior Clinical Lecturer
Qualified at the Royal London Hospital Medical College, training in General Practice and anaesthetics before working in New Zealand, Australia and Alaska. Delivered a coconut boat to the Solomon Islands for the British Government. Studied Sports and Exercise Medicine and undertook specialist A&E medicine before returning to work at Barts and The London in the academic departments of general medicine, medical education and sports and exercise medicine. He is involved in the staff educational development and training programme for Academic and Clinical lecturers. Medical officer on a number of expeditions and also at major sporting events.
Dr Nat Padhiar
After graduating in Podiatry from Chelsea School, Nat Padhiar pursued a clinical career in Podiatric Surgery and Biomechanics, and an academic career in Sports Medicine specific to Podiatry. In 1989 he was awarded a research-based Master of Science degree with distinction. This research was supported by ARC grant and was titled 'A prospective study to evaluate radiological and biomechanical changes following Hallux Valgus surgery'. In 1993 he became Fellow of the Surgical Faculty, College of Podiatrists. In 1999 he was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree in the field of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine from St Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary College, London University. In 1997 he was given a Gold Award for his presentation at the Scientific Meeting of British Association of Sports and Exercise Medicine. The presentation was in the field of Chronic Compartment Syndrome, which was the basis of his PhD thesis.
In 1991 he was appointed Honorary Consultant Podiatrist in the Rheumatology Department at The Royal London Hospital. He is at present holding a dual Consultant Podiatrist post at The Royal London Hospital in the Musculoskeletal and Surgical Directorate and, also at the Mile End Hospital in the Foot Health Department.
He is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer, Internal Examiner and Module Leader in The Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine (CSEM), Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry. In the last decade he has supervised over 30 research projects submitted by MSc students in SEM. He is also a co-supervisor for undergraduate research in the Medical Engineering Department, Queen Mary, University of London. He has authored and co-authored peer reviewed papers and, has presented a lot of his work at conferences throughout the world.
Nat Padhiar is a keen sportsman continuing to play cricket, tennis and taking part in endurance sport (28 marathons). He has represented Uganda School boys at cricket.
In his professional capacity he has been part of the medical team and has attended World Student Games (1991), Commonwealth Games (2002), Island Games (2003), Everest Marathon (1993, 1995), Mongolian Sunrise to Sunset Marathon (2001-2003), Daily Telegraph/British Brain and Spine Foundation London Marathon Team (1999-present).
Dr Steph Hemmings
Steph was awarded her PhD, entitled ‘Physiological Characteristics of the Elite Adolescent Athlete’, from Loughborough University. Prior to this she completed a BSc (First Class Hons) in Sports Science, and subsequently an MSc in Exercise Physiology, both also at Loughborough University. Her research interests include the role of maturation in the development of physiological characteristics of elite young athletes, and acclimation during intermittent exercise in the heat. Steph also has over five years experience in physiological testing of elite athletes for various National Governing Bodies of Sport, including the R.F.U., R.F.U.W., Great Britain and Ireland Rugby Football League, U.K. Athletics, and British Triathlon.
Qualifications: BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD.
Dr Mark Perry
Mark Perry obtained his PhD on the muscle physiology of ageing from King's College London in 2005. He then took up a post-doctoral position at Curtin University in Western Australia, researching adolescent spinal pain. He has 8 years of research experience with needle and surface EMG, motion analysis, photographic posture measurement, muscle tremor measurement, isokinetic dynamometry, knee function/laxity testing and the analysis of large epidemiological datasets. He also has four years clinical experience as a Chartered Physiotherapist.
Qualifications: BEd (Hons), BSc (Hons), PhD (Lond).
Dr Richard Twycross-Lewis
Richard was awarded his PhD in Medical Engineering from the Department of Engineering at Queen Mary, University of London where he developed flow chambers to study the effects of linear spatial fluid shear stress gradients on cultured endothelial cells. He also has an MRes in Advanced Instrumentation Systems from UCL and a BSc in Sport & Exercise Science from London South Bank University. As well as experience in bio-fluid mechanics and tissue engineering, Richard has research experience in surface EMG signal analysis and breath by breath measurement of the slow component of oxygen uptake kinetics during exercise intensities above the lactate threshold. Richard is an Associate Member of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) and a full member of both the British Microcirculaton Society and European Microcirculation Society.
In addition to his research activities, Richard is a competitive powerlifter. He has won 7 British titles for the bench press and has represented Great Britain at 7 European Bench Press Championships, 6 World Bench Press Championships and 2 international invitational championships under International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) sanction. Richard recently placed 8th at the 2008 European Bench Press Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia with a bench press of 217.5kg in the 100kg weight class.
Qualifications: BSc (Hons), MRes (Lond), PhD (Lond), MInstP
Dr Ian Beasley
Ian qualified in 1982 from St Bartholomews School of Medicine, going onto complete a Diploma in Sports & Exercise Medicine and an MSc in 1987.
He has held posts within the following organizations; Faculty of Sports & Exercise Medicine 2006, Council of Sports & Exercise Medicine 2007, GBMO Hockey 1982-2001, Olympics Atlanta/Sydney, Commonwealth Games 1998, World Cup 1985, further positions with the following football clubs; Medical Officer for Leyton Orient 1987-1997, Chelsea 1997-1999, Watford 2001-2002, Fulham 2002-2003 and is presently Medical Officer for Arsenal FC, having been in post since 2003.
Other post held at present are; Consultant in Sports & Exercise Medicine at Newham University Hospital since 2006, Senior Lecturer/Honorary Consultant, Sports & Exercise Medicine Royal London/Queen Mary University of London, UEFA Anti-doping Panel from 2003, Medical Officer for the Royal Ballet Company, Covent Garden since 2005 and Medical Officer for the David Beckham Soccer Academy since 2005.
His clinical interest is in groin and back pain and his main area of research interest surrounds professional football.
He is a keen windsurfer and skiing and enjoys playing the accordion.
Dr Thomas A Crisp
Dr Crisp runs sports injuries clinics and treats musculo-skeletal injuries in London and Essex and has done for 25 years. He has worked as HQ medical Officer to British Olympic Team in USA in 1996 and was Chief Medical Officer to GB Paralympic Team in Sydney in 2000. He was Chief Medical Officer to GB team in World Student Games from 1993 to 1997 and now works on International Medical Commission of FISU (International University Sports Federation) in which capacity he oversees the medical care and dope testing at University Games and Championships. He has looked after London Division Rugby (for 7 years) and Essex County Cricket (for 8 years).
Dr Crisp attended the sports medicine course based then at Royal London Hospital in 1986 and gained the diploma with merit. He soon afterwards began to work as in the sports clinic at The London and later Mile End and continued this until 2000. In 1990 he was appointed as a lecturer in the Recreation and Sports Studies Unit at East London University where he set up and taught modules on sports injury treatment, prevention and rehabilitation on the Sports Science and Health Studies BSc. He was also appointed as a part time lecturer at Essex University where he taught on the Sports Science MSc course from 1995-2000.
He was a tutor to the British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine teaching amongst other things the General (later Foundation) Course for 6 years. He has taught on many of the modules of the Queen Mary MSc in Sports and Exercise Medicine and has been an examiner for the last 12 years. In 2007 he was appointed as module leader for injection module.
He is at present researching treatment of Achilles tendinopathy and has lectured on this and other subjects around the world.
