Academic biography

SarahJane is an Associate Professor in Sport & Exercise Physiology in the School of Health & Human Performance in Dublin City University (DCU). Prior to this, she was a Lecturer and Course Leader on the BSc in Sport & Exercise Science in the Department of Sport & Exercise Science in SETU Waterford. SarahJane is a Sport Physiology Senior Consultant providing support to high performance athletes and para-athletes in Ireland through Sport Ireland Institute. She coordinates the jockey research programme in conjunction with The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board. SarahJane is Vice Chair of the recently established Irish Sport and Exercise Sciences Association (ISESA). She is an ISAK-accredited anthropometric instructor (Level 3) delivering internationally accredited courses nationally. SarahJane graduated from Sport Science & Health in DCU. She spent time as a research assistant in the Centre of Sports Medicine & Human Performance at Brunel University London and the School of Exercise Science at ACU Sydney. She received a scholarship funded by The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board to complete her PhD and Postdoctorate in DCU focusing on the health and performance characteristics of current and retired jockeys. She also completed a MSc in Applied Sports Nutrition in St Mary's Twickenham, focusing on body composition in elite male athletes. SarahJane’s research interests include: 1) Physiological and psychological impacts of making weight in weight category sports, 2) Female athlete health and performance 3) Musculoskeletal health and body composition in athletes. With 3 PhD students and 1 Postdoctoral researcher successfully completed, she is currently co-supervisor for 4 jockey specific PhD projects (current projects: bone health and body composition, female jockey health, minimum riding weights, behaviour change, transition into retirement, concussion education) and 3 horse racing industry PhD projects investigating mental health and wellbeing and leadership and management in trainers, stable staff and the breeding industry. She co-supervises 2 PhD students investigating menstrual cycle, body composition, performance and weight making in female athletes. She has research ongoing exploring athlete’s perceptions, knowledge, understanding and experiences of body composition as a performance variable. SarahJane was Tournament Nutritionist for the Women's Rugby World Cup held in Ireland 2017. She was also part of Team Ireland's sport science team at the holding camp for Team Ireland at the Olympic Games in Rio 2016 and London 2012.