Our sport research and expertise
Push research boundaries and learn from expert academics who are at the forefront of their fields.
Why Manchester Met?
We’re working at the cutting edge of sport science and policy. Working with professional athletes, healthcare providers and national governing bodies, we ensure our research delivers solutions to real-world problems. This allows us to make an impact far beyond the classroom.
But what does this mean for you? As a masters student, you’ll work with our team of expert academics to conduct exciting research projects. From the mechanics of movement and the anatomy of winning, to the politics of participation and the business of competition; you’ll use our specialist facilities and industry connections to become a research pioneer.
What research could I be involved in?
Here’s a sample of current and previous research projects.
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Fair competition and medal-winning performance in para swimming
Our research and support has helped reshape Paralympic swimming by:
- Informing the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to develop a fairer, more objective classification system.
- Bringing back 47 swimming medals from the Rio 2016 Paralympics.
Read more about the impact of our research.
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Fighting fragility and falls through active aging
Providing crucial evidence for the UK Chief Medical Officer’s 2019 Physical Activity Guidelines this work:
- Shaped falls prevention work at the local government level
- Influenced exercise and training guidance given to thousands of master athletes.
Discover how our experts in bone and muscle are helping people stay healthy in old age.
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Working with the sports industry to run better, safer events
Our research has played a leading role in developing an understanding of ‘soft power’ concerning the use of sports mega-events by state governments — from democracies to autocratic regimes and dictatorships.
Our team have led work on ‘emerging states’ and Qatar 2022. The insights gained through this work is of interest to international mega-event organisers and policy makers around the world. Discover how we’re improving the planning of global sporting events.
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Genetics of sport: challenging the way we think about elite athletes
This research has huge implications for the way we think about and regulate sports.
When Caster Semenya, a runner whose genetic condition gives her naturally elevated testosterone levels, took her case against World Athletics to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), our academics gave evidence in her defence. While it was a divisive case that split the judges, they agreed that the regulations were discriminatory.
Read how our genetics research has been pivotal in framing the legal and ethical issues surrounding intersex athletes.
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Movement impairment
Our research looks to uncover important mechanisms underpinning impairment across a range of clinical conditions. This allows for unique opportunities for intervention.
This research has characterised the pathways and mechanisms associated with weakness in Myositis, muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy.
Find out more about this world-leading research.
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Improving sports protective equipment
Our research has:
- Informed a new standard for wrist guards for snowboarders.
- Enhanced fabrication of bespoke and custom mouthguards.
Discover how we’re reducing sports injuries through improved design and testing of protective equipment.
Students are presented with lots of opportunities to work closely with researchers. During my time at Manchester Met, lecturers in the Institute of Sport were researching the impact of heading a football on brain function and we got the chance to assist in trials and witness the use of the MRI machine.
Students are presented with lots of opportunities to work closely with researchers. During my time at Manchester Met, lecturers in the Institute of Sport were researching the impact of heading a football on brain function and we got the chance to assist in trials and witness the use of the MRI machine.
How are we making a difference?
Research without limits
Discover how our distinctive approach to research is changing the ways we think about how we move, compete and age.
Find out more
World-class sporting facilities
The Institute of Sport is designed to push boundaries.
Take a look around
Hear from our alumni
During my degree, I was working with national and international sports teams, so I was able to put learning into practice immediately. The other students on the course were all in similar positions and we formed an incredibly strong bond.
During my degree, I was working with national and international sports teams, so I was able to put learning into practice immediately. The other students on the course were all in similar positions and we formed an incredibly strong bond.
Meet the team
We’re pioneers of sport research, cutting through traditional disciplinary boundaries and drawing together the leading minds from a vast range of research areas, themes and specialisms. The result is an incredible concentration of expertise with a scope that’s unique in the UK.
We’re considered a global leader in the academic study of sport. From fashion, nutrition, society, elite competition and healthy aging, our tutors are exploring the world through the lens of sport.
Get to know our programme leaders.
Dr Paul Appleton
I have an interest in using psychology-based theories of motivation and human functioning to understand optimal engagement and the promotion of well-being via participation in sport. Much of my work has concentrated on evaluating coach and teacher education workshops in national and international projects. This includes:
- Examining empowering and disempowering motivational climates.
- Understanding the motivational antecedents of optional engagement and well-being in sport contexts.
- Relationships between motivation variables and interpersonal violence in sport.
- Development and validation of questionnaires.
Dr Stefan Birkett PhD
Senior Lecturer in Cardiovascular Rehabilitation, Programme Leader MSc Clinical Exercise Physiology
Dr Stefan Birkett
I’m a registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist and have over 15 years’ experience working with clinical populations. My research focuses on rehabilitation interventions aimed at healthy aging and improving a patient’s quality of life. These include:
- High-intensity interval training in UK cardiac rehabilitation.
- Exercise interventions for patients with chronic limb-threatening ischaemia post revascularisation.
- Exercise interventions for patients with intermittent claudication.
- Cardiac prehabilitation.
Dr Qi Peng
Senior Lecturer in Sport Managment and Policy; Programme Leader, MSc Sport Business, Management & Policy
Dr Qi Peng
My research expertise lies in sport policy and management, with a particular interest in sports development in China. I’ve been interviewed by multiple international media outlets such as CNN, the Guardian and ABC News for my research expertise on Chinese football. My recent research projects assess:
- Chinese football reforms.
- Esports governance.
- Chinese women’s sport development.
- Youth sport policies.
I’m passionate about translating my research into teaching and generating debate and discussions in classrooms. I teach on the core unit of our MSc Sport Business, Management and Policy programme, for which I engage students with a real-life business case in the international sport context.
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