Laura is a PhD Candidate at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. She is interested in programming, reproducibility, and open science practices. Her dissertation focuses on the effects of interactions on motor learning and retention, and her MSc thesis from the University of Ottawa investigated observational learning. Laura loves to talk about statistics and research methods and thinks that working with R is super fun!

Rob Mason is a recent graduate from the University of Melbourne (Victoria, Australia). His PhD thesis focused on coach-athlete verbal feedback, with a focus on elite-level team sports. He is particularly interested in the reception of feedback by athletes, and the way that feedback changes based on the context in which it is given. He also works as a coach developer with an Australian Football League team, where he provides support to coaches around their use of feedback and teaching strategies.

Adam is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Human Functioning and Rehabilitation Science at The University of Vermont (UVM). For his Ph.D., Adam is focused on learning more about relationships between perceptive measures, such as the rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and sport-specific performance outcomes in athletes. He also serves as the Sports Science Coordinator at UVM where organizes the collection, interpretation, visualization, and applied integration of physiological data from the Men’s Ice Hockey and Men’s Basketball teams.

Mike is a lecturer in Sport & Exercise Science and Sport Performance courses at Leeds Beckett University in the UK. Currently Mike is completing a PhD on tackle injury mechanisms in elite rugby league and is also a performance analyst for the England Korfball national team. Mike has previously worked as a graduate teaching assistant within Leeds Beckett, a biomechanics research assistant at University of Central Lancashire and a strength and conditioning coach at elite rugby league club.

Toby Edwards is a 3rd year PhD candidate and sessional tutor at The University of Notre Dame Australia. His PhD research explores the assessment and development of sprint acceleration and horizontal force-velocity-power characteristics in junior Australian football players. Toby is also the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the South Fremantle Football Club junior development program.

Kelsey is a 5th year doctoral student in the Biomechanics & Movement Science program at the University of Delaware. She is originally from Winnipeg, Canada (Go Jets Go!) where she completed her Bachelor of Science with Honours in Biopsychology. She then moved on to earn her Masters of Science in Health & Exercise Science in Kelowna, BC, Canada. Kelsey’s research in the concussion world has been pretty broad over the past few years, but she began to realize that most concussion research was on high school, college, or professional athletes and she couldn’t help but think “what about the everyday person?” This led her to what is now her dissertation project – investigating the neurological health of adults with persistent symptoms from a concussion. 

Featured guest, Sean Cochran is a 2nd year Ph.D. student in the department of Kinesiology and Dance at NMSU with an emphasis in motor control and learning. His primary research interests are the effects of virtual reality training on motor and cognitive performance. He received his M.S. in Applied Neuromechanics as well as his B.S. in Sport Medicine from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Jason and Harjiv are joined by Nicole Strock, Kinesiology PhD candidate at Penn State studying the effects of energy deficiency on metabolism, reproduction, and bone health in exercising women. She is also the Coalition Coordinator for the Female and Male Athlete Triad Coalition, a non-profit organization promoting the health and well-being of athletes and active individuals.