New sports research centre champions a fairer future

Representatives from the International Olympic Committee (Dr Uğur Erdener), the World Anti-Doping Agency (Professor Olivier Rabin) and the International Federation of Sports Medicine (Professor Fabio Pigozzi) were amongst the sporting VIPs to take a tour of the new research facilities at the university’s Eastbourne campus on Thursday 13 November.

The aim of the university’s Centre for Sport and Exercise Science and Medicine - known as SESAME - is to find new ways to help sport’s ruling bodies to beat the cheats, while helping sport stars to beat world records.

"This is an exciting time to be involved in research into sport, exercise science and health," said Professor Yannis Pitsiladis, professor of sport and exercise science at the University of Brighton.

"As well as pioneering research into the next generation of anti-doping tests and helping athletes aspire to levels of performance that were previously unimaginable; there's also a growing desire amongst funders to prioritise lifestyle-related research that potential to have a positive social impact on the general public."

Professor Pitsiladis is one of a team of academics based at SESAME who have a world-renowned reputation for their research into sport, exercise and health. The projects that the SESAME team have already been involved in include:

• the development of new generation anti-doping tests
• the sub2hr project dedicate to helping marathon runners to break the two hour barrier
• the implementation of community based interventions to tackle childhood obesity.