Olympic Experts
As the primary higher education provider in the Olympic borough and host institution for Team USA, the University of East London is able to offer a wide range of spokespeople for media purposes leading up to and during both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. These include world-leading academic experts in a breadth of fields from athlete psychology to the impact of the Games on health, transport and housing. The attached lists our key spokespeople along with brief additional detail on their specific areas of expertise including significant publications and posts held.
If you would like to put in an interview request for any of the attached or would like a more detailed biography, please in the first instance contact the UEL press office on Tel. +44 (0)20 8223 6239 or press@uel.ac.uk
John Lock: Impact of the Games on the regeneration of East London
John Lock is the Director of UEL's 2012 Office which is the University's initial channel for engagement and collaboration with all aspects of the London Olympic & Paralympics Games and Legacy. He has served Newham for 30 years as local councillor, school governor, on boards of Theatre Royal Stratford, Stratford Circus, local advice centres, community organisations, and a number of major regeneration programmes.
Iain Macrury: Olympic legacy
Professor Ian Macrury is the Director of London East Research Institute (LERI). He is well known for his publication ‘Olympic Cities: 2012’ and the ‘Reshaping of London’. His areas of expertise include Olympic Legacy and he is currently supervising further students in branding, Olympic studies and contemporary literature.
Allan Brimicombe: Socio-economic impact of the Games
Professor Brimicombe worked closely with the Thames Gateway Institute for Sustainability and with UEL’s London East Research Institute, the Institute for Health and Human Development and the Sustainability Research Institute to produce the Olympic Games Impact Study – London 2012 Pre-Games Report -Creating and Maintaining a Healthy Stratford City: Principles and Practices for Success, which concluded positive signs of sustainability which will benefit the city.
Keith Gilbert: Paralympic Games – legacy and socio-economic impact
Professor Keith Gilbert is a highly acclaimed sports sociologist who focuses on examining marginalisation and disability in sport. He is well known for his publications; ‘the Paralympic Games: Empowerment or Sideshow’ and ‘Paralympic Legacies’ which focus on the positive change that the Paralympic legacy can bring in the future .His focus remains on Olympic and Paralympic legacy and sport for peace and development and other Paralympic research.
Gavin Poynter: Olympic Legacy
Professor Gavin Poynter teaches at the University of East London and is the Chair of London East Research Institute (LERI). He is also widely recognised for his publishing ‘London 2012’. He focused on the economics of the service industries and urban regeneration. He has completed several studies on the East London region, including for the OECD/DCLG, GLA, and local boroughs. His most recent book publications include Olympic Cities (with Dr I. MacRury ed.)
Andrew Silke: Terrorism and security issues
Professor Silke is the Programme Director for Terrorism Studies. He has published extensively on issues to do with terrorism, conflict, crime and policing in journals, books and the popular press. He is the author of over 100 articles and papers on these subjects. His recent publications include ‘Terrorism and the Olympics’ and ‘ The psychology of Counter-Terrorism’
James Beale: Sports Psychology
James Beale is a BPS Chartererd & BASES Accredited Sport & Exercise Psychologist and Senior Lecturer within the applied sport science teaching area. Recently he has been interested in bridging the gap between the academic community and those people that would benefit from utilising this information.
Professor Andrew Ravenscroft: Impact of the Games on transport
Professor Andrew Ravenscroft was the principal Investigator on the Westfield Observation Exercise (WEO),funded by the Olympic Delivery Authority. For the project, UEL researchers collaborated with world-leading engineering company, Parsons Brinckerhoff to analyse and interpret public behaviour and communication linked to transport events based around the new Westfield.
Professor Adrian Renton: Impact of the Games on public health
Professor Adrian Renton is the Director of Institute for Health and Human Development and honorary consultant in Public Health Medicine with the London Strategic Health Authority and Health Protection Agency : Perspectives in Public Heatlh: Promoting a healthy legacy for the Olympic Park. He and his team at UEL’s Institute for Health and Human Development (IHHD) have been instrumental in the development, delivery and evaluation of the world-leading Well London project. He has also directed two Research Programmes on HIV and Development funded by the UK Department for international Development.
Dr Penny Bernstock: Impact of the Games on housing
Penny Bernstock currently leads the field of sociology and innovation studies. Bernstock is a principle researcher for the Thames Gateway Housing and her other research interests include potential Housing Legacies of London 2012. She has also published extensively on housing and regeneration in East London, publications include ‘The Regeneration Game’ and more recently ‘Imagining the Housing Futures of London 2012’.
Femi Bola: Student volunteering and Games-time working
Femi Bola is the head of Employability & Enterprise and was recently awarded an MBE for services to diversity. She has played a pivotal role in turning the careers service into a proactive, first class enterprise which helps students with their future careers. Recently Femi has overseen many students gain the opportunity to either volunteer or be a part of the Olympic games.
David Cosford: Local community and student sporting legacy
David Cosford is the Director of UEL Sports, he is also an accredited strength and conditioning coach and exercise physiologist. He provides strategic and management leadership for all sports development throughout the University of East London including clubs, facilities and events, raising standards of performance and excellence, developing staff and student physical activity, initiating partnerships and coaching & volunteering.
Marcia Wilson: Local community and student sporting legacy
Marcia Cross is the Director of studies, she has worked at several educational institutions in the USA and England. Her research interests include sport psychology (Expectancy Theory) and she has recently carried out a research study on the psychological factors influencing sport footwear choice of young people.
