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ISEH successfully re-accredited as an IOC Research Centre

The Institute for Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH) together with the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine (NCSEM) has successfully been re-accredited as one of eleven research centres from across the world as an International Olympic Committee (IOC) Research Centre for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health for a further four years until 2022. This accreditation, which was awarded as part of the ISEH’s role as one of the three National Centres for Sport and Exercise Medicine, was made to the ISEH alongside universities and specialist sports research centres worldwide.  

Over the next four years the ISEH and NCSEM will be tasked with researching, developing and implementing effective preventive and treatment strategies for sports-related injuries and illnesses. It will receive financial support from the IOC and join an international network of expert scientists and clinicians whose focus will be research into the prevention of sports injuries and optimisation of the health of our athletes.  

“We are delighted to have appointed 11 highly qualified centres from the four corners of the world to assist us with our mission,” commented IOC Medical and Scientific Commission Chair and IOC Vice-President Prof. Uğur Erdener. “These centres have all demonstrated that they are at the forefront of research in sports medicine and are committed to our shared goal of using knowledge and resources to ensure the athletes’ well-being so that sportsmen and women can perform at their best level with minimal risks to their health.” 

The IOC Head of Scientific Activities, Lars Engebretsen, added: “While athletes were previously active until they were 25, today they compete until they are 40 to 45 at a very high level. An injury to one of them is a major issue, so treatment and prevention have become all the more important.”

The Institute’s Clinical Director Professor Fares Haddad added: “To be re-accredited is a tremendous achievement for the ISEH. Accreditation as a research centre by the IOC was one of our aims and to have achieved this again for a further four years is a testament both to the quality of our team and our collaborators. It also shows the potential that lies within the ISEH and the National Centres for Sport and Exercise Medicine. “Building on our existing programme, this important accreditation will enable us to develop and extend our research activities. Our ultimate aim is to help prevent injuries and improve the treatment of athletes and sportspeople.”

As part of this award, The Eastman Dental Institute (EDI) and ISEH will set up a Centre for Oral Health and Performance. This unique collaboration will be led by Professor Ian Needleman who said “It is a great privilege to work with the ISEH and our team will look forward to this exciting continued collaboration with the IOC to improve oral health and performance in elite sport”. 

The 11 centres are:

  • The Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention (Edith Cowan University and La Trobe University Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, Australia)
  • Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre (University of Calgary, Canada)
  • Institute of Sports Medicine & Sports Orthopedic Research Center-Copenhagen (SORC-C) (Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark)
  • French-speaking Research Network for Athlete Health Protection & Performance (French Institute of Sport; University and University Hospital of Liège; Luxembourg Institute of Research in Orthopedics, Sports Medicine and Science; National Sport Institute of Quebec; Geneva University Hospitals)
  • Yonsei Institute of Sports Science and Exercise Medicine (Yonsei University, Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Korean Sports and Olympic, Sol Hospital, Korea National Sport University, Republic of Korea)
  • Amsterdam Collaboration on Health & Safety in Sports (VU University and Academic Medical Centre, Netherlands)
  • Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway)
  • Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital (Qatar)
  • Sport, Exercise Medicine and Lifestyle Institute (University of Pretoria, University of Stellenbosch, South African Medical Research Council, South Africa)
  • London’s Institute for Sports, Exercise and Health and National Centre for Sports Exercise and Medicine (United Kingdom)
  • United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport (United States Olympic Committee, Steadman Philippon Research Institute, The University of Utah, USA)