Conference in Italy in November

It is always a pleasure and a surprise to be invited in Italy to speak at a conference. I left Italy many years ago to pursue a career in sports science and research and being invited back home to speak to coaches and sports scientists is always a proud moment and an opportunity to speak my first language again for few days.

The invitation this time has come from the Italian Athletics Federation and CONI for a conference called “Atleticamente”. I have been invited to present in a special session to celebrate my PhD supevisor and mentor Professor Carmelo Bosco. I am very happy about the invitation to this conference and proud also because Bosco’s supervisor, Professor Paavo Komi will be there.

Over the course of my career both Paavo and Carmelo had a great influence. I was always hoping to become as good as they are and have been and to this day they are still a source of inspiration and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to meet them and spend time with them.

I will talk about my work with Prof. Bosco from the Lab to the field as well as my own research work on the present and the future of sports science in the applied setting.

The conference will be a great opportunity also to learn more about other sporting systems and catch up with colleagues and friends few months before London Olympics.

If you are curious about Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) and happen to be in Edinburgh in the next few weeks make sure you visit the science festival.

The primary application of NIRS to the human body uses the fact that the transmission and absorption of NIR light in human body tissues contains information about hemoglobin concentration changes. When a specific area of the brain or a muscle is activated, the localized blood volume in that area changes quickly. Optical imaging can measure the location and activity of specific regions of the brain or muscles by continuously monitoring blood hemoglobin levels through the determination of optical absorption coefficients.

My PhD student Catherine Hesford has just started a blog here. Catherine will conduct an experiment with members of the public and will explain the theory behind NIRS together with my colleague Professor Chris Cooper.

The Science Festival in Edinburgh starts on the 9th of April, all details are available here.