Who are the Victoris members and what do they do? Maybe it’s a question you have asked yourself before? We want to give you the answer here by introducing some of our latest Victoris members.
Bringing together experts with similar interests from various Faculties and Departments is such a rewarding thing to do.
Victoris Business Developer Kristof De Mey
Victoris represents more than 40 researchers active in a diversity of sport topics, enabling a multidisciplinary approach to various challenges. The final goal of each member of the consortium is to support athletes in the best possible way by creating products & services based on science. Therefore, we’re constantly searching for synergies between our consortium members, to then team up with external organizations as well.
Our Biomechanics and Motor Control of Human Movement research group has a strong history in innovative research within different areas of running biomechanics, injury prevention, talent detection and identification, etc. Our newest member is perfectly fitting within these areas.
Who is Prof. Veerle Segers?
Veerle Segers obtained her master’s degree in Physical Education at Ghent University in 2001. After searching for a research grant she finished her PhD in biomechanics (entitled ‘A biomechanical analysis of the realization of actual human gait transitions’) in 2006, she obtained a postdoc position, but then took a career switch to the sports environment, taking the role of sports technical director at the basketball federation.
Three years later she returned to her passion and love for biomechanics as a professor at Ghent University. Previous research was done in a broad scale of biomechanics from fundamental gait analysis to applied sports science in talent detection and identification. As such, she maintains the link between the fundamental biomechanics and the sports community.
I’m grateful to take over the lead of the Biomechanics research group from my former supervisor Prof. Dirk De Clercq.
Prof. Veerle Segers
How would you describe yourself as a professor?
I am passionate about science in general and I’m always looking for new insights that help the broader community. Although attracting new funding is often a challenge, it should not discourage us to keep looking for new opportunities. I believe in the fact that a team makes every individual stronger.
What is the work you are most proud of?
The research line on the balance between loading and loading capacity which is approached from two directions. This project is called Grounded Running. I’m also working on the ‘Lower Impact Running‘ project about how adaptations in running style can evolve/be implemented in real life as an effective intervention to reduce running injuries and only benefit from the positive effects of running. These are also the current projects I am working on together with a great team of motivated people.
How are you trying to bring your research findings to the world of sports and health?
With the aid of Victoris and our business developer Kristof De Mey we want to create a spin-off from the Lower Impact Running project that will bring these scientific insights to the (runner’s or runner’s to be) community.
What are the type of questions companies and sports organizations could contact you for?
Companies who are looking for effective strategies to reduce injuries: footwear companies, insole manufacturers, athletics federations, governmental parties,… Also all sports federations who want to get help in biomechanical analyses can reach out to me and my team.
The combination of having extensive expertise in the team, with the state-of-the-art research infrastructure at the Sport Science Laboratory – Jacques Rogge delivers an ideal opportunity for companies to step into collaborative R&D and validation research projects.
Kristof De Mey
Do you want to reach out to Prof. Veerle Segers? Get in touch with Veerle through email or through our contact form!
