From July 2016 applications for the practitioner categories of the Register are assessed by a panel of experts. Find out more about the senior members of the profession involved:
Louise Sutton, Chair, Deputy Chair (Registration & Accreditation) SENR Board
Louise is currently a principal lecturer in sport and exercise nutrition at Leeds Beckett University and has a diverse applied work profile alongside her academic role. With a background in sport science and clinical dietetics Louise has a particular interest in the practical application of sport dietetics in elite and extreme environments. She has applied her dietetic knowledge and skills into a range of contexts including Himalayan expeditions, Polar challenges, Atlantic rows and round the world solo-ocean racing record attempts.
With a more mainstream sport nutrition focus she has advised many elite sports professionals from a range of sports, both Olympic and Professional, including athletics, cricket, cycling, football and rugby. She is currently lead nutrition consultant for Leeds Rugby providing support to Leeds Rhinos Rugby League and Yorkshire Carnegie Rugby Union, as well as the National Race Walking Squad based in Leeds. Known for her very practical approach, Louise has extensive experience in delivering nutrition education programmes, particularly aimed at supporting junior athlete development.
She is on the Committee of the British Dietetic Association Sport Nutrition Specialist Group and holds a Deputy Chair position on the Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register (SENR) Board with responsibility for Registration and Accreditation, and has twice been awarded the BDA Roll of Honour for her contribution to the development of the SENR. In recognition of her significant contribution to the profession, Louise was the 2016 recipient of the BDA IBEX Professional Achievement Award.
Ruth Wood Martin, MSc, RD, SENR
Ruth Wood-Martin has worked as a Registered Dietitian for over 20 years. She is a registered Sports and Exercise Nutritionist (SENR UK), and is a Professional Member for Nutrition with the Irish Institute of Sport. She currently works full time as the Head of Nutrition with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).
Ruth leads a team of Performance Nutritionists across the island of Ireland who are working with professionally contracted players as well players in the Academy and Age-Grade structures. More recently, the IRFU have invested in the provision of nutrition services to younger aspiring players across the country to support their development throughout the IRFU Elite Player Pathway.
Ruth works directly with the National Senior Men’s squad when they are in national assembly where she continues the work of the Performance Nutritionists in the Provinces on the nutrition education and supplementation of players as well as advising on catering schedules, hydration and recovery strategies. She has developed a managed evidence-based, policy driven health and sports supplement programme within the IRFU.
Dr Sharon Madigan
Head of Performance Nutrition at the Sport Ireland Institute, Sharon is responsible for the coordination of the delivery of nutrition support to elite athletes in Ireland across a range of sports including weight category sports, endurance, power and Paralympic sports. Sharon has been involved in the preparation of elite athletes over five Olympic Cycles.
Other roles include partnerships with industry and research, mentoring of intern students and research project development within the high performance sports environment. She is also the assistant camp manager for Tokyo 2021 as part of the senior support team for the OFI. In addition to sitting on the SENR Board, Sharon is also current Chair of the BDA Sports Nutrition Group (SNG).
David Dixon
David is currently a senior lecturer in sport and exercise nutrition and exercise physiology at Writtle University College and has a varied applied work focus alongside his academic role. He is also a SENR Practitioner Registrant, works with the Register as an assessor on their accreditation pathways, and is a professional member of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Scientists (BASES). With this background in sport science and nutrition, David has a particular interest in the practical application of sport nutrition and immunology in elite and extreme environments applying his knowledge and skills into a range of contexts, including ultra-endurance runners and cyclists.
More broadly, his applied work spans both Olympic and professional sport, including athletics and team sports. He has been lead performance nutritionist for a premier league team and its Youth academy, as well as supporting high performance athletes at UEL and London Lions Basketball Club. David has also developed experience in delivering nutrition education programmes aimed at supporting youth athlete development.
David brings a unique perspective to the SENR Board and is keen to support continuing professional development initiatives that aim to raise the profile and credibility of sport and exercise nutrition practice.
Dr Dan Martin
Dan is a researcher-practitioner occupying a number of consultancy roles within professional and elite sport as a performance nutritionist alongside his research and supervision of PhD students at Liverpool John Moores University.
He is a consultant for a Premier League football club and a Formula 1 race team in addition to his long-standing work in horse racing with professional jockeys where he leads the nutrition support across the industry. He is also a senior performance nutritionist within the English Institute of Sport.
Successfully combining his applied and research roles, his work has been recognised by the SENR Professor Clyde Williams OBE Award for Research and Innovation in Sport and Exercise Nutrition.
Dr Tom Clifford
Tom is a lecturer in physiology and nutrition at Loughborough University where he teaches applied health and exercise nutrition to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Tom is an accredited sports Scientist with the British Association of Sports and Exercise Sciences (BASES) and a practitioner registrant of the Sports and Exercise Nutrition Register (SENR).
He has provided nutrition consultancy to a range of sports, including Rugby Union, Triathlon, Paralympic Swimming and Fencing. He gained a PhD in health and exercise nutrition from Northumbria University, investigating the role of phytochemicals in health and exercise.
Tom continues to research the effects of nutritional interventions on health, performance, and recovery from exercise.
Laura Mahony
Laura has worked as a Registered Dietitian for over 12 years. She is a registered Sports and Exercise Nutritionist (SENR) and has been worked in high performance sport in Ireland over the past eight years, working with the Sports Institute Northern Ireland and in professional rugby with Connacht Rugby.
She is currently a senior performance nutrition consultant at Sport Ireland Institute, providing support to a number of Ireland’s Olympic and Paralympic programmes including swimming, equestrian, boxing, hockey, cycling and badminton. She also runs her own private practice, LM Nutrition, and lectures on a part-time basis.
She is treasurer of the Sport and Exercise Nutrition Group (SENG) of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute (INDI).
Mhairi Keil
Mhairi is a Senior Performance Nutritionist with the English Institute of Sport (EIS) and has been working at the highest level of elite and professional sport since 2006. She is currently the Lead Nutritionist for British Gymnastics and GB Snow Sports and provides Technical Lead support through her work with British Swimming. Over the years, Mhairi has supported elite athletes through four Olympic/Paralympic cycles and has worked with a range of athletes and teams from Professional Rugby Union to Professional Ballet, including Worcester Warriors Rugby, English National Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Lucy Wainwright
Lucy is a Senior Performance Nutritionist, working for British Triathlon as part of the English Institute of Sport (EIS) nutrition team. She has been a member of the EIS since 2013, working with a range of Olympic and Paralympic Sports during that time. Previously, Lucy has worked with athletes across a wide range of disciplines, both at home in the UK and in Canada.
In her current role, Lucy supports Olympic and Paralympic triathletes, helping them to deliver optimal performance through an athlete-centred approach that is practical, supportive and evidence-based. Lucy has served athletes through the Rio and Tokyo cycles, working closely with other members of the support team to develop and implement innovative and comprehensive heat and humidity strategies.
Lucy has a background in elite sport, competing as part of the Great Britain Flatwater Canoe team for fifteen years, reaching individual finals at both the Athens and Beijing Olympic Games. She combines this background as a former elite athlete with her academic knowledge and extensive applied experience to support athletes and coaches.