Aspetar employs a number of post-graduate researchers who are enrolled on PhD programmes several European countries and Australia. This is an innovative model combining the training opportunities of a dedicated sports medicine hospital with the academic breadth of leading universities.

Graduated PhD Students

• Dr. Gustaaf Reurink (with IOC Research Centre Amsterdam) - Managing acute hamstring injuries in athletes
• Dr. Andreas Serner (with IOC Research Centre - University of Copenhagen) - Diagnosis of acute groin injuries
• Dr. Andrea Mosler (with IOC Research Centre - La Trobe University) - Risk factors for the development of hip and groin pain in athletes
• Dr. Nicol Van Dyk - Risk factors for hamstring injuries in professional football players)
• Dr. Nathan Riding - The effect of ethnicity and body size on the athlete’s heart and their impact on cardiovascular pre-participation screening (Awarded 5th Sheikh Fahad Hiroshima-Asia Sports Medicine and Science Award).
• Dr. Richard Allison - Vitamin D and athletic bone health
• Dr. Anissa Cherif - Fasting and cognitive performance in athletes
• Dr. Lena Zimmo - Factors influencing Qatari women's physical activity
• Dr. Louisa Lobigs - The development of a new model to measure plasma-, red cell- and blood volume and its applications in refining the Athlete Biological Passport and improving volume management in hospitals
• Dr. Arnhild Bakken (with IOC Research Centre OSTRC) - What are the benefits of screening athletes for musculoskeletal injuries?
• Dr. Arnlaug Wangensteen (with IOC Research Centre OSTRC) - Diagnosis and prognosis of acute hamstring injuries among male athletes
• Dr. Scott Cocking - Ischemic pre-conditioning and athletic performance
• Dr. Gavin Travers - Heat acclimation with controlled heart rate: effects of hydration on adaptations and exercise performance
• Dr. Gavin McClean - The effect of physical growth and biological maturation upon the
• Dr. David Nichols - Physiological adaptations to heat acclimation; repercussions on cycling performance
• Dr. Eirik Wik (with IOC Research Centre OSTRC) -Injuries in youth academy athletes
• Dr. Athol Thomson - Shoe-surface interaction & non-contact lower extremity injury among elite male soccer players
• Dr Argyro Kotsifaki - Biomechanical function and musculoskeletal loading in athletes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction at the time to return to sport. Current functional criteria do not suffice.

Current PhD Students

• Dr. Paul Dijkstra - Improving research quality on primary cam morphology.
• Chris Skazalski - (with IOC Research Centre OSTRC) Risk factors for shoulder and knee problems in elite volleyball.
• Polyvios Kyritsis - Likelihood of ACL graft rupture: not meeting six clinical discharge criteria before return to sport is associated with a four times greater risk of rupture.
• Dr Thomas Baltes - (with IOC Research Centre Amsterdam) Diagnostics and outcomes of acute ligamentous ankle injuries.
• Dr. Robin Vermeulen - (with IOC Research Centre Amsterdam) Reducing the re-injury rate and enhancing return to play of acute hamstring injuries.
• Mohammed (Aziz) Farooq - Longitudinal studies of early adiposity rebound and physical activity and their impact on cardiometabolic health in adolescents.
• Chris Esh - Manipulations of PGE2 and COX to augment in vivo cooling within humans.
• Dr Sofie Nelis - Shared Decision Making in Elite Sport (in collaboration with VU and Dutch IOC Research Centre).
• Ms Faten Smiley- Impact of Accredited Education for Sports Medicine and Science  Health professionals.