Anja Hirschmüller

Professor in Sports Medicine, Orthopaedics and Traumatologie, University of Freiburg & Chief Physician, ALTIUS Swiss Sportmed Center Rheinfelden, Switzerland

Anja Hirschmüller is Professor in Sports Medicine, Orthopaedics and Traumatologie at the University of Freiburg, Germany and works as Chief Physician at the ALTIUS Swiss Sportmed Center Rheinfelden, Switzerland. She has been taking care of Para Athletes with the National Paracycling Team Germany since 2006 and was Member of the German Delegation at the Paralympic Games Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Pyeong Chang 2018 and Tokio 2020one, serving as Chief Medical Officer Germany since 2016. She was awarded Best Games Official in 2021 and joined the IPC Medical Commitee as Games Times Member for the Paralympic Games in Beijing 2022. Professor Hirschmüller´s research also focusses on Para Sports. She was the first to implement a weekly injury and illness surveillance program in Para Athletes and established a longitudinal mental health monitoring for German Para athletes. Beside Para Sports, her clinical and scientific focus is on muscle and tendon injuries and musculoskeletal ultrasound.

Carole Okoth

Dr. Carole Mary Akinyi Okoth is a distinguished Consultant Physician and Sports Medicine Physician with extensive experience in healthcare and sports medicine. She currently serves as a Consultant Physician for the Ministry of Health in Kenya and holds key positions, including Chief Medical Officer for the Kenya Hockey Union and Member of the Medical Commission for NOC-Kenya. Dr. Okoth is also an associate editor for BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine and a member of the ITA Health & Clinical Expert Advisory.

A former field hockey athlete, Dr. Okoth has been instrumental in the medical management of Kenya’s national sports teams, serving as Chief Medical Officer for several national team assignments and tournaments since 2010. She is passionate about providing quality healthcare to underserved populations, particularly women, children, and individuals with disabilities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Okoth is also dedicated to advancing research and creating health solutions tailored to the region.

Her academic credentials include a Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine, a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, and an IOC Diploma in Sports Medicine, with ongoing studies in Strength & Conditioning. Dr. Okoth is recognised for her strategic planning, organisational skills, and commitment to promoting collaboration to achieve institutional goals.

Cheri Blauwet

Associate Professor in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School; Chief Medical Officer of Spaulding Rehabilitation Network & the Distinguished Chair in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Cheri Blauwet, MD is an Associate Professor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School, the Chief Medical Officer of Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, and the Distinguished Chair in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Blauwet is also a former Paralympic athlete in the sport of wheelchair racing, competing for the United States Team in three Paralympic Games (Sydney ’00, Athens ’04, Beijing ’08) and bringing home a total of seven Paralympic medals. She is also a two-time winner of both the Boston and New York City Marathons.

Translating her background as an athlete to the clinical setting, Dr. Blauwet is a change agent in the area of health equity, with a specific focus on sport and physical activity for health promotion and chronic disease prevention. She is deeply committed to ensuring that opportunities for achieving optimal health are equitable and universally accessible to all, including marginalized populations. Her scientific research is focused on injury and illness prevention, with particular focus on athlete mental health, concussion, and the unique needs of the female athlete as well as athletes with disabilities. As evidence of the impact of this work, since joining the Harvard faculty she has been invited to provide 58 national and 29 international lectures on these topics, including multiple keynotes and plenary sessions at major sports medicine and rehabilitation conferences. She has published 96 peer reviewed papers in distinguished academic journals. In 2021, she was appointed to the National Advisory Board for Medical Rehabilitation Research under the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

She serves as a Member of the International Paralympic Committee’s Medical Committee, the International Olympic Committee Medical & Scientific Commission, and serves on the Board of Directors for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). She additionally serves as Chair of the Board for the Boston Athletic Association (Boston Marathon). In 2016, she was the recipient of the Harvard Medical School Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award and was named one Boston’s “Ten Outstanding Young Leaders” by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. In 2019 she was named by the Boston Business Journal as one of the “40 under 40” community leaders.

François Genêt

Head of the department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, France

Head of the department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Member of the Medical Committee of the French National Paralympic Committee. Raymond Poincaré Hospital, APHP, Garches, France. Versailles Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines University (Paris-Saclay University), France.

François Genêt is Professor and Executive head of the department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the tertiary care university hospital Raymond Poincaré in Garches (Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, France). He has developed the first medico-surgical neuro-orthopedic department dedicated to people with neuromotor disabilities and the parasport health center.  He is the head of the department for research on neuro-orthopedic disorders, “End:icap” U1179 INSERM, at the Versailles Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines University (Paris-Saclay University). He is also the President-elect of the French Learned Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (SOFMER).

Professor Genêt has developed his involvement in parasports and sports since five years becoming member of the Medical Committee of the French National Paralympic Committee (CPSF), and member of the Medical Committee of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games (ICMG). He was in charge of the French NPC medical team for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. He is also piloting a project to create a sport-health university institute for people with disabilities (ISPC, www.ispc-synergies.com), based on 3 axes: health, research and training, legacy of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. The aim is to promote the “world of health” in order to develop the access and the follow-up to physical activity and sports for all people with disabilities.

Professor Genêt’s clinical and research activities focus on neuro-orthopaedic disorders including motor disorders. In 2009, he created the medico-surgical translational research group in neuro-orthopaedics. The group explores with preclinical, clinical and epidemiological approaches the outcomes of functional surgery, the impact of neurological lesions on bone and joint structure, and the impact of muscular disorders on limb deformities.

Jan Lexell

Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine & Chair, Department of Health Sciences, Lund University

Jan Lexell is Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine and Chair in the Department of Health Sciences at Lund University, Lund and Head of the Rehabilitation Medicine Research Group. Jan is clinically active as a Medical Director and Senior Consultant in Neurorehabilitation in the Department of Rehabilitation at Ängelholm Hospital, Sweden. He is also Medical Director at Hermelinen Sports Concussion Center, Luleå, Sweden.

Jan is trained in rehabilitation medicine as well as neurology. His research focuses on the consequences of a neurologic disability in a life-long perspective, and sports for people with a disability. He is standing member of the Medical Committee in the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and Chair of the IPC Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) Committee. He was Chief Medical Officer of the Swedish Paralympic Committee 2010-2018. He is also Associate Editor of the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and editor for the section on Para sport and Paralympic sport.

He has published over 300 original articles, reviews, proceedings and book chapters on topics related to muscle physiology, aging, neurorehabilitation and pain rehabilitation, and Para Sport and Paralympic sport. He has supervised 17 PhD-students during the past 25 years.

Kristina Fagher

Associate Professor in Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation Medicine Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Sweden

Nick Webborn

CBE, British Paralympic Association

Nick is a member of the IPC Medical Committee, Chair of the British Paralympic Association and Honorary Clinical Professor at Loughborough University.  Nick is a world leading expert in the area of Paralympic sports medicine.  He played wheelchair tennis for Great Britain in the World Team Cup in 2005. Paris 2024 is his 13th Paralympic Games and he was chief medical officer for ParalympicsGB at London 2012. He was awarded an OBE in 2016 for services to Paralympic Sports Medicine and to the British Paralympic Association, and a CBE in 2022 for services to Sports Medicine and to Sport.

Stephanie Tow

Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado & Departments of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, Orthopedics Institute - Sports Medicine Center, & Pain Medicine, Children's Hospital Colorado

Stephanie Tow, MD, FAAPMR, CAQSM is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado and Departments of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, Orthopedics Institute – Sports Medicine Center, and Pain Medicine at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She is board-certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R), Sports Medicine, Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, and Brain Injury Medicine. Dr. Tow is the Head Team Physician and Medical Director/Chief Medical Officer of Team USA Paralympics Swimming’s National Team, as well as a National Medical Classifier for US Paralympics Swimming.

Dr. Tow completed her undergraduate degree in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University, after which she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship (focused on the field of education/teaching) in Hong Kong. She earned her medical degree at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (now Rutgers University) – New Jersey Medical School and completed her residency and chief residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at UT Southwestern. She completed her pediatric rehabilitation medicine fellowship at the University of Colorado/Children’s Hospital Colorado and her sports medicine fellowship at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.

Dr. Tow has a passion for working with athletes of all abilities, including adaptive and Para sports athletes. She has experience working in many leadership and volunteer roles related to adaptive and Para sports, including serving as a co-founder and former director of the Dallas-Fort Worth Adaptive Sports Coalition, serving as a team physician and medical director of multiple adaptive/Para sports medicine teams, organizations, and events, and serving as the former chair of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine Adapted Sports and Recreation Committee. She has also volunteered as a sports medicine physician at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. With a passion for teaching and research related to adaptive and Para sports, Dr. Tow has served as a co-chair, director, invited keynote speaker, and faculty speaker of many adaptive and Para sports medicine courses and presentations to teach other clinicians about different aspects of caring for and supporting athletes with disabilities. She also is a member of the program planning committee for the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee – National Governing Body Medical Conference, where she has advocated for increasing inclusion of Para sports medicine-related topics and implemented creative ideas and methods to teach other clinicians about Para sports and medical support. Her research primarily focuses on sports-related injury and illness epidemiology and prevention in Para sports, particularly in youth athletes where there is a paucity of evidence; Paralympic sport classification; and equity and access to sporting opportunities for athletes with disabilities. She has published multiple peer-review articles, original research, and chapters on topics related to adaptive and Para sports medicine. Dr. Tow is an advocate for equitable access to participation in sports, recreation, and physical activity and sports medicine resources for all athletes.

Steve Reid

Medical Director, Hobart International WTA Tennis Tournament, Australia

Dr Steve Reid graduated in medicine from the University of London in 1989. He gained Fellowship of the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP) in 2004 and became a Foundation Fellow of the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine (UK) in 2008. Steve was the Medical Director for the Hobart International WTA Tennis Tournament from 2005 to 2024 and has been a member of the Australian Open Tennis Medical Team since 2018. He was a doctor for the Australian Rowing Team between 2013 and 2022 and in 2016 was a Rio Headquarters Doctor for the Australian Olympic Team. 

Steve began working with Para athletes in 2013 and initially worked particularly with Para Rowing and Wheelchair Tennis. More recently he has travelled with the Australian Para Cycling Team. In 2021 Steve was appointed as Chief Medical Officer for Paralympics Australia and led the medical services for the Australian Team that attended the Beijing Winter Paralympics in 2022 and the current Summer Paralympic Games in Paris.

Steve has held a number of leadership positions for the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians. He completed two terms as Chair of Training between 2010 and 2016 and was subsequently Chair of Training Practice Accreditation. He currently chairs the Professional Standards Committee and in 2022 was awarded The Ken Crichton Memorial Citation for Distinguished Service to the College. Steve was Editor for the Practical Management Section of the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine from 2013 to 2023. 

Wayne Derman

Professor & Executive Head of the Department of Exercise, Sport and Lifestyle Medicine & Director of the Institute of Sport and Exercise Medicine, Stellenbosch University

Wayne Derman is Professor and Executive Head of the Department of Exercise, Sport and Lifestyle Medicine and Director of the Institute of Sport and Exercise Medicine at Stellenbosch University, and is a past president of the South African Sports Medicine Association. He is also Co-Director of the IOC Research Centre of South Africa, Director of the FIFA Medical Center of Excellence, and is Chairperson of the International Paralympic Committee Medical Commission.

Professor Derman has played an important role in clinical support for South Africa’s athletes at International level. He fulfilled the positions of Chief Medical Officer for the South African Team to the Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 Olympic Games, and Medical Officer for the South African Paralympic Team to Beijing 2008 and London 2012. In December to May 2002, he served as Flight Surgeon to Cosmonaught Mark Shuttleworth during the “First African in Space” mission in Russia and served as the Medical Officer for Cape Town for the FIFA 2010 World Cup. 

Having diverse interests, he has been awarded many accolades in his career ranging from a Fellowship of the American College of Sports Medicine; the Val Schreire Award for Outstanding Investigator in the Cardiovascular Field in Southern Africa; the Paul Harris award from Rotary International for community contribution; to a Mondi Award nomination for health journalism. Professor Derman was also recipient of the Department of Health and Health Professionals Council award for Excellence in Health Care in South Africa. His research has focused on secondary prevention of chronic disease of lifestyle, and injury and illness prevention in athletes, especially those with disabilities. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and policy documents, and presented widely on the International academic stage.