We are pleased to announce the dates for The Podium Institute Annual Conference on Sports Medicine & Technology 2026:
Thursday 24th and Friday 25th September
This year’s conference will take place in the University of Oxford’s newly opened Life and Mind Building, and will be hosted by the Podium Institute Director, Professor Constantin Coussios OBE FREng. Situated in the heart of Oxford, the Life and Mind Building is a state‑of‑the‑art facility that provides an outstanding environment for scientific exchange and will offer an exceptional setting for this year’s conference.
Building on the success of our past two annual events, attended by over 120 international experts, this year’s conference will bring together leading researchers, clinicians, and innovators to explore advances at the intersection of sports medicine and emerging technologies.
On Thursday 24th September, the first day of the conference will conclude with a gala dinner held in the historic Medieval Hall at New College. This special evening will provide an opportunity for delegates to continue discussions in an informal and atmospheric setting.
Further announcements will be posted in due course on our website and LinkedIn page. You can also stay up to date with our announcements by subscribing to our mailing list.
THEMES AND TOPICS
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Conference sessions will be organised around four key areas:
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These themes will focus on the development, application and validation of innovative technologies, including wearables, digital health and remote monitoring, computer vision, imaging and neuroimaging, personal protective equipment (PPE), biomarkers, and biomechanics. Through these thematic areas we can explore how technological innovation can advance sport safety across youth, community and professional sport.
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION IS NOW CLOSED
Thanks to everyone who submitted an abstract before the deadline on Tuesday 30th June 2026. The organising committee will review the abstracts and confirm acceptance by the end of July, either for an oral presentation as a contributed talk or as a poster. All contributed presentations and posters are to be given in person in Oxford.
Upon notification of acceptance, contributing presenters will be required to confirm attendance through payment of the attendee fee prior to final inclusion in the programme.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
We are delighted to welcome an outstanding group of international experts whose research is advancing our understanding of sports injury prevention, diagnosis, treatment and recovery. Spanning neuroscience, cardiovascular science, musculoskeletal biomechanics and mental health, their expertise will provide fresh perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing sport, health and technology today.
We are pleased to introduce the following speakers, who will join us in Oxford:
| BRAIN HEALTH |
| Professor Ann McKee Boston University, USA |
| Dr Ryan Quarrington & Dr Hugh McCloskey Adelaide University, Australia |
| Dr Karen Jones Gloucester Rugby, UK |
| Dr Mike Jones Cardiff University, UK |
| CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH |
| Professor Sanjay Sharma St George’s, University of London, UK |
| Dr Harald T. Jorstad Amsterdam UMC, The Netherlands |
| MUSCULOSKELETAL HEALTH |
| Professor William R. Taylor Institute for Biomechanics, Zurich, Switzerland |
| Professor Conor Walsh Harvard University, USA |
| Professor Sean Cumming University of Bath, UK |
| Professor Jason Kerrigan University of Virginia, USA |
| MENTAL HEALTH, SLEEP AND COGNITION |
| Professor Anthony Kontos University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, USA |
| Dr Lee Moore University of Bath, UK |
KEY DATES
ABOUT THE PODIUM INSTITUTE
The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology at the University of Oxford, is the world’s first independent academic institute focused on the safety and lifelong health of youth and grassroots as well as professional athletes.
Its purpose is to inspire and forge evidence-based changes in sport and physical education, and to develop innovative and scalable technologies to monitor, analyse and ultimately prevent sport injury across the 22 million adults and 3 million children who participate in sport annually across the UK, as well as the hundreds of millions who partake in amateur and professional sport internationally.
For any queries, please contact podiuminstitute@admin.ox.ac.uk
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