Feature: Focus On Prof John Brewer

A month since joining St Mary’s University, Twickenham as the Head of the School of Sport, Health and Applied Science, Prof John Brewer talks about his love for sport science and his plans for the University. Growing up in Devon sport was a big part of John’s life, but it wasn’t until he went to study Sport Science at Loughborough University that his passion for the subject really came to the fore. He said, “Sport has always been a big part of my life, but when I went to university, that’s when it really came to life. I was in the same cohort of the likes of Lord Seb Coe and as a result I wasn’t able to compete in sport at quite the same level that I had been at home. Instead, the ‘lightbulb’ moment arose when a PhD student came into one of our first year lectures asking for student lab volunteers”. John started working in the sport science labs for the next three years and was even the first person to ever have a muscle biopsy taken at Loughborough University. “This was where my love for the subject really began and I felt much more part of the University than I ever had before,” he added. Many of his peers went on to teacher training after graduating, but John was able to stay in the lab working for Prof Clyde Williams as one of his postgraduate students. Sport Science was in its infancy but with funding from Mars Confectionary, who were sponsors of the London Marathon at the time, John was able to conduct research into the impact of carbohydrate diets on performance in endurance running. He continued, “this was my first experience with sports nutrition and I loved the fact that I could see it was having a real impact on the education and advice that was being given to those running the London Marathon, and I am still hugely motivated by applied sport science.” Prof Brewer’s second life changing moment happened when former England Manager Sir Bobby Robson came into the Loughborough lab hunting for the first ever Head of Human Performance for the Football Association’s Soccer Academy at Lilleshall. “To go straight from university to a job like that, it really doesn’t get any better! They were the first sports governing body to employ a full time sports scientist and after just two years I was able to travel to Italy with the England Squad as part of the 1990 World Cup support team”, John added. For the next 14 years Prof Brewer stayed in Lilleshall to run his own Human Performance and Rehabilitation Centre, where they offered applied sport testing and nutrition advice to elite athletes and sports teams along with governing bodies through Lottery funding. He then went on to one of the hardest, but arguably most valuable job as Director for Sport Science at GlaxoSmithKline Plc, working on the Lucozade Sport brand for five years. He said, “I was involved in commissioning research and applying the findings of this research to marketing messages, new product development and education. As such a commercial role, it was a real learning curve and gave me a completely different insight into business.” Subsequently, Prof Brewer entered the world of academia, taking on senior leadership roles within the University of Bedfordshire, alongside a number of Board Level roles including Chair of the London Regional Sports Board, a Government appointed Non-Executive Director of UK Anti-Doping, Non-Executive Director of British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS), and Chair of British Ski and Snowboard. Talking about plans for the future at St Mary’s, Prof Brewer said, “My focus for the immediate future is to develop our existing portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and to explore new opportunities for the School. It’s essential that we provide all of our students with an excellent experience in terms of teaching and learning, and it is crucial that we ensure our courses are fit for purpose and will make students as employable as possible when they leave. “This is a fantastic time to be part of this institution and I am delighted to be leading a team that will provide high calibre teaching and research for students.”