The SENR Endorsement and Accreditation Committee is accountable to the SENR Board and has responsibility to develop and utilise a quality assurance framework to endorse or accredit education and training in sports and exercise nutrition.
Dr Andrea McNeilly (Committee Chair)
Andrea is subject lead for sport and exercise nutrition at Ulster University where she combines learning and teaching in sports nutrition with academic research in exercise physiology and applied sports nutrition. She is a first-class human nutrition graduate, subsequent to which, she completed a PhD in the area of exercise physiology examining the effects of physical activity and antioxidant supplementation.
Andrea continues to be actively involved in sports nutrition education within the wider sports nutrition profession and liaises with several governing bodies including the Irish Football Association with regards to sports nutrition education for coaches and those involved with supporting athletes in practice.
A senior fellow of the HEA, Andrea has a wealth of teaching experience having led the development of many programmes both nationally and internationally from undergraduate through to postgraduate level. She currently focuses her teaching on the MSc in Sport & Exercise Nutrition and in 2020 she launched the MSc programme she created in Hong Kong. Having led programme development within Ulster, Andrea is the lead for securing programme accreditation with SENR, which the MSc course at Ulster has held since 2015.
Andrea is current joint Vice-Chair of the SENR Board and has been an Academic Associate with the Register since 2016.
Dr James Bray
James is an Academic Associate with the SENR and works as a Lecturer in Sport Nutrition and Physiology at the University of Hull. James holds a PhD in Applied Exercise Physiology, with his thesis examining the neuromuscular and biochemical responses to spells (in differing lengths) of fast bowling in limited overs cricket.
James is also a Senior Fellow of the HEA, has a wealth of undergraduate teaching and postgraduate supervision experience. In the teaching domain, James looks to explore innovative ways that technology can be embedded in teaching, assessment(s) and feedback. James currently teaches across both sport science and sport nutrition programmes, at the University of Hull, where he works as the Programme Director for the BSc Sport & Exercise Nutrition, where he took the degree through SENR undergraduate endorsement in 2019.
Nigel Mitchell
Nigel has worked in clinical nutrition and elite sport for over 25 years, and is closely associated with cycling and endurance sports, having worked with World Tour Cyclists for over 15 years. He currently supports the triathlon legends Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, British Athletics, Olympic Sailing and the GB Cross Country Ski Team.
He also has extensive experience of other sports and performance environments. This includes supporting athletes at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
In 2009, he lead the nutrition strategy for the Team Sky professional cycling team, and in 2012 he provided nutritional support for the historical Bradley Wiggins Tour de France win and for British Cycling at the 2012 London Olympiad.
Nigel has written many articles focusing on nutrition and sport and has combined all of his years of cycling nutrition experience to author numerous cycling nutrition books, including “The Plant Based Cyclist’, and ‘The Cyclist Cookbook’.
Nigel recognises and values the contribution that innovation and research provides to sports nutrition and he is currently involved in partnerships with universities on academic and teaching projects. His academic work ranges from molecular biology to the behavioural sciences. He believes an individual’s nutritional needs should be provided through the diet and if required, supported by specialist nutritional products. He specialises in performance-focused diets to help people perform better.
James Stanbury
James is a lecturer in Sport and Exercise Nutrition and is the programme manager of the endorsed BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Nutrition course at Hartpury University. He holds practitioner registration with SENR and oversees the performance nutrition provisions within the Hartpury High Performance and Equestrian academies. Alongside these roles, James provides nutritional support for various athletes including equestrian riders, racing drivers and ski mountaineers via his consultancy work.
James completed his postgraduate degree in Sport and Exercise Nutrition at Leeds Beckett University in 2019, following the completion of his undergraduate degree in Sport and Exercise Nutrition at Hartpury University in 2018.
Dr Matthew Cole
Matt is an Academic Associate of the SENr and a Reader in Sport & Exercise Nutrition at Hartpury University, where he also holds a strategic leadership role as Head of Student Experience. He has extensive leadership and teaching experience in Sport & Exercise Nutrition, and in recent years he has validated brand-new curricula for both BSc (Hons) and MSc Sport & Exercise Nutrition degree programmes, both of which have successfully obtained SENr endorsement/accreditation.
Having previously held a variety of Head of Department and Course Leadership roles across several UK HEIs, Matt obtained Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2018. His teaching interests focus on all aspects of sport, exercise, and health nutrition.
From a research perspective, Matt completed his PhD in 2015 at the University of Kent, assessing the influence of different nutritional interventions on gross efficiency during endurance cycling. Since then, he has continued to publish across a broad range of topics and currently supervises several PhD students who are primarily based in professional team-sport settings.
Dr James Fleming
James Fleming is a Senior Lecturer in Nutrition at St Mary’s University, London, where he leads the MSc in Applied Sports Nutrition. A highly experienced educator, James has taught in both further and higher education in nutrition, sport science, and exercise physiology. As a Senior Fellow of the HEA, he is committed to advancing teaching excellence and mentoring the next generation of sports nutrition practitioners.
After completing his PhD on the nutritional demands of young tennis players, James has maintained a strong research focus on optimising nutrition for adolescent athletes.
Beyond academia, James is an experienced performance nutritionist, having worked as the lead Nutritionist for England RFU Women’s U20s and Harlequins Women RFC. He has also provided consultancy services for professional athletes across multiple sports, including rugby, football, tennis, and swimming. James is also an ISAK Level 3 Instructor Anthropometrist, delivering ISAK Level 1 and Level 2 courses within university programs and as external short courses, supporting practitioners in developing their skills in body composition assessment.