Griffith University Olympic and Paralympic Experts

Tourism impact

Associate Professor Sarah Gardiner is the Deputy Director of the Griffith Institute for Tourism at Griffith Business School. Associate Professor Gardiner’s research interests include the effect of mega scale events on tourism trends and opportunities which exist for the tourism sector to leverage the benefits associated with major events particularly in south-east Queensland. Associate Professor Gardiner conducted major research into the effect of the 2018 Commonwealth Games on Queensland tourism.

Associate Professor Leonie Lockstone-Binney is Research Director at Griffith University’s Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management with her research expertise relating to volunteering, contextualised to event and tourism settings. Leonie has published over 90 peer-reviewed articles, many of these in top-tier journals. She has received competitive research funding from the Australian Research Council and the International Olympic Committee and continues to collaborate with leading researchers from Australia, the UK and New Zealand.

Mega event planning, management and community impact

Associate Professor Popi Sotiriadou is an expert in Olympic planning and delivery at Griffith Business School’s Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management. Popi has conducted research at the effects of the Sydney 2000 Olympics as well as the 2006 and 2018 Commonwealth Games on local communities, volunteers and athletes. Her academic experience is in managing sport development systems, sport policy, gender equity and leadership with a strong emphasis on the impact of sport events and programs.

Infrastructure and the "Green Games"

Dr Tony Matthews is an Urban and Environmental Planner in the School of Engineering and Built Environment. His research and practice interests include adapting cities to climate change impacts; the role and function of green infrastructure; sustainable and low carbon design; the interplay between built environments and human health; and achieving high quality urban design outcomes.

Mega event transport

Professor Matthew Burke is a national leader in transport research. He is published on the travel behaviour of sports patrons and on the travel demand management approaches needed for major events.  His team is currently undertaking research on new technologies in transportation, improved transport planning and modelling to estimate travel demands, and transportation for persons with a disability.

Sports diplomacy and regional development

Professor Caitlin Byrne has worked across a range of senior leadership role in government, industry and community with a focus on delivering change and reform. She is fundamentally interested in the ways that diplomacy and dialogue—from traditional tradecraft through to more innovative public diplomacy and people-to-people links shape the interactions of communities and nations across the Asia-Pacific region.

Women in sport, sport performance and sport in developing nations

Associate Professor Clare Minahan's interests are in the advancement of human performance with a key focus on the determinants of performance in female athletes. Clare’s research continues to influence a new generation of exercise and sport professionals to seriously consider the physiology unique to female athletes. Clare has applied her knowledge of female athletes to lead the development, implementation and delivery of ‘GAPS’; an inclusive sports pathway programme for emerging athletes in developing countries of the Pacific.

Dr Caroline Riot is an experienced and passionate researcher in High Performance Sport and Elite Athlete Development following work with the International Olympic Committee across 8 countries and 3 continents. Caroline is a highly engaged researcher in international high performance sport in developed and developing countries with a focus on elite athlete development, para-sport, and women's well-being through sport and physical activity.