Professor George Metsios
Professor Metsios is a Professor in Clinical Exercise Physiology in two Universities, the University of Wolverhampton, UK and the University of Thessaly, Greece.
He is a principal researcher in different randomized controlled trials at the Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the UK and at Erikkos Dinan Hospital, Greece. He is also an Honorary Researcher in Action Heart, the UK’s largest cardiac rehabilitation center.
His work primarily focuses in improving disease outcomes and quality of life via non-pharmaceutical interventions (i.e. physical activity) in patients with the most common diseases including Inflammatory Diseases, Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease.
He has been successful in securing competitive research grants both national (Medical Research Council) and international (Horizon 2020 and FP7). He has published more than 150 scientific articles, many of which in high impact factor journals and has won research awards, including best national project and best national publication.
His research work has a significant impact and has been used in revising guidelines for chronic disease from different policy makers, including the British Heart Foundation, the World Health Organization and the United Nations. Professor Metsios is an expert reviewer in several peer-reviewed journals and funding bodies and has published several invited articles in his area of expertise.
Panikos Panayiotou
Panikos is a dynamic leader and consultant with a deep-rooted passion for sustainable impact in the third sector. As CEO of his founding charity, LGK in the Community, and co-founder of HEAT CIC, Panikos brings a wealth of experience in building resilient, community-led programmes that deliver lasting results.
A trained clinical physiologist with a strong academic background—including degrees from Birmingham University and the University of Bedfordshire—Panikos has specialised in exercise physiology, with a research focus on exercise referral programmes and long-term adherence trends.
He has designed and delivered innovative community engagement models that harness the strengths of the third sector to promote sustainability, social cohesion, and local empowerment. His approach integrates the use of positive role models and passionate community advocates to spark real, grassroots change.
Panikos is also the architect of a holistic aftercare programme for gastric band patients, built on an evidence-based, multidisciplinary model of post-surgical support. In addition, he leads an international health exchange initiative, offering a wide spectrum of holistic services tailored to both clinical populations and health and fitness enthusiasts.
Whether developing scalable community strategies or advising on sustainable health interventions, Panikos brings a rare combination of clinical expertise, community insight, and strategic vision.
Dr Sally Fenton
Dr Ian Lahart
Dr Lahart is a Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology a committee member of HEAT and the course leader for BSc Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Wolverhampton.
Ian completed his PhD on physical activity and breast cancer in 2014. He has a number of publications in peer-reviewed journals with high impact factors in the area of exercise and chronic disease and has presented his work at a number of research conferences, including the British Association of Sport and Exercise Science, American College of Sports Medicine and Physiology Society annual conferences.
He is currently working on a Cochrane Collaboration Systematic Review on exercise and breast cancer. Through his role as a research fellow at Russells Hall hospital, Dudley, he works with cardiovascular disease, cancer and rheumatoid arthritis patients. He was involved in the setting up of and helps manage a MacMillan funded exercise-based cancer rehabilitation service in Action Heart, a cardiac rehabilitation centre in Russells Hall Hospital.
Ian provides exercise testing and sports science support to athletes, including runners, triathletes and cyclists, and has previously provided physiological testing for Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Walsall Town FC.
Dr Pantelis Kourtellaris
Nicholas Sozou Papadopoulos
Angela Kumah
Angela Kumah is a PhD researcher at the Birmingham City University. Her research aims at improving culturally sensitive mental health promotion among Black African and Afro-Caribbean communities in Birmingham. Employing a strength-based organizational development model called appreciative inquiry, she hopes to explore the subject of resilience within the Black community in relation to culture and mental health, in an attempt to encourage service user input in mental health service design and delivery. Before joining BCU, she lived in Swansea, Wales, where she completed her MSc in Abnormal and Clinical psychology.
During this time, she volunteered in a dementia care home and worked as a placement student in the palliative care ward of Morriston Hospital, Swansea.
As part of her GRTA/Assistant lecturer role, she supports various projects run by United Community Activity Network (UCAN) a Birmingham-based charity, within her capacity as a mental health professional. She also provides advice, online resources and deliver digital mental health and wellbeing related programmes. She also provides pro-bono talk therapy sessions to clients in her home country, Ghana, making use of online platforms to provide accessible mental health support.
Dr Basiru Gai
Basiru graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the International University of Africa. He then worked as a medical doctor at the Sudan Federal Ministry of Health for a period of one year. He then returned to the Gambia where he headed one of the medical wards in the country’s only teaching hospitals.
His key roles included the day-to-day clinical management of people living with HIV/AIDS and clinical management of patients admitted to the ward he was heading. He also helped in the personal development and capacity building of many of his junior staff.
He later joined Africmed Clinical Services where he rose from being one of the Medical Officers, to the Principal Medical Officer, and later became the clinic’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer. Over the decade, Basiru has successfully managed patients with complex medical conditions. He is very personate about health inequalities. He attained a Master of Science in Public Health from Birmingham City University, where he is currently a PhD researcher. His area of interest is on health promotion for black people.
Dr Ayaz Safi
Dr Ayaz Safi is a Lecturer and Co-Course Leader for MSc Sport and Exercise Nutrition at University of Westminster. Prior to this he was assistant lecturer at Birmingham City
University where he also completed his PhD focused on the impact of workplace physical activity interventions on university employees’ health, wellbeing, and behaviour change.
Ayaz has attained his BA in Sport studies and MA in sport and physical education from Newman University Birmingham. He also attained his PgCert in research practice and PgCerts in higher education including a fellowship in Higher education academy (HEA) from
Birmingham City University. Ayaz was head of the physical education department in a high school and sixth form college. Ayaz was also the founder/director of ‘Safi’s Sport & Fitness’, focused on promoting physical activity/exercise, nutrition, health, and wellbeing of BAME and underprivileged minority groups such as Muslim communities (e.g., Afghans). Ayaz also worked with the ‘Workers Educational Association (Tandursti) in which he designed curriculum and tailored exercise, nutrition, and behaviour change interventions for individuals with physiological and psychological health conditions.
Ayaz is the founder/director of ‘Anywhere Active’ an online platform focused on promoting health and wellbeing through sport, physical activity/exercise
and nutrition via social media reaching out to wider communities especially Afghans in the UK and across the world. Ayaz has an exceptional national and international media profile regularly appearing on various national and international TV/Radio channels. He has won various awards including the Birmingham City University ‘Researcher of the Year 2018/19 Extra Mile Awards as a ‘recognition of his excellent research contribution’ and the British Psychological Society annual conference 2019 for his excellent intervention focused on improving employees
physical activity and health. Ayaz has published more than 30 articles including scientifically peer reviewed, conferences, media channels and invited articles on his area of expertise. Dr. Ayaz is also an expert reviewer in peer reviewed journal.