Sport Nutrition

About Asker JeukendrupMichael Gleeson

Asker Jeukendrup, PhD, is a visiting professor at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, the director of the Mysportscience performance consulting firm, and cofounder and co-CEO of CORE Nutrition Planning and of Neversecond. After obtaining his degrees at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, he spent a year at the University of Texas at Austin before accepting a position at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. At the University of Birmingham, he served for 12 years as the director of the Human Performance Laboratory, heading up the exercise metabolism research group. His research focused on the metabolic responses to exercise, the regulation of carbohydrate and fat metabolism during exercise, adaptations to training, and the influence of nutrition on metabolism and exercise nutrition. He is considered a leading expert in the areas of sport nutrition, training and overtraining, and recovery.

Jeukendrup received several awards for his achievements, including the Danone Chair at the University of Brussels in 2005. In 2011 he accepted a position as global senior director of exercise physiology at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, defining strategies for research, education, and sport science services for the largest sport nutrition company in the world. He is a registered sport and exercise nutritionist, having worked with many elite athletes and clubs, including the Rabobank, Lotto Soudal, and Lotto Jumbo professional cycling teams; Chelsea Football Club; FC Barcelona; FC Red Bull Salzburg; UK Athletics; the British Olympic Association; African runners; and several Olympic and world champions. He is currently nutrition performance manager for the Dutch Olympic Committee and head of performance nutrition for the Lotto Jumbo professional cycling team.

Jeukendrup has published extensively in sport nutrition. He is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the European College of Sport Science. In his leisure time, he enjoys running, cycling, and competing in triathlons. To date, he has completed 21 Ironman races, including 6 Ironman Hawaii competitions.

Michael Gleeson, PhD, is a professor emeritus of exercise biochemistry in the School of Sport, Exercise, and Health Sciences at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. Gleeson is considered a world authority on exercise biochemistry, immunology, and nutrition, and he has worked with numerous world-class athletes and professional football (soccer) clubs. He has taught sport nutrition at the university level. He has written several books, 30 book chapters, and over 250 scientific articles in scientific and medical journals, and he has coauthored textbooks on exercise metabolism, exercise immunology, and sport nutrition.

Gleeson has been both president and vice president of the International Society of Exercise and Immunology. He is a fellow of the European College of Sport Science and the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences. He is also a member of the American College of Sports Medicine and the Physiological Society.

Following his retirement in 2016, he turned his attention to how ordinary people can achieve optimal health and live healthier for longer. In 2020 he released a series of healthy lifestyle guidebooks about the benefits of being active and eating and sleeping well, advice about natural means to reverse type 2 diabetes without medication, and how to use multiple diets for effective and safe weight loss. Based on his extensive experience and love of football, and following his work as a coauthor of the UEFA expert group statement on nutrition in elite football, he authored a 2022 book on nutrition for top performance in football. He enjoys playing tennis, hill walking, and watching football and films.