Martine Verheul

Martine Verheul is a Senior Lecturer in Skill Acquisition & Motor Control at the Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh. She leads the Human Performance Science Research Group and is affiliated with the Institute for Sport, Physical Education & Health Sciences (ISPEHS) and the Perception Movement Action Research Centre. Her expertise spans adapted physical activity, disability sport, and motor control in special populations.

Dr. Verheul holds a PhD in Neuropsychology from the University of Groningen and has conducted post-doctoral research at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her teaching spans undergraduate and postgraduate levels, focusing on motor control, motor learning, and skill acquisition in Sport Science and Physical Education programs. She supervises PhD students in adapted physical activity and disability sport.

Her research emphasizes para sport (e.g., frame running), motor control in neurological conditions (cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s, stroke), and motor development. Notable projects include:

• Developing frame running classification systems for World Para Athletics
• Evaluating swimming interventions for children with cerebral palsy
• Analyzing impairment-performance relationships in athletes with neurological impairments

Her work prioritizes accessibility and psychosocial benefits of sport for marginalized populations. She collaborates with institutions like Queen Margaret University on classification systems and health equity initiatives.