Dr Francesca d Andrea MSc PhD
Research fellow
- School of Sport and Physical Activity
- Sport and Physical Activity Research Centre
- Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre
- Health Research Institute
Summary
I am a Research Fellow in the Sports Engineering Research Group. My expertise is in biomechanics, in-field measurement of human movement and wearable technologies. I work on several research projects with the aim to improve athletes’ performance, reduce injury risk, and move biomechanical testing from the laboratory to the field both in sports and clinical settings using easy-to-use wearable systems.
About
I am a Research Fellow in the Sports Engineering Research Group (SERG). My expertise is in biomechanics, in-field measurement of human movement and wearable technologies.
After completing a MSc in Bioengineering at the Università degli Studi di Padova (Italy), I joined SERG at Sheffield Hallam University in 2017 to complete a PhD in collaboration with adidas to evaluate the effect of hybrid football surfaces on player movement.
Since completing my PhD, I worked on several research projects in biomechanics with the aim to improve athletes’ performance, reduce injury risk, and move biomechanical testing from the laboratory to the field both in sports and clinical settings. I work for national and international clients, GB teams and I collaborate with Sheffield Teaching Hospital.
In 2024 I held an Early Career Research Fellowship to develop in-field methods to analyse movement in young children and children with walking pathologies.
In addition to my research, I currently supervise two PhD students, and I lecture on a number of modules at Sheffield Hallam University. I am module leader in Applied measurement in sports engineering for MSc Sports Engineering.
Teaching
School of Sport and Physical Activity
College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences
Sports engineering; Biomechanics; In-field measurements; Wearable sensors; Children movement
MSc Sports Engineering
BSc Sport and Exercise Science
MSc Sports Engineering: Applied measurement in sports engineering; Human factors in sports engineering
BSc Sport and Exercise Science: Applied biomechanics of sport and exercise; Foundation of biomechanics in sport and exercise
Research
- Sport and Physical Activity Research Centre , Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre
- Health Research Institute
Current research focus:
Children movement research in collaboration with Sheffield Children Hospital
Publications:
d’Andrea F, Taylor P, Yang K and Heller B (2023). Can inertial measurement unit sensors evaluate foot kinematics in drop foot patients using functional electrical stimulation? Front. Hum. Neurosci. 17:1225086. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1225086
Francesca d'Andrea, Ben Heller, David James, Harald Koerger & Marcus Dunn (2019). Ground reaction force estimation in football using inertial measurement units during alternate lateral bounding, Footwear Science, 11:sup1, S77-S78, DOI:10.1080/19424280.2019.1606087
adidas AG; FIFA; Labosport; Lacoste; Babolat; GolfPride; Etexsense; Catapult; Sportable; Run3D; kiActiv; Hytro; Sheffield Children Hospital; British Cycling; GB Diving
Publications
Journal articles
D'Andrea, F., Taylor, P., Yang, K., & Heller, B. (2023). Can inertial measurement unit sensors evaluate foot kinematics in drop foot patients using functional electrical stimulation? Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 17. http://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1225086
Conference papers
d'Andrea, F., Heller, B., James, D., Koerger, H., & Dunn, M. (2019). Ground reaction force estimation in football using inertial measurement units during alternate lateral bounding. Footwear Science, 11 (sup1), S77-S78. http://doi.org/10.1080/19424280.2019.1606087
Postgraduate supervision
Doctoral researchers currently supervised:
Daniel Williams - Biomechanical Adaptations to Bicycle Set-up in Elite Athletes
Thomas Parry - Empowering Athletic Excellence: Transforming Sports Performance with Biomechanics and Technology