The Human Performance Summit, hosted by Fusion Sport, showcases speakers and panelists that include some of the world’s leading human performance experts from professional teams, sports institutes, military, and public safety organizations. Learn how state-of-the-art technology and data are being used in the real world to optimize performance, reduce injuries, speed recovery times, and foster overall physical, mental, and emotional wellness.
DR. DUNCAN FRENCH
VP of Performance I UFC Performance Institute
Globally recognized as a leading expert in high performance sport, Duncan has 24 years of experience working with elite professional and Olympic athletes. Presently, Duncan is the VP of Performance for the UFC Performance Institute, responsible for directing performance interfaces to 600+ UFC fighters globally, as well as managing the UFCPI facilitates in Las Vegas and Shanghai. Previous roles include Director of Performance Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, Technical Lead for S&C at the English Institute of Sport where he oversaw various sports for 3 Olympic Cycles and Head of S&C at Newcastle United FC in the English Premier League. As a researcher, Duncan has authored or co-authored over 60 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts and nine book chapters and is the coeditor for the new NSCA Essentials of Sport Science textbook. He was the chairman of the UK Strength & Conditioning Association from 2011-13 and received an Honorary Fellowship in 2014 for his services to the strength and conditioning industry.
CHIEF JOSH SMITH
Ret. Chief Master Sergeant & Pararescueman | United States Air Force
Joshua Smith has always approached challenges throughout his career with an out-of-the-box mindset. Josh retired as a Chief Master Sergeant after serving 28 years in the United States Air Force, where he was a Pararescueman for the entirety of his career. During tenure, he deployed over 25 times, stood up three squadrons, developed multiple courses, and played a crucial role in establishing the DOD’s first Human Performance Group and it’s supporting Squadrons. In his last 5 years with the Air Force his focus shifted to human performance, injury prevention and recovery, and saw him create an innovative 9-week program which adjusts training based on live physiological monitoring. The solutions saw a reduction of injuries by 31% and increased production by 22% within the first year, and now sees 1200 candidates a year. As President of Human Optimization Solutions, his tenacity and passion for his work continues to aid organizations and individuals through identifying and developing results utilizing commercial off-the-shelf technology, databases, and machine learning.
HOLLY FRANTZ
Director of Strength & Conditioning for Olympic Sports | University of Maryland
Holly Frantz is in her fourth year as the Director of Strength & Conditioning for Olympic Sports. Her responsibilities include the oversight of 16 Olympic Sports and 5 full-time staff members. Frantz also works directly with the Women’s Lacrosse and Softball teams and is in charge of all aspects of their performance training.
While at BG, Frantz was a four-year letter winner and captain for the Falcons’ Softball team. Frantz is certified through the following organizations: National Strength & Conditioning Association, Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, USA Weightlifting, Titleist Performance Institute and Functional Movement Systems.
DR. JOHN P. WAGLE
Director Performance Science / Player Development | Kansas City Royals
Dr. John P. Wagle is the Director, Performance Science / Player Development for the Kansas City Royals. During the 2019 season, he served as the Minor League Strength & Conditioning Coordinator. Before joining the Royals, he provided support in strength and conditioning and sport science to university and U.S Olympic Training Site athletes while a doctoral fellow in the Sport Physiology & Performance program at East Tennessee State University. Prior to the opportunity to join ETSU, Wagle was the Director of Sports Performance at DePaul University, overseeing all aspects of the department while working with men’s basketball, women’s softball, and men’s tennis. Wagle received his M.S. in exercise science from Western Illinois University and completed his undergraduate work at Augustana College (IL), majoring in physics and business management. He also holds two graduate degrees in business administration from Loyola University (MBA) and North Park University (MNA).
JOSH HAGEN
Director Human Performance Collaborative. Asst Research Professor, Dept. of Integrated Systems Engineering | Ohio State University
Josh Hagen received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 2000, M.S./Ph.D in Materials Science and Engineering in 2004/2006 all from the University of Cincinnati. Josh executed his graduate research in bioelectronics at the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at Air Force Research Labs, and shortly after joined the 711th Human Performance Wing where he began his current research thrust in Human Performance Monitoring and Augmentation. At the 711th, Josh started and led the STRONG Team and focused on measuring physiology utilizing wearable sensors and blood biomarkers, developed novel architectures for correlating, modeling, and visualizing the data, all with the end goal to optimize performance in elite military and athletics populations. In 2018, Josh became the Director of the Human Performance Innovation Center at the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia University, as well as Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience. Here he leads a multidisciplinary team focused on optimizing the performance of military, athletics, and clinical patient populations.
GEORGIA GIBLIN
Director of Performance Science | Detroit Tigers
Georgia was hired as the Detroit Tigers first Director of Performance Science in 2019. She is responsible for researching, planning and implementing performance science initiatives across the organization, playing a key role in the use of technology and data in connection with player development. Prior to joining the Tigers, Georgia completed a post-doctoral fellowship with the University of Michigan. Georgia completed her PhD at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia in partnership with Tennis Australia before spending 4 years working with athletes across a variety of Olympic sports as a Biomechanist at the well renowned Queensland Academy of Sport. Georgia has authored or co-authored 21 peer reviewed scientific publications and is regularly sought out for interviews, articles and podcasts for her insights and expertise.
LAUREN GREEN
Director of Athletic Performance – Men’s Basketball | Louisiana State University
Lauren Green joined Louisiana State University in early fall of 2021 as the Director of Athletic Performance for the Men’s Basketball team. Overseeing all facets of athletic performance: Strength, Speed, Fitness, Agility, and Sports Science initiatives. He previously worked with the University of California San Diego Intercollegiate Athletics Department. Green came to La Jolla from the East Coast, where he worked as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Brooklyn Nets. Prior to working with the Nets, Green spent a little under three years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He served as a Strength and Conditioning Coach in the organization before transitioning to the Latin American Strength and Conditioning Coordinator. Green earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education Teaching and Coaching from St. Cloud State University. Following his time there, Green earned his Master’s Degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science from Concordia University Chicago.
LEA THOMANN
Senior Manager of Sport Medicine | US Soccer
As the Senior Manager of Sports Medicine at U.S. Soccer, Lea brings impressive skills in both on and off field delivery and management of medical services. Lea’s responsibilities encompass management and mentoring of a large network of multi-disciplinary medical providers as well as collaboration with external consultant medical staff to the Federation. Prior to her role with U.S. Soccer, Lea served as Director of the Athletic Training Program and instructed in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at San Diego State University.
ANDY GUARD
Sport Scientist | US Soccer
Andy has undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Sports Science from Durham and Hull Universities as well as a PhD from Glasgow University. Andy worked as a sports scientist at Celtic Football Club in Scotland for 5 years, mainly working across development and first team squads before moving to Doha, Qatar as a football physiologist at Aspire Academy. He has worked for USSF for 6 years, beginning as an applied sports scientist for the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) as well as women’s senior and youth national teams. He then transitioned to be sports scientist for U20 men’s national team, U23 men’s Olympic team and recently supporting the senior MNT staff.
ADAM STRANG
Human Performance Research Scientist | Air Force Research Laboratory
Adam is the director of AFRL’s STRONG (Signature Tracking for Optimized Nutrition and Training) laboratory. The STRONG lab is a state-of-the art exercise and cognitive science research facility that develops and transitions human performance technologies (e.g., biophysiological sensors, nutritional supplements, mobile software apps., physical & cognitive training curriculums, etc.) to military training and operational units.
In addition to being lab director, Adam is a certified and licensed Athletic Trainer with clinical experience in injury prevention, management and rehabilitation. Adam has authored more than 75 peer reviewed research articles and presentations and his research interests include psychophysiological assessment techniques (e.g., ECG, Kinematics, etc.), periodized physical and cognitive training interventions, neurocognitive testing, physical/cognitive performance assessment and time-series forecasting.
COL. KEVIN A. BIGELMAN
Army Officer | US Army
Colonel Kevin A. Bigelman is a 1993 graduate of the United States Military Academy and was commissioned in the Field Artillery. His military education includes the Field Artillery Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Combined Arms and Services Staff School, Master Fitness Trainer Course, Joint Firepower Control Course, Light Fire Support Officer’s Course, Jumpmaster Course, Ranger School, Air Assault School, Mountain Warfare School, and the US Army Command and General Staff College. His civilian education includes a PhD in exercise physiology from the University of Georgia and a MS from Indiana University in Applied Sport Science. Colonel Bigelman has served in variety of Army assignments in the United States and overseas. Since August 2019, he has served as the Director for the Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) System at the US Army Training and Doctrine Command’s Center for Initial Military Training, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA.
DR. PINATA H. SESSOMS
Deputy Dept. Head Warfighter Perf. Dept. and Operational Readiness Directorate | NHRC
Pinata Sessoms, PhD, serves as the Deputy Department Head of the Warfighter Performance Department and Operational Readiness Directorate at the Naval Health Research Center. She also is the lead biomedical engineer and biomechanist, and Director of the Physical and Cognitive Operational Research Environment (PhyCORE) Laboratory. She has extensive research experience in the area of biomechanics and virtual reality, both in the area of rehabilitation and for injury prevention and performance research. As an adjunct professor at San Diego State University in the Department of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, she promotes the use of human movement technology for use in sports, military, and patient populations. Dr. Sessoms received a B.S.E. degree, cum laude, in biomedical engineering from Duke University. She earned her masters and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University.
JOSEPH DULLA
Interim Associate Dean of Fire Technology | Santa Ana College
Joseph Dulla, TSAC-F, is the Interim Associate Dean of Fire Technology at Santa Ana College where he is responsible for pre-academy fire technology courses, the Basic Fire Academy, Fire Officer/Fire Prevention course, and the SAC Fit Wellness program. The SAC Fit program provides physiological testing, fitness assessments, and wellness courses to over 30 fire and law enforcement agencies across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties. He is currently enrolled as a PhD student in the Tactical Research Unit at Bond University. Joseph served as a first responder for over 39 years in Emergency Medical Technician, lifeguard, mountain rescue, and law enforcement roles. He recently retired after 31+ years of service for Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. His last assignment was the Recruit Training Unit Lieutenant responsible for supervision, training management, and injury reduction for over 1,000 Deputy Sheriff and 200 Custody Assistant recruits annually.
FERNANDO MONTES
Exercise Physiologist | Los Angeles County Fire Department
Fernando is the Exercise physiologist for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, where he provides subject matter expertise to the department in the areas of: Human performance optimization initiative, Medical screening for firefighters, Physical development for recruit training, Wildland academy cadre, P.E.E.R. support program, Strategic planning in the human performance domain, Injury prevention, Return to work / rehabilitation of firefighters, Firefighter rehab. Prior to joining the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Fernando worked as a military contractor with the Naval Special Warfare: Supporting physiological and performance enhance programs during unit culmination exercises (CULEX). Fernando also worked as a military contractor with the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Human performance specialist in the THOR3 program, which is part of SOCOM’s preservation of the force and family initiative with the 10th Special Forces Group, Fort Carson CO.
JOSEPH PATTERSON
Soldier Performance Strategist | Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center
Mr. Joseph Patterson is a Soldier Performance Strategist at the Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center. Joe began his career in the Army as an airborne infantryman serving in various unit and leadership positions. His enlisted time was extremely diverse from a long range surveillance detachment in Korea to the 82nd Airborne Division at FT Bragg and lastly the Soldier Center where he was an operational advisor supporting the science and technology (S&T) enterprise on the relevancy of developmental Soldier borne equipment. After completing his service to his country, Joe became a DoD employee at the Soldier Center with roles supporting strategic, operational and tactical level initiatives. Highlight include S&T lead for assessing camouflage operationally in Afghanistan to being a thought leader for a holistic Soldier Performance. In the performance domain his notable assignments include: The Soldier Performance Center Initiative, Soldier System Engineering Architecture and DoD flagship program – Measuring and Advancing Soldier Tactical Readiness and Effectiveness (MASTR-E). He currently runs two projects within MASTR-E called Optimizing the Human Weapon System (OHWS) and Tactical Stress Marksmanship Assessment (TSMA) both focus on understanding tactical demands on Soldier physiology, decision making and wellness. OHWS was developed in concert with Medical Research Development Command to understand performance, presymptomatic illness and feasibility of commercial office the shelf technologies ability to integrate into an Infantry Battalion. TSMA is an interagency supported research effort to understand the intersection of cognitive and physical demand while conducting action on objective against relevant threats.
KRIS ROSS
Faculty Coordinator Wellness- Fire Technology | Santa Ana College
Kris Ross MA, CSCS, has worked at Santa Ana College (SAC) with the Fire Technology program for 26 years. She is currently the faculty/coordinator for the SACFIT Public Safety Wellness Program. The SAC Fire Technology Program provides training, education, and certifications for aspiring and incumbent fire and emergency service professionals. The SACFIT Wellness Program partners with more than 30 fire departments in the Southern California area and currently services more than 4,000 students. The program focuses on improving the fitness and wellness of potential and incumbent firefighters. Over the last 30 years, they’ve collected health, fitness, and wellness data using standardized assessments for Body Fat, Flexibility, Muscular Strength and Endurance, Pulmonary Function and Cardiorespiratory Fitness. SAC Fire Tech also administers the Biddle Physical Ability Test (PAT) and is home to one of oldest community college Fire Academies in the state. Previous experience includes corporate wellness, personal training and coaching/strength and conditioning at the high school and college level. Kris Ross earned her Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Arts degree in Physical Education (Kinesiology) from California State University of Long Beach.
GILLIAN BOWER
Director of High Performance | U.S. Ski & Snowboard
Gillian is a Canadian trained Physiotherapist with 20 years of experience in integrated Sports Medicine and Performance practice and leadership. After traveling with the U.S. Snowboard Teams for 8 years through 2 Olympic Games, she now leads the U.S. Ski & Snowboard High Performance Department at the USANA U.S. Ski & Snowboard Center of Excellence in Park City, UT. Gillian’s clinical focus is high-performance rehabilitation and reconditioning of national team ski and snowboard athletes, development and innovation of world-leading Return-to-Performance systems, and integrated coach-therapist education. As the director of High Performance she drives the innovation and integration of Sports Medicine, Athletic Development, Sports Science, Nutrition, Sports Psychology & Mental Health, Technology, Innovation and Data Science throughout the U.S. Ski & Snowboard system.
DR. MARKUS DEUTSCH
Chief Executive Officer, Co- Founder | Fusion Sport
Markus holds a PhD in Exercise Physiology and has 25 years of experience in the areas of sport science, strength and conditioning, academia and business development working with many of the world’s leading industry professionals and scientists in sport and the military. Following the completion of his PhD studies Markus consulted for a range of high-performance sporting teams such as the New Zealand All Blacks and Chelsea Football Club, and in 2003 co-founded Fusion Sport to continue to build on his passion for driving human performance. In his role as CEO, Markus manages the overall direction of Fusion Sport’s human performance framework and maintains a lead role in a number of larger Smartabase clients such as the Australian Institute of Sport, Netherlands Olympic Committee, Canadian Sports Institute, US Soccer, US Special Operations Command and numerous other key clients.
DR. MARCUS COLBY
Senior Sports Scientist | Fusion Sport
Marcus is a University of Western Australia graduate with degrees in Exercise and Health Science, and a PhD investigating injury risk modelling in Australian Football. He has over 5 years of practical experience working in a sports science role with the West Coast Eagles (AFL), has lectured at the University of Western Australia, and won awards for his research contributions. As a Senior Consultant, Marcus has extensive experience implementing Smartabase in various departments and levels of the NBA, NHL, AFL, Australian and US Military and plays a role in the innovation and development of our platform.