The University of Utah and Université Côte d’Azur are pleased to announce the first four mobility grants awarded as part of the Winter Olympics Sustainability Research Alliance.
Congratulations to the following research groups:
Winter Olympics Skiing Health & ACL injury Prevention & Evaluation (SHAPE) Initiative
By combining expertise in sports medicine, biomechanics, and rehabilitation, SHAPE aims to reduce ACL injury rates and improve recovery outcomes for elite athletes.
University of Utah faculty
Stephan Bodkin, Peter Fino
UniCA faculty
Enzo Piponnier, Bastien Bontemps, Stéphanie Meriaux
Environmental Management for Mitigating Emissions through More effective Allocation of water (EMMA)
Studying local water governance systems can help adapt to climate variability. The EMMA team will assess governance strengths and challenges to improve water resource management in advance of the 2030 and 2034 Olympic Games.
University of Utah faculty
Libby Blanchard, Bill Johnson, John Horel
UniCA faculty
Isabelle La Jeunesse, Paulo Moura, Damienne Provitolo, Nicolas Viaux, Morgan Abily
Sports Nutrition and Olympic Wellness: Immuno-Metabolic and Environmental Risk Assessment (The SNOW Project)
The SNOW project focuses on evaluating environmental risks, particularly contaminants in food and water as they relate to the unique dietary needs of elite athletes.
University of Utah faculty
Sihem Boudina
UniCA faculty
Anne-Sophie Rousseau, Isabelle Satney, Franck Delaunay, Valérie Bougault, Irène Margaritis
Air quality at winter sports venues: Impact on the health of athletes and spectators
This project examines how air quality affects athletes and spectators at winter sports events. While some air quality research exists for summer sports, there is little on its impact in winter sports or on spectators. This project aims to fill this gap and improve air quality interventions to protect health at future Games.
UofU faculty
Stuart Willick, Daniel Mendoza, Masa Teramoto, Brett Toresdahl
UniCA faculty
Gregory Blain, Valerie Bougault, Stephane Bermon, Frederic Garrandes
To encourage the development of these projects, researchers will receive $10,000 mobility grants to support the planning of one or several scientific meetings in Nice (France) or in Salt Lake City (Utah, USA). Grants are funded by the Office for Global Engagement, the Office of the Vice President for Research, and the Initiative of Excellence (IdEx) of Université Côte d’Azur.
In July 2024, during the Paris Olympics, IOC officials announced the selection of site for the upcoming 2030 and 2034 Winter Olympics. This announcement, proclaiming the French Alps and Nice for 2030 and Salt Lake City for 2034, sparked the concept for a long-term research collaboration between the University of Utah and the Université Côte d’Azur (UniCA) on issues around sustainable winter Olympic games.
This initial funding program highlights both institutions’ commitment to ground-breaking innovation and impactful science-based actions to address societal challenges and support economic development. Funders anticipate research outcomes to inform best practices regarding policy for environmental and biodiversity protection, and the well-being of the athletes and communities engaged in the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Team members will prepare short presentations of each research project to deliver to the President of the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur Region, Renaud Muselier, and the Governor of Utah, Spencer J. Cox, in Utah between April 17th-19th, 2025. More details about these presentations will be announced as the date nears.