Share this page:

Dr Rachel Wray

Senior Lecturer (Sport and Exercise Science)

School of Psychology and Life Sciences

I am a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science

I am a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science with Significant Responsibility for Independent Research (SRIR) status. I am also the Temporary Learning Agreement (TLA) Lead for Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Science.

I was awarded my PhD in 2017 from the University of Lincoln, and joined CCCU in 2019. I have been a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science for 3 years. Often framed by qualitative approaches my research focuses upon studies of health and wellbeing, society, ageing, identity, gender, physical activity and embodied experiences.

I have previously worked at Community Lincs as a Learning and Evaluation Officer and directed the programme evaluation for Talk, Eat and Drink (TED) Ageing Better in East Lindsey. In 2017, I was a Qualitative Research Fellow at the Centre for Ageing and Rehabilitation, Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Royal Infirmary, University of Leeds.

I currently teach across all SERS courses from Foundation through to MSc. I have supervisory status for MSc and PhD projects. The modules that I lead include: Working with Special Populations (MSc), Identities and Lifestyles in Sport, Exercise and Health (L5), and Psychological and Sociological Aspects of Sport and Exercise (L0). I also teach Sociology and qualitative research lectures/seminars across other modules in the programme. My other responsibilities include marking, personal academic tutoring, and TLA Lead for student support.   

I have a number of published research outputs in world leading journals, and present research findings at national and internationally conferences. My current research projects include: Safeguarding Student Athletes; Retired Elite Athletes’ Reflections on Safeguarding in Sport; Athlete Experiences of Moral and Educational Anti-doping Interventions; Older Adults and COVID-19; and Veteran CrossFit Communities.

Research Projects

  • How do we best protect athletes from harassment and abuse? Retired elite athletes’ reflections on safeguarding in sport. The case of Malaysia.. Researcher(s): Ms Li Peng Ang. Supervisor(s): Dr Rachel Wray, Dr Dikaia Chatziefstathiou. [Postgraduate Research Project]

Reviewer for world leading sociology and qualitative research journals.