Professor Graeme L. Close is Professor of Human Physiology at Liverpool John Moores University and Head of the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences. He is also the Technical Lead for Nutrition to England Rugby, Head of Performance Nutrition for the DP World Tour Golf, and was the lead nutritionist to The 2025 British and Irish Lions. Professor Close has extensive experience working in elite sport across football, rugby, golf and Olympic sport, with a particular focus on translating laboratory-based research into applied practice. His research and consultancy work has contributed to international consensus statements and best-practice guidelines in sports nutrition, supplement safety and anti-doping risk management. He is widely recognised for developing the “food first but not always food only” framework, which supports evidence-based, pragmatic and risk-managed decision making in athlete nutrition. His work bridges academia, clinical governance and real-world high-performance environments.
