Understanding culture. Enhancing cultural intelligence. Strengthening performance.

Biographies

Dr Cherianne Taim

Dr Cherianne Taim is a Sport Physiologist at the High Performance Sport Institute in Singapore. She holds a PhD in Female Exercise Physiology from Technological University of the Shannon (Ireland) and a BSc (Hons) in Sport Science and Management from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). Her research focuses on advancing female athlete-specific health and performance, with a particular interest in the interplay between the menstrual cycle and athlete health, wellbeing, and performance. Cherianne has worked with high performance organisations such as Sport Ireland Institute, London City Lionesses and FIFA. As a Singaporean Chinese woman who has lived in Singapore’s multi-ethnic and multicultural society for most of her life and pursued her PhD and early career in Europe, she is particularly attuned to cultural differences and advocates for building a culturally relevant evidence base to better support athletes in diverse contexts. She is committed, through her research, to strengthening the representation of Asian women in the sport science literature, particularly across female health domains.

Maria Luz Poblete Baldrick

Maria Luz “Lucita” Poblete is a Chilean sports scientist, former professional triathlete, and founder of Woman Performance, an educational platform dedicated to advancing evidence-based knowledge on female athlete physiology and performance. As a professional triathlete, Lucita competed internationally, living and training in Chile, the United States, and later Australia. Throughout her career, she experienced recurring injuries and health challenges that sparked a deeper interest in women’s health and performance. It was during her time competing in Australia that she was first exposed to research on female physiology and the menstrual cycle, a topic she had never encountered in her earlier athletic development. This discovery reshaped her professional path. Motivated to better understand the science behind women’s performance, she began studying sport science in Australia, ultimately directing her academic career toward research focused on female athletes. Alongside her studies, she founded Woman Performance to translate scientific evidence into accessible education for women across Latin America. The platform has since grown into an international space connecting research, culture, and practice in women’s sport through educational initiatives and collaborations across Latin America, Spain, and Australia. Lucita holds a Master of Applied Sport Science from Deakin University, where she conducted research on the impact of the menstrual cycle in female endurance athletes. She is now commencing her PhD, continuing to investigate how menstrual cycle phases and associated symptoms influence performance and training quality. As both a former elite athlete and researcher, Lucita integrates lived experience with academic rigor, bridging research and practice while advocating for greater inclusion of female-specific physiology in sport science globally.

Libby Cooke-Black

Libby Cook-Black is a proud Zenadth Kes woman from Erub Island in the Torres Strait, a former elite athlete, and the founder of The Female Co, Female First and recent NRL Player Agent with Moxie Sports Management. Her work sits at the intersection of sport, leadership, and empowerment, using lived experience as a framework to create opportunities for women and girls from regional and remote communities. A former Australian Rugby League Jillaroo, Queensland Maroon, Indigenous All Star, and Queensland Rugby 7’s representative, Libby understands firsthand the discipline, resilience, and identity required to pursue high performance environments. Through The Female Co, Libby delivers high performance and empowerment programs for young women, particularly First Nations athletes, combining sport with education, leadership, and social-emotional development. Through Female First, she works with athletes transitioning out of their sporting careers, supporting identity, direction, and long-term career pathways.