Administration
Director of the STAPS Department : Damien VITIELLO
Unanimously elected by the board of management of the UFR STAPS, Damien VITIELLO officially took up his post as Director on May 23, 2023.
Contact : damien.vitiello@u-paris.fr
Prior to this election, he was recruited as a lecturer at the UFR STAPS of Paris in September 2015. He quickly demonstrated his commitment to collective efforts by becoming, in 2016, the Director of the STAPS Bachelor’s program, a role he carried out until 2022. Deeply invested in student training and success, he developed a student tutoring program within his UFR, which has been highly successful since 2016. Moreover, his dedication to collective engagement is further highlighted by the fact that he was the sole elected representative of his UFR within various bodies of the Faculté Sociétés et Humanités of Université Paris Cité between 2019 and 2023. He notably served on the academic council and the education committee.
Additionally, Damien VITIELLO is a specialist in exercise and training physiology, with a focus on cardiovascular (patho)physiology. He obtained his habilitation to direct research (HDR) in 2018, which has since allowed him to supervise or co-supervise nine PhD students within the Paris Institute of Sport and Health Sciences (I3SP – URP3625). As a researcher, he bridges the gap between human and animal studies, developing both clinical and fundamental research projects related to physical activity, training, and health. As a result, he has mastered various experimental techniques, including the study of cardiovascular function in animals (ex vivo, in vivo, and in vitro), as well as multiple functional assessments in humans (echocardiography, ECG, VO2 chain, muscle NIRS, etc.). He works with diverse populations, including individuals with heart failure, coronary artery disease, Marfan syndrome, obesity, athletes, adults, and children.
Finally, Damien VITIELLO is actively involved in science communication related to physical activity and health, both on social media and as an expert panelist for the PuMS television program, where he serves as a specialist in physical activity.
Energetic and deeply attentive to those around him, he is committed to restoring the prestige of the UFR STAPS of Paris.
Director’s Secretary
Stéphane HUMBERT
📧 stephane.humbert@u-paris.fr
📞 +33 1 76 53 34 02
Deputy Director in Charge of Undergraduate and Master’s Programs
Cécile Dubeau
Associate Professor of Physical Education. Deputy Director of Training. Currently responsible for the M1 MEEF program, the Primary Education and Motor Skills track, and the continuing education program preparing candidates for the PVP exam. She teaches the history of physical education, intervention in PE, and exam preparation (written and oral CAPEPS, written PVP, and oral PE section of the CRPE).
Deputy Director in Charge of Research
Pauline Maillot
Pauline Maillot is a Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Psychology at the Paris Institute of Sport and Health Sciences (URP 3625) within the UFR STAPS at Université Paris Cité. Her research focuses on the study of cognitive aging moderators through interventionist and experimental methodologies.
She is particularly interested in the benefits and transfer effects of cognitive and/or physical training in understanding the extent of behavioral plasticity via executive functions, processing speed, visuospatial functions, and memory. Her work aims to identify how the effects of regular Adapted Physical Activities (APA) and/or Exergames (“exercise” and “gaming”) can be reinvested in the daily lives of aging populations and/or individuals with disabilities. The use of virtual reality in her research protocols provides a privileged framework for studying behavioral modifications related to learning in aging, particularly in understanding the close relationship between cognition and posture, as well as cybersickness.
She is also responsible for the Bachelor’s degree in Adapted Physical Activities and Health, as well as the Master’s program in Adapted Physical Activities and Health, specializing in Aging, Disability: Movement and Adaptation.
Deputy Director in Charge of International Relations
Nicolas Besombes
Nicolas Besombes is a Senior Lecturer in the Sociology of Sport at the Paris Institute of Sport and Health Sciences (URP 3625) within the UFR STAPS at Université Paris Cité. His research for the past decade has focused on emerging digital sports practices, particularly esports.
His work primarily explores the sporting dimension and sustainability of esports, including institutionalization by traditional sports governance bodies, physicality and motor involvement, health prevention, performance optimization, diversity and inclusion, economic models, environmental impact, and Olympic and sports marketing strategies. He has authored over 20 scientific articles and delivered more than 100 presentations worldwide.
He is one of the founding members of the Association pour la Recherche et les Études Francophones sur l’Esport (AREFE) and the Esports Research Network (ERN), the leading academic organizations dedicated to structuring esports research in the Francophone world and internationally. He is also responsible for the first year of the Master’s in Adapted Physical Activities, Sport, Health, and Society (APA3S) and the first Inter-University Diploma in France dedicated to esports performance (DIU Esports Manager).
Additionally, he served as Vice President of France Esports from 2017 to 2021 and has been assisting public authorities (ministries and local governments) and the sports and Olympic movements (professional and amateur clubs, national and international federations, national and regional Olympic committees) in their understanding of the esports phenomenon.