Aku completed his first degree in Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Bath, before attaining his master's degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Loughborough University. Through his academic journey, Aku developed a passion for mental health and physical activity which was supported by a placement working with adults living with severe mental illness. Alongside his passion for mental health and physical activity, Aku has a strong interest in youth development through sport and exercise. This passion reflects his own love for sport and his roles teaching and coaching in schools. Aku completed his PhD at Loughborough, conducting groundbreaking research into trauma-informed physical activity (TIPA) through a realist approach.
Aku now works as a research associate on projects with Professor Lauren Sherar and Dr Florence Kinnafick.
Aku’s research uses mostly qualitative methods to explore the lives of those with experiences of trauma and mental health difficulties. Through his PhD, Aku’s research predominately adopted the critical realist lens to understand the different contexts in which trauma occurs and the mechanisms necessary to ensure physical activity provisions for those affected by trauma are successful, but also appropriate. Through the critical realist lens and trauma-informed research, Aku strives to facilitate exercise spaces that are accessible and equitable for all, working in community settings and with charities to achieve these outcomes.
Aku has presented at a number of conferences, both nationally and internationally. As well as talking about and disseminating his own research, Aku has been invited to talk about the mental health of young men and boys at the Include Summit in 2023, shared spaces to discuss creating trauma-informed exercise spaces to fitness professionals at Elevate, and presented to the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2025. Also in 2025, Aku won the people’s choice for rapid communication at the Global Alliance for Mental Health and Sport (GAMeS) conference.
Featured publications
Makawa, A., Baldwin, E., Witcomb, G., Jarvis, H., & Kinnafick, F. (2025). Understanding trauma-informed physical activity in practice: A qualitative exploration. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 102942. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2025.102942