Toni Williams

Toni Williams joined Durham University's Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences in January 2022 from Leeds Beckett University, having previously held a Glendonbrook Doctoral Research Fellowship at Loughborough University.

Her research addresses inequalities in physical activity among Disabled people. She currently leads a transdisciplinary research project with Disability Rights UK investigating the Activity Trap: Disabled people's fear of losing welfare benefits if they become physically active. Toni is also a Co-Investigator on the award-winning, co-produced Moving Social Care project, which supports social care professionals in adopting an intersectional approach to discussing and promoting physical activity with Disabled people.

Toni is internationally recognised for her work in qualitative research methods and methodologies. She explores innovative and integrated approaches, including co-production and story completion methods, to advance conceptual understanding within sport and exercise research and to develop more engaging and inclusive research practices. She is Co-Founder and current President of the International Society of Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise (QRSE) and serves on the Editorial Review Board of the International Journal of Qualitative Methods. She also delivers qualitative research training and workshops at national and international events and conferences, supporting researchers across a range of disciplines.

Her funded research has been published in leading international journals, including Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, Psychology of Sport and Exercise, and Disability and Health Journal. She has also contributed chapters to several influential texts, including The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research in Sport and Physical Culture (2025), Reimagining the Gendering of Sport (2025), and Narrative Story Stem Methodologies: Research Approaches Across the Lifespan (2025).