Olasunkanmi Adegoke
Research Interests:
Protein metabolism in health and disease. Emphasis is on the ubiquitin proteasome degradation system in skeletal muscle, and its activity and expression during nutritional and hormonal states of muscle wasting.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
oadegoke@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 20887 | 362 Norman Bethune College, 170 Campus Walk
Ali Abdul-Sater
Research Interests:
Physical activity and exercise, and the function/physiology of the immune system, with focus on upper respiratory infections (URTI). Major research goals are:
- Investigating the molecular mechanisms through which different exercise regimens regulate the immune response.
- Identifying novel regulators of inflammation and how they are modulated by physical activity.
- Examining the role of exercise on the immune response during chronic infection models.
Contact:
aasater@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 77226 | 341 Norman Bethune College, 170 Campus Walk (Mailing Address) | Chemistry Building Room 144 (Office Location)
Peter Backx
Research Interests:
Heart disease with an emphasis on cardiac arrhythmias. Our studies are designed to uncover the underlying molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways involved in the initiation and progression of heart disease, with a particular interest in atrial fibrillation. We use a variety of experimental techniques including patch-clamp, cardiac mechanics of isolated cells, muscle strips and hearts, in vivo cardiovascular assessment using echocardiography and fluorescence imagining, RNAseq-based bioinformatics and other molecular tools. Our studies rely extensively on mouse models of disease and exercise (swim, threadmill and free wheel) and routinely involve the use of genetically modified mice. We also work closely with biomedical engineers in developing human tissues from pluripotent stem cells, with an emphasis on modeling human disease. The laboratory currently consists of 3 Master’s students, 1 PhD student, 1 postdoctoral fellow, 2 research associates and a technician.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
pbackx@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 33858 | 135A Farquharson Building, 110 Campus Walk
Angelo Belcastro
Research Interests:
Muscle injury and damage in health and disease. With particular reference to calcium-induced protein degradation processes (calpain-calpastatin targeted substrates) in skeletal muscle during periods of increased/decreased contractile activity.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
anbelcas@yorku.ca | ext. 21088 | 333B Norman Bethune College, 170 Campus Walk
Olivier Birot
Research Interests:
Research in muscle angio-adaptation in response to physiological (exercise, physical inactivity, altitude) and pathological (diabetes, peripheral arterial disease) conditions; Molecular mechanisms involved either in regression or growth (angiogenesis) of capillaries in skeletal and cardiac muscles.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
birot@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 44043 | 353 Norman Bethune College, 170 Campus Walk
Arthur Cheng
Research Interests:
Investigating the cellular mechanisms of skeletal muscle weakness, fatigue, and post-exercise recovery. Our lab utilizes translational research approaches that scale from the single muscle fibre level up to the whole human level, with a unique ability to delineate how each step of excitation-contraction coupling in intact living single muscle fibres contributes to altered contractile force generation in healthy, aged, and diseased states. An overarching aim of our lab is knowledge translation: to utilize our knowledge base and specialized techniques toward identifying effective pharmacological, nutritional, or exercise interventions to improve skeletal muscle strength and fatigue resistance in healthy, aged and diseased populations.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
ajcheng@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext.30030 |341 Norman Bethune College (Mailing Address) | 351 Farquharson Building (Office Location)
Rolando Ceddia
Research Interests:
The physiological and molecular mechanisms that regulate glucose and fatty acid uptake and metabolism in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. The major focus is on dysfunctional metabolic alterations associated with obesity and Type 2 Diabetes.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
roceddia@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 77204 | 225A Lumbers Building, 115 Ottawa Road
Michael Connor
Research Interests:
The role of the cell cycle in muscle development and breast cancer;
- investigating the signalling mechanisms determining how dividing muscle cells becomes fully differentiated skeletal muscle;
- characterization of novel proteins elevated in breast cancer.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
mconnor@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 77206 | 224 Lumbers Building, 115 Ottawa Road
Janessa Drake
Research Interests:
Understanding the acute and time varying responses and neuromuscular control of the spine and the possible associated injury mechanisms; biomechanical evaluation of exercise and industrial exposures; effects of modifying factors including sex, age, fatigue, and fitness level.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
jdrake@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 33568 | 2030 Sherman Health Science Resear
Heather Edgell
Research Interests:
Research in autonomic, cardiovascular, and respiratory responses to physiological stressors and understanding the mechanisms behind and developing treatments for orthostatic hypotension (OH), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
edgell@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 22927 | 355 Norman Bethune College, 170 Campus Walk
William Gage
Research Interests:
Research in neuromuscular control of posture, balance, and gait; influence of pathology, such as osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and stroke on muscle activation characteristics as related to joint stability and control of movement.
Contact:
whgage@yorku.ca | Website | (416) 736-2100 ext. 33027 | 2022 Sherman Health Science Research Centre
Sherry Grace
Research Interests:
On optimizing post-acute cardiovascular care globally, as well as patient outcomes (including mental health). She has published ~260 papers which have been cited ~11,500 times (h-index=56), and authored clinical practice guidelines internationally. She led the development of the Canadian quality indicators for cardiac rehabilitation, as well as policy positions on systematic referral and utilization promotion. She has held ~55 grants and contracts to support this research.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
sgrace@yorku.ca | 416 736 2100 Ext. 22364| 368 BC
Keele Campus
Tara Haas
Research Interests:
Blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) in skeletal muscle; biochemical, cellular and molecular biological approaches are used to study the stimuli and signalling pathways that cause endothelial cells to initiate angiogenesis as a result of exercise or disease.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
thaas@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 77313 | 341 Farquharson Building, 110 Campus Walk
Mazen Hamadeh
Research Interests:
Animal studies: Effect of caloric restriction, functional foods and antioxidants on the oxidative status, clinical onset, disease progression and life span in the G93A mouse, an animal model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Human studies: Protein metabolism, glucose turnover and substrate oxidation in humans during endurance exercise re: gender differences, diabetes and aging.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
hamadeh@yorku.ca | Website | (416) 736-2100 ext. 33552 | Norman Bethune College, 170 Campus Walk
David Hood
- Professor and Canada Research Chair
- Muscle Health Research Centre, founding Director
Research Interests:
Research in skeletal muscle and heart biochemistry and molecular biology; mitochondrial adaptations in muscle subject to exercise, including mechanisms of mitochondrial protein import, nuclear gene expression and apoptosis; muscle adaptations to thyroid hormone.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
dhood@yorku.ca | Website | (416) 736-2100 ext. 66640 | 302 Farquharson Building, 110 Campus Walk
Loriann Hynes
Research Interests:
Musculoskeletal factors that can influence cerebral blood flow. The sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCMM) in the neck muscle lies anterior to the carotid sheath, housing the Common Carotid Artery as it ascends the neck and branches into the Internal Carotid Artery (ICA) which supplies roughly 3/5 of the brain’s total blood supply. The Internal Jugular Vein also lies within the sheath, which is a major vessel for blood return from the head. Very little is known about the relationship between the SCMM and the contents of the carotid sheath in both healthy and injured/diseased populations. The goal of this research program is to better understand the general anatomical and physiological differences between the sexes, ethnicities and levels of activity across the lifespan that can influence blood supply to the brain. This insight can be used to help identify how these factors play a role in the diversity of our population which can assist in our understanding and well-being of Canadians in the long term, as well as interpret the source of prolonged concussion symptoms and to monitor patient recovery.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
lhynes@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 22734 | 326 Stong College, 165 Campus Walk
Andrea Josse
Research Interests:
Clinical nutrition and exercise physiology in the context of both health and chronic disease, and centres on lifestyle modification strategies and/or training regimens that manipulate diet and exercise to achieve a healthier body composition (including bone) and/or a beneficial metabolic outcome. She is particularly interested in utilizing diet (i.e. functional whole foods, nutrients [including protein], some supplements) with different modes of exercise (i.e. aerobic, resistance, plyometric) to facilitate healthy changes in body composition, body weight, bone and cardiometabolic risk in different human populations across the lifespan, including those with obesity and increased chronic disease risk. Most recently, she has started to undertake acute human studies to assess the postprandial and post-exercise effect of nutrition and/or exercise on bone health and inflammation.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
ajosse@yorku.ca | 416 736 2100 Ext. 30038| 344 Norman Bethune College-BC, Keele Campus
Jennifer Kuk
Research Interests:
Characterizing obesity and related health risks (cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes) and examining the influence of physical activity using both exercise interventions and epidemiological approaches.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
jennkuk@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 20080 | 2002 Sherman Health Science Research Centre
John McDermott
Research Interests:
Research interests concern the basic regulatory mechanisms involved in muscle cellular differentiation. This work is primarily undertaken using muscle cells as a model system and is aimed at understanding the role of transcription factors in orchestrating muscle-specific differentiation.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
jmcderm@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 30389 | 327 Farquharson Building, 110 Campus Walk
Michael Paris
Research Interests:
Dr. Michael Paris is interested in interactions between neuromuscular activation and contractile output (force or torque) across the adult lifespan. We are particularly interested in understanding the age-related decline in muscle structure and function, known as sarcopenia, and investigating exercise interventions aimed at attenuating these losses in function. Our lab studies these interactions in humans at a systems level using minimally invasive electrophysiological techniques, including electromyography, transcutaneous electrical stimulation, muscle imaging, and dynamometry.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
mparis@yorku.ca | Website | 338 Norman Bethune College, 170 Campus Walk.
Christopher Perry, Director
- MHRC Director
Research Interests:
Regulation of cellular energy and redox homeostasis primarily in skeletal muscle. Examination of metabolic control (glucose/fatty acid uptake and catabolism) through redox biology in response to specific dietary and exercise interventions integrating mitochondrial, cytosolic and nuclear intercommunication.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
cperry@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 33232 | 344 Norman Bethune College, 170 Campus Walk
Devin Phillips
Research Interests:
Dr. Devin Phillips is an assistant professor of applied cardiorespiratory physiology in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science at York University. He completed his graduate work in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation at the University of Alberta, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Medicine at Queen’s University.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
dbphill@yorku.ca | Website | 362 Stong College, 165 Campus Walk.
Michael Riddell
Research Interests:
The effect of exercise, stress and diabetes on the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Substrate utilization and metabolism during exercise in individuals with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
mriddell@yorku.ca | Website | (416) 736-2100 ext. 40493 | 347 Norman Bethune College, 170 Campus Walk.
Physical Activity and Diabetes (PAD) Initiative
Emilie Roudier
Research Interests:
Molecular and cellular events that control angiogenesis, and their role in human chronic diseases, in particular obesity. Major areas of interest include: 1) Hypoxia, DNA damage response (DDR) and metabolism; 2) adaptation to tissue hypoxia, 3) signaling pathways of angiogenesis, 4) DDR, gene expression and endothelial cell phenotype, 5) obesity and pathological angiogenesis.
Contact:
eroudier@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 77320 | 339-341 Farquharson Life Sciences Building , 110 Campus Walk
Anthony Scimè
Research Interests:
Physiological and molecular mechanisms that regulate skeletal muscle and adipose tissue differentiation. Molecular networks that regulate adipocyte and muscle stem cell quiescence, activation, proliferation and differentiation. The ultimate aim is to understand mechanisms of muscle tissue regeneration and adipocyte cell type switching.
Expanded Description of Research Interests
Contact:
ascime@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 33559 | 327C Norman Bethune College, 170 Campus Walk
Gary Sweeney
Research Interests:
- The molecular mechanisms underlying the association of obesity and insulin resistance.
- Direct effects of adipokines on cardiomyocytes.
Contact:
gsweeney@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 66635 | 110 Farquharson Building, 110 Campus Walk
Robert Tsushima
Research Interests:
Research is focused on cardiac muscle physiology and disease. There are two specific research projects focusing on cell physiology and heart disease. First, investigations are ongoing on the role of SNARE proteins in the heart, and how they modulate voltage-gated ion channels. Second, cell signalling pathways involved in mediating myocardial ischemic preconditioning using genetically-modified mouse models are examined.
Contact:
tsushima@yorku.ca | (416) 736-2100 ext. 20996 | 344 Farquharson Building, 110 Campus Walk
Imogen Coe (Adjunct Member)
Research Interests:
Research is focused on a family of membrane proteins that are involved in the transport of nucleosides such as adenosine. Not only are these transporters important in the general homeostasis of all cells, they are also of critical clinical importance in the treatment of cancer and systemic viral infection.
Contact:
Ira Jacobs (Adjunct Member)
Research Interests:
Muscle metabolism during exercise; Exercise pharmacology and relationship to performance in environmentally stressful conditions.
Contact:
Sean Wharton (Clinical Adjunct Member)
Research Interests:
Obesity, Exercise, Weight Management
Contact:
Robert Laham (Clinical Adjunct Member)
Research Interests:
Muscle, Exercise, Health
Contact:
Tom Hawke (Adjunct Member)
Research Interests:
Molecular regulation of skeletal muscle regeneration; Regulation of muscle stem cells in the repair of skeletal muscle following exercise and disease-induced myotrauma. What intrinsic factors are responsible for regulating stem cell quiescence, activation, proliferation and differentiation?