About Me
I am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences (HHNS) in the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) at the University of Guelph and Director of the Neuromechanical Performance Research Lab.
I completed my undergraduate and MSc degrees at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). During my graduate training at MUN I became quite interested in neuromuscular physiology which coupled with my general interest in the physiology of aging lead me to pursue a PhD. at the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging (University of Western Ontartio; UWO) under the supervision of Dr(s) Anthony Vandervoort and Charles Rice. During my PhD. I investigated various research questions centred around: Neuromuscular fatigue following shortening and lengthening muscle actions, Motor unit loss with age and the effects of life-long exercise, and the history-dependence of force production. Upon completing my PhD it was clear I developed more questions than answers which led me to explore more basic mechanisms of muscle mechanics. To learn new research techniques and complement my training in neuromuscular physiology I completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Walter Herzog (Human Performance Lab, University of Calgary) where I investigated age-related alterations to muscle mechanics at the cellular and sub-cellular levels.
Education
BKin (Honours) - Memorial University of Newfoundland
M.Sc. (Integrative Physiology) - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Ph.D. (Neuromuscular Physiology) - University of Western Ontario
Banting/Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Muscle Mechanics) - University of Calgary
Awards/Grants
2025/2026 - NSERC Alliance (Muscle function during in vivo dynamic mechanical testing and the physiological relevance of 'real-world' contraction modes in assessing performance)
2024 - 2029 – NSERC Discovery Grant (Is longitudinal muscle growth blunted in old age and what effects does this have on function?)
2025 - JSHS Editors Choice Award
2024 - APNM best paper award (Editors Choice)
2023 - American Physiological Society - best paper award (APS Select)
2022 - Graduate Mentoring Award - College of Biological Sciences
2019 - Ontario Early Researcher Award (Muscle weakness in older adults)
2016 - 2024 – NSERC Discovery Grant (Single muscle fibre mechanical function)
2016 - David Winter Promising Young Investigator Award, Canadian Society for Biomechanics.
2014 – Banting (CIHR) Postdoctoral Fellow, Canada
2014 – Honorary Killam Postdoctoral Fellow, Canada
2013 – Emerging Scientist Award, International Society of Biomechanics, Natal, Brazil
2013 – Young Investigator Award, International Workshop on The Biomedical Basis of Human Performance across the Lifespan, Alberta, Canada
2012 – Alberta Innovates - Health Solutions (AI-HS) Post Graduate Fellow
2011 – Age+ Prize, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
I am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences (HHNS) in the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) at the University of Guelph and Director of the Neuromechanical Performance Research Lab.
I completed my undergraduate and MSc degrees at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). During my graduate training at MUN I became quite interested in neuromuscular physiology which coupled with my general interest in the physiology of aging lead me to pursue a PhD. at the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging (University of Western Ontartio; UWO) under the supervision of Dr(s) Anthony Vandervoort and Charles Rice. During my PhD. I investigated various research questions centred around: Neuromuscular fatigue following shortening and lengthening muscle actions, Motor unit loss with age and the effects of life-long exercise, and the history-dependence of force production. Upon completing my PhD it was clear I developed more questions than answers which led me to explore more basic mechanisms of muscle mechanics. To learn new research techniques and complement my training in neuromuscular physiology I completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Walter Herzog (Human Performance Lab, University of Calgary) where I investigated age-related alterations to muscle mechanics at the cellular and sub-cellular levels.
Education
BKin (Honours) - Memorial University of Newfoundland
M.Sc. (Integrative Physiology) - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Ph.D. (Neuromuscular Physiology) - University of Western Ontario
Banting/Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Muscle Mechanics) - University of Calgary
Awards/Grants
2025/2026 - NSERC Alliance (Muscle function during in vivo dynamic mechanical testing and the physiological relevance of 'real-world' contraction modes in assessing performance)
2024 - 2029 – NSERC Discovery Grant (Is longitudinal muscle growth blunted in old age and what effects does this have on function?)
2025 - JSHS Editors Choice Award
2024 - APNM best paper award (Editors Choice)
2023 - American Physiological Society - best paper award (APS Select)
2022 - Graduate Mentoring Award - College of Biological Sciences
2019 - Ontario Early Researcher Award (Muscle weakness in older adults)
2016 - 2024 – NSERC Discovery Grant (Single muscle fibre mechanical function)
2016 - David Winter Promising Young Investigator Award, Canadian Society for Biomechanics.
2014 – Banting (CIHR) Postdoctoral Fellow, Canada
2014 – Honorary Killam Postdoctoral Fellow, Canada
2013 – Emerging Scientist Award, International Society of Biomechanics, Natal, Brazil
2013 – Young Investigator Award, International Workshop on The Biomedical Basis of Human Performance across the Lifespan, Alberta, Canada
2012 – Alberta Innovates - Health Solutions (AI-HS) Post Graduate Fellow
2011 – Age+ Prize, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
