Professor, Canada Research Chair
School of Kinesiology and Health Science, Faculty of Health,
York University
Ancient History
I was born in Montreal, but attended Fisher Park High School in Ottawa. I then attended Queen's University, and I graduated with a degree in Physical and Health Education, and a minor in Mathematics. I entered Queen's with the idea that I would become a Physical Education teacher, but after four years I realized that my interests had shifted to understanding how the body functions during exercise. I also became intrigued with the idea of pursuing an academic career, and so I went to Dalhousie University in Halifax to work with Dr. Arend Bonen for my MSc degree in Exercise Physiology. My thesis topic was on insulin receptors in human muscle.
After completing my MSc degree, I moved to the State University of New York in Syracuse to work with Dr. Ronald Terjung for my PhD. I spent five years in Syracuse studying muscle amino acid metabolism during contractile activity, and the effect of training. It was in Syracuse where I began to develop an interest in mitochondrial adaptations. To investigate this further, I pursued a post-doctoral opportunity with Dr. Dirk Pette, in Konstanz, Germany, where I spent two years as a post-doctoral fellow investigating mitochondrial gene expression in muscle. I was alerted to an open faculty position in the Department of Physical Education at York University, so I applied and was successful.
Outside of the lab:
My wife Cindy and I have 4 adult children: Andrew, Ryan, and twin girls Erin and Michelle.
