Experts at the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education are leading cutting-edge research projects in various areas related to physical activity.
Participate in a Research Study
Our scholars conduct research studies with participants from all walks of life to advance knowledge of physical activity, health and their interactions. Faculty members are often recruiting participants for research across a wide range of topics.
Interested in volunteering as a participant? Explore our ongoing research projects to find out more and how you can join us.
Find a research study recruiting participants
Research Units, Labs and Centres
Learn more about specific research topics and projects led by our faculty members below.
Action & Attention Lab
Areas of focus
- Action-centred selective attention
- Cerebal specialization for movement and related processes
- Movement in social contexts
ADAPT Lab
Areas of focus
Exercise and Health Psychology
Disability and Rehabilitation
Behaviour Change Theories and Practical Application
Inclusive Play and Physical Literacy
Physical Activity Measurement
Knowledge Translation
Biomechanics & Sport Medicine Lab
Tyson Beach, David Frost, Doug Richards
Areas of focus
- Musculoskeletal health, fitness and performance
- Biomechanics of work, sport and exercise
- Quantitative and qualitative analysis of human movement
Centre for Cardiometabolic, Oncology, Diet and Exercise Research (CODE-W)
Areas of Focus
- Cardiometabolic disease pathophysiology in women
- Exercise and nutrition interventions for cardiometabolic dysfunction
Centre for Motor Control
Tyson Beach, David Frost, Luc Tremblay, Tim Welsh
Areas of focus
- Interdisciplinary studies of motor behaviour
- Bridging fundamental and applied research in motor control
Centre for Sport Policy Studies
Simon Darnell, Peter Donnelly, Caroline Fusco, Janelle Joseph, Margaret MacNeill
Areas of focus
Research to support advocacy and policy development in all areas of sport and physical activity, including:
- Democratizing participation
- Human rights and athlete's rights
- Sport for development and peace, and athletes and social/political activism
- Diversity and social inclusion
Clinical Cardiovascular Health
Areas of focus
- Cardio-oncology and cardiotoxicity
- Women’s cardiovascular health
- Exercise prescription and adherence
- Caloric restriction, fasting, ketogenic diet
- Skeletal muscle mass and quality, fat deposition
- Non-invasive imaging (magnetic resonance and echocardiography)
Concussion Program
Lynda Mainwaring, Doug Richards, Michael Hutchison
Areas of focus
- Pathophysiology and diagnosis of concussion in sport and physical activity
- Rehabilitation of all aspects (cognitive, emotional, physical/somatic, sensory) of sport/PA-related concussion
- Prevention of concussion in sport and physical activity
Exercise Oncology Laboratory
Areas of focus
A variety of research questions including:
- Can exercise help manage treatment-related side effects?
- What is the role of exercise for cognitive functioning?
- What is the optimal exercise program for benefits?
- How do we maintain exercise levels throughout the cancer care continuum?
Human Physiology Lab
Areas of focus
Discovery and evaluation of:
- mechanisms of physiological adaptation to exercise
- the deviation of perceived fatigue from physiological strain during exercise
- ergogenic aids
Indigeneity, Diaspora, Equity and Anti-racism in Sport (IDEAS) Lab
Areas of focus
- Develop theory, promote knowledge translation and create high impact programming relevant to anti-racism in sport, physical activity, education and leadership.
- Leverage academic and political work to lead sustainable, decolonizing, systemic change and cultivate future leaders in physical activity and research.
- Collaborate with equity-deserving individuals and community organizations to promote arts and movement-based pedagogies, professional development, and qualitative research that exposes Black excellence, interlocking oppressions and privileges, and transnational networks.
Iovate/Muscletech Metabolism & Sports Science Lab
Areas of focus
- Exercise and nutritional modulation of muscle protein metabolism
- Mechanisms of muscle remodelling in response to exercise and inactivity
- Nutritional requirements of active populations
Media & Motion Collaboratory
Areas of focus
- Media and physical cultural studies
- Social media, technology and bioethics
- Athletes' rights, media relations and policy
- High performance athletes and media advocacy for health
Mental Health & Physical Activity Research Centre (MPARC)
Kelly Arbour-Nicitopoulos, Catherine Sabiston, Daniel Santa Mina
Areas of focus
- Psychosocial predictors of physical activity and sedentary behaviour
- Development, evaluation and dissemination of physical activity interventions across the lifespan
- Mental and physical health outcomes associated with physical activity and sedentary behaviours
Muscle Physiology Lab
Areas of focus
- The cellular stress response of skeletal muscle
- Skeletal muscle damage and methods of protection
- The regulation and expression of stress proteins
Perceptual-Motor Behaviour Lab
Areas of focus
- Multisensory feedback processing during voluntary action
- Real-time, movement-dependent sensory manipulations
- Altering multisensory feedback processing through physical guidance and rehabilitation
Safe Sport Lab
Gretchen Kerr, Ashley Stirling
Areas of focus
- Integrates perspectives from a psychology and sociology and uses a rights-based approach to address issues of safety, violence, abuse (psychological, sexual, physical), neglect, discrimination, bullying and harassment in sport and dance environments
Learn more
Sport and Cultural Environment (SPaCE) Lab
Areas of focus
- Sport legacies in urban, suburban and rural landscapes
- Promoting social justice and equity in sport spaces
- Ecological determinants of health and physical culture
- Ethics and high performance sport environments
Sport Insight Lab
Areas of focus
- Athlete Development
- Talent Identification
- Athlete Forecasting
- Data Modelling
Sport & Performance Psychology Lab
Katherine Tamminen, Gretchen Kerr, Ashley Stirling
Areas of focus
- Athletes’ stress, emotion and coping in sport
- Social relationships and interpersonal processes between athletes, coaches and parents
- Improving athletes’ participation and enjoyment in sport, and the protection of young athletes
- Coaching effectiveness and education
Suffering, Pain & Ethics Lab
Areas of Focus
- The existential-phenomenological experience of pain and suffering
- How pain communities develop, and how they play a role in organizing, interpreting, and representing people’s experiences with pain and suffering
- The implications of ethnographic, visual and narrative-based knowledge on pain and suffering policy in health fields
Tanenbaum Institute for Science in Sport
Areas of focus
- Enhancing and sustaining healthy competitive performance for athletes of all levels and every background, including para-athletes and athletes representing other diverse and under-represented populations
- Augmenting and amplifying physical and mental training effects
- Improving injury recovery outcomes and duration
- Developing and assessing innovative commercial technologies and products for applications to high-performance sports
- Using data analytics to model, predict and augment individual and team performance, health & well-being, probability of injury, and to improve athlete recruitment outcomes
Terry Kavanagh Heart Health Lab
Areas of focus
- Effects of exercise and training on heart function in recreational and elite athletes
- Consequences on long-term endurance training and the cardiac remodelling (growth)
- Investigative/clinical evaluation of athletes with arrythmias and training-related heart conditions
Training and Enhancing Motor Performance Outcomes Lab
Areas of Focus
- Motor learning
- Music perception and production
- Stroke recovery and rehabilitation
- Neuroplasticity
- Biomarkers
Training & Performance Lab
Areas of focus
- Developing efficient measurements for ongoing monitoring of training and performance
- Quantify the relation of training and performance for athletes
- Designing and testing more efficient training programs for athletes