During my PhD, I was very fortunate to be able to work under the supervision of Dr. Quinney and leading cardiologists (Dr. Koon Teo, Dr. Dennis Humen, and Dr. Dylan Taylor). I went on to complete my PhD in 2000 and then received a NSERC post-doctoral fellowship to continue my research in sports medicine and cardiology at the University of British Columbia (UBC). I was hired at UBC prior to the end of my post-doc in 2001. I have been a faculty member at UBC for the past 15 years.

It is difficult to pick just one memorable moment. As an undergraduate student, I was very fortunate to have been taught by compassionate and caring academics such as Dr. Norman Gledhill, Dr. Veronica Jamnik Dr. Kevin Jones, and Dr. Frank Cosentino, (to name just a few). Rather than simply being my instructors, they each took a personal interest in my well-being and career. I am forever indebted to their consideration. I remember clearly meeting with Dr. Gledhill after the first year of my undergraduate program. He talked to me about my career goals and opened my eyes to the wide-ranging opportunities for students within Kinesiology.

When looking back, my most memorable experiences at York University largely surround the classes and work that I conducted with Drs. Gledhill and Jamnik. Whether it was sitting in a large auditorium as a first year undergraduate student and hearing Dr. Gledhill talk eloquently about diverse and interesting research topics or working with Dr. Jamnik with elite national hockey players as a graduate student I realized how fortunate I was to have been accepted to the Kinesiology and Health Science program at York University. I can state clearly that I would not have achieved my academic and research accomplishments without their support and guidance. Their influence on my career cannot be measured. I consider them both as my greatest academic mentors and more importantly consider them as true and valued friends. We have strengthened a relationship that began more than 25 years ago at York. I consider them both to be amongst my closest friends and colleagues. This says something about the influence that they both had on my life. They provided shining examples of how much impact considerate professors can have on the lives of their students. I have tried to emulate their professionalism and consideration with my students serving as a facilitator to their careers. In speaking to recent graduates and young faculty at York University, it is evident that they have continued to contribute to the career development of others. I imagine that thousands of trainees can owe a large part of their career path to the direction provided by Drs. Jamnik and Gledhill.

I have learned so much from both Dr. Gledhill and Dr. Jamnik. They are living legacies to the Kinesiology and Health Science program. Living in the far west of Canada, it is truly remarkable how many times their names are mentioned with respect to York University and its innovation.

One story that I like to recount to my students and family is the time that I raced Ben Johnson at York University. Yes, that Ben Johnson! Many find this hard to believe, so I will try to set the stage. When not studying, I spent considerable time on baseball fields and running tracks in Toronto (including the York University Track and Field Centre). We would routinely see Ben Johnson running at York's indoor track. Ben was tirelessly preparing for his comeback to elite international competition. Ben was a truly remarkable runner as everyone is aware. We would watch Ben running and working out in the gym.

Near the end of one term, my friend and I mustered up the courage to approach Ben for an autograph. I remember this clearly, as the only piece of paper that I had was a slip of paper that had my most recent grades from Kinesiology. We shyly asked if Ben would give us an autograph. We knew that he preferred to not be bothered when training, so this was a large ask. Fortunately, Ben and his coach were very gracious, and both signed our papers. Upon leaving, my running partner took it upon himself to ask Ben if he wanted to race us. I really could not believe that he would ask Ben Johnson to do this, and surely thought that we would be asked to leave the facility. However, to my surprise Ben granted our wish.

As we approached the starting line, I could not believe that I was about to race Ben Johnson (the world's fastest man). Every Canadian runner looked up to him. As a middle distance runner I knew how the race would go, but it was fun to share the starting line with Ben Johnson. This was an informal race; Ben’s coach held his hand up to signal the start. My friend and I took off as hard as we could. Ben remained at the starting line for an inordinate amount of time, but within a short time he passed us both winning by a large margin. I fondly reminisce about this story stating that “Ben Johnson gave me a 40 m head start and beat me by 20 m in a 60 m race; you do the math!” I also tell all of my students that this was the moment when I knew that I was meant to be an academic.

Running for even a short time against a runner of Ben’s caliber was simply remarkable. I will remember this event fondly forever. It for certain changed my path, such that I gained even greater focus on academic success. I am grateful for this friendly race. It is amazing how a simple act of kindness by Ben Johnson had a great influence on the rest of my academic career. I still have my academic transcript with Ben Johnson’s signature. This is one of my most cherished keepsakes from my time at York University.

I was the director of the Sport Cardiology and Musculoskeletal Assessment Research Team (SMART 2010) for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I am a founding member of the Sports Cardiology BC (www.sportscardiologybc.org) and the International Council of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (ICCPR; www.globalcardiacrehab.com) and a member of the Canadian Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation. I am also the co-director of the Physical Activity Support Line (www.physicalactivityline.com). Working in collaboration with Drs. Gledhill and Jamnik, I led the development of the new Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone (PAR-Q+) and the new electronic Physical Activity Readiness Medical Examination (ePARmed-X+; www.eparmedx.com).

My research spans the spectrum of elite athletic performance, Indigenous health, childhood health, quality of life in the elderly, and the treatment of patients with chronic disease and/or disability (including individuals with diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity, osteoporosis, schizophrenia, and spinal cord injury). I oversee the training and assessment of high performance athletes from various national and professional sports. I directly work with approximately 6,000 clients in our laboratory, rehabilitation centres, and community-based trials per annum, and many more are impacted by our knowledge translation activities. In recognition of our work with Indigenous peoples, I was recently selected to be the inaugural Indigenous Scholar in Kinesiology at UBC and will oversee a new program dedicated to Indigenous Studies in Kinesiology at UBC.

I have published extensively including over 250 peer-reviewed articles and chapters and given more than 100 keynote presentations. We routinely publish 15-20 papers per annum in leading journals. These papers are well regarded with 15 of our articles having already been cited more than 100 times. The innovation and importance of our research is further reflected by the considerable local, national, and international attention we have received. For instance, our research has been highlighted in several influential media venues including Maclean's magazine, the BBC, CBS evening news, the CBC National, CTV, the National Post, and Global TV.

Following in the footsteps of my mentors at York University, I feel that graduate trainees are the greatest assets to our research program. In roughly 15 years, I have supervised over 130 trainees including 52 graduate trainees and more than 80 undergraduate students. Currently, there are 37 highly qualified personnel working under my direct supervision (6 staff/research technicians, 3 MKIN, 3 MSc, 8 PhD, and 17 undergraduate students). My contributions to the training of undergraduate and graduate students have been acknowledged in various forums. For instance, in 2011, the Premier of BC (Christy Clark) and Pat Bell (Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation) held a formal press release in our laboratory highlighting the innovation of our trainees’ research. Our trainees have had exceptional success in obtaining peer-reviewed scholarships (e.g., NSERC, CIHR, MITACs) and securing advanced positions upon graduation. The vast majority of our former graduate trainees have continued in professional careers related to their research training. I am extremely proud of the success of these trainees and the legacy that they have created.

Early into my career, I recognized that a one size fits all model does not work with high performance athletes, or in the effective primary and secondary prevention of chronic disease. As such, I work closely with participants, researchers, and clinicians to address key issues that affect society. I am an advocate for a personalized approach to health and performance incorporating the unique needs and features of every client. I also recognize that research has little meaning or impact unless it is effectively translated. This is a lesson that I learned early in my graduate training with Drs. Gledhill and Jamnik at York University. Many academics feel content with a paper that is cited 10 or more times; however, from my perspective, the true value of a research initiative rests on its ability to affects the lives of others. As such, we take every step possible to ensure that our research is directly translated to the larger community.

The inclusion of a diverse range of clientele and their perspectives has really helped our work lead to meaningful outcomes. For instance, information derived from our work with elite athletes has helped inform the work that we conduct with clinical populations. Many of our novel clinical exercise rehabilitation programs were first formulated and tested in elite athletes (e.g., national teams) and then modified for usage with clinical populations. Similarly, recovery/treatment strategies that I created for use with clinical populations have been used in international events (e.g., the 2008, 2010, and 2016 Olympics) to enhance the recovery and performance of elite athletes. Throughout this process the perspective of each participant was integrated into the research design to allow for the development of a highly customized and individualized approach.

My research has resulted in tangible and innovative health-related outcomes. I have engaged directly with thousands of participants at the community level, particularly in groups that are underserved. For instance, I have served as the principal investigator on several community- and school-based initiatives with thousands of participants on an annual basis. Our most recent work has examined the effectiveness of community-based physical activity and healthy lifestyle behaviour programming for persons of Aboriginal descent throughout the province of BC. We have worked with more than 11,000 Indigenous peoples in more than 250 communities. As the Indigenous Scholar in Kinesiology at UBC, I will oversee a first of its kind program created to address health disparities within Indigenous communities and provide a specialized training program for Indigenous students.

Within the field of medicine and academia, our knowledge translation activities have gained wide spread acceptance and utilization, particularly relating to the adoption of evidence-based best practice recommendations. For instance, our research has been used to update Canada’s physical activity guidelines for adults and older adults. The recommendations emanating from his research have been adopted by agencies throughout Canada including a formal implementation by the C-CHANGE initiative. Our systematic reviews of the literature on the health benefits of physical activity are widely considered to be amongst the leading articles in the field. In fact, five articles on the relationship between physical activity and health have been cited more than 250 times since their publication. Remarkably, one of our articles (published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal 2006;174:801-09) has already been cited more than 3,900 times, and is currently used a mandatory reading for various professional organizations in Canada, the United States, and Australia.

More recently, I have addressed the concerns of our participants that felt that current physical activity messaging was not attainable creating a potential barrier for healthy living. We have demonstrated that marked health benefits can occur with relatively minor changes in physical activity (see 2016 article in Canadian Journal of Cardiology and related commentary). Various media venues (e.g., BBC) have promoted these findings leading to important changes in international physical activity and health messaging. It is anticipated that this research will further reduce the barriers to physical activity participation on a global scale.

Our research has had measurable benefits for the primary and secondary prevention of injuries and chronic disease for individuals from a wide range of social, cultural, and economic backgrounds. For instance, I have been involved in the establishment of specialized wellness centres serving the needs of persons living with mental illness, spinal cord injury, and cardio-metabolic disease. Moreover, I have worked with collaborators (e.g., CLASP funding) throughout Canada to improve health within the workplace and in high-risk populations.

Our work has received international recognition including the creation of the first primary prevention program (“Getting Games Fit”) for the 25,000 volunteers of the 2010 Winter Games. This initiative led to the lowest recorded incidence of work-related injuries and sudden death during the Olympics. This program has served as the benchmark and template for subsequent major international sporting events. Moreover, we have applied this program to improve health and reduce injuries within the workplace in BC.

I have played a leading role in various international initiatives regarding the primary and secondary prevention of chronic disease. For instance, I am a founding member of the International Council of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (ICCPR). This collaboration has received formal endorsement from more than 25 international organizations dedicated to the primary and secondary prevention of heart disease. The ICCPR is an Associate International Member of the World Heart Federation.

I am honoured to lead an international collaboration that created a new pre-participation and risk stratification strategy to address the barriers to physical activity participation. This new strategy (e.g., Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone (PAR-Q+) and the electronic Physical Activity Medical Readiness Questionnaire (ePARmed-X+)) has already been used by hundreds of thousands worldwide reducing greatly the barriers to physical activity participation (particularly for those with a chronic medical condition). It is anticipated that 50 million people will make use of this new risk stratification and physical activity clearance strategy. I am also currently heading the international development of exercise prescriptions for various chronic medical conditions.

I was also responsible for the development and co-direction of the Physical Activity Line. The Physical Activity Line is an innovative telehealth line that provides end-users with the capacity to positively affect their health status through physical activity. This includes specialized programming designed for children living with obesity and adults who have recently undergone bariatric surgery. The Physical Activity Line is operated by Qualified Exercise Professionals (with advanced certifications from the Health & Fitness Federation of Canada created by Drs. Jamnik and Gledhill at York University). The Physical Activity Line has led to a major advancement in the promotion of the health benefits of physical activity with thousands of British Columbians making use of this service annually. This novel program has recently been incorporated into the menu of health services provided by the BC Ministry of Health.

Collectively, these initiatives demonstrate my contribution to changing health practice in Canada. Our research has the potential to affect positively the health and well-being of thousands of individuals internationally.