PhD (Queen’s University)

MSc (Queen’s University)

BPHE(Hon) (Laurentian University)

Undergraduate Courses

HLTH 270 – Movement Behaviours and Health

Graduate Courses

KHS 891 – Statistics

Research Summary

The research conducted in my laboratory uses epidemiological approaches to examine the influence of movement behaviours (i.e., physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep) on the health and well-being of children, youth, and adults.  Here are some of the research questions my lab addresses in our research:

• What are the movement behaviour levels of the Canadian population and how have these changed over time?
• What are the appropriate volumes, durations, intensities, types, and patterns of physical activity needed for optimal health and well-being? 
• How do different durations, types, and patterns of sedentary behaviour influence health?
• What is the inter-relationships between physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep? 
• How does the movement behaviour composition influence health?

How do factors of a person’s social environment and the built environments of their school/workplace, neighbourhood, and community influence their movement behaviour levels?

Physical Activity Epidemiology Website

Graduate Student Opportunities

Opportunities exist for undergraduate students, master’s students, doctoral students, and postdoctoral fellows to develop expertise in epidemiological aspects of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep.  Internal funding is available to support highly qualified graduate student applicants.  Applicants are also encouraged to apply for external funded from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and other funding bodies.

Current Funding

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Heart and Stroke Foundation, and the Public Health Agency of Canada

Examples of Recent Publications

I have published over 275 scientific journal articles and 20 book chapters.  A complete list and PDF copies of these publications is available on my ResearchGate profile.  Below, a list 10 recent example publications has been provided. The underlined author names are graduate students that I have supervised. 

Talarico R, Janssen I.  Compositional associations of time spent in sleep, sedentary behavior, and physical activity with obesity measures in children.  International Journal of Obesity.  2018;42:1508-1514. 

Williams GC, Borghese MM, Janssen I.  Objectively measured active transportation to school and other destinations among 10-13 year olds.  International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.   2018;15:11. 

Borghese MM, Janssen I.  Development of a measurement approach to assess time children participate in organized sport, active travel, outdoor active play, and curriculum-based physical activity.  BMC Public Health.  2018;18:396. 

Nguyen A, Borghese MM, Janssen I.  Pedestrian traffic safety and outdoor active play among 10-13 year olds living in a mid-sized city.  Preventive Medicine Reports.  2018;10:304-309. 

Lin Y, Borghese MM, Janssen I.  Bi-directional association between sleep and outdoor active play among 10-13 year olds.  BMC Public Health.  2018;18:224. 

Borgundvaag E, Janssen I.  Objectively measured physical activity and mortality risk in American adults.  American Journal of Preventive Medicine.  2017;52:e25-e31. 

Janssen I, Roberts KC, Thompson W.  Adherence to the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines among 10- to 17-year-old Canadians.  Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada. 2017;37:369-375.

Janssen I.  Kids move more when outdoors.  Canadian Journal of Public Health.  2016;107:e497-e499. 

McMillan R, McIsaac M, Janssen I.  Family structure as a correlate of organized sport participation among youth.  PLoS One.  2016;11(2):e0147403.

Janssen I.  Estimating whether replacing time in active outdoor play and sedentary video games with active video games influences youths’ mental health.  Journal of Adolescent Health.  2016;59:517-522. 

PhD (University of Western Ontario)

BSc (University of Western Ontario)

BPhED (Brock University)

Undergraduate Courses

HLTH 252 – Introduction to Research Methods

KNPE 339 – Advanced Exercise Metabolism

KNPE 439 – Critical Appraisal and Translation of Muscle Physiology Research

Graduate Courses

KHS 884 – Muscle Physiology

Research Summary

My primary research aim is to understand the mechanisms by which both different intensities and different types of exercise improve mitochondrial function. In addition, I am interested in the impact that these improvements in mitochondrial function have in both health and disease. My research is currently has 3 main goals. First, to quantify the intensities of various different types of exercise across a range of skill and fitness levels. Second, to examine changes in both whole body fitness and mitochondrial function following exercise training of differing types and intensities and how these changes differ between active, sedentary, and overweight/obese young adults. Third, to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying exercise induced mitochondrial biogenesis, specifically, to explore post-translational regulation of PGC-1alpha following exercise. It is hoped that this research will help increase our understanding of the mechanisms by which exercise can improve health and the optimal intensities and types of exercise to activate these mechanisms.

Graduate Student Opportunities

Currently seeking master’s and doctoral students to commence studies.

Recent Publications

For current publications visit the lab website below.

Links

Muscle Physiology Lab Website

PhD (University of Michigan)

MPH (University of North Carolina)

BSFS (Georgetown University)

Undergraduate Courses

HLTH 101 – Social Determinants of Health

HLTH 237 - An Introduction to Drugs, Drug Use and Drug Dependence

HLTH 437 – Seminar on Harm Reduction

Research Summary

My research interests focus on inequalities in health. Specifically, I am interested in researching why people engage in health-compromising behaviours–particularly sexual risk behaviour and substance use–with the aim of identifying how to design successful public health interventions. The grave effect that HIV/AIDS has had in North America and globally; the disproportionate effect that HIV/AIDS has had on youth and marginalized people such as racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities; and the preventability of behaviours that put one at risk of contracting HIV, have led me to focus my work in this area. The two theoretical approaches that frame much of my thinking and work are the social ecological model and resilience theory. The social ecological model posits that individual health behaviours are affected by factors at a variety of levels, from individual factors, to dyadic, group, community, institutional, political, and societal factors. Factors at different levels may also mutually influence one another. An understanding of the determinants of a particular health behaviour therefore necessitates understanding factors at all of these levels. Interventions, in turn, may be focused on any or all of these levels. A resilience theory approach emphasizes factors that play a positive or health-enhancing role, and how they can influence risk factors for negative health outcomes. In resilience research, the researcher does not simply identify negative factors that may be related to some health-damaging behaviour, as is done in risk-factor research. The researcher also studies positive factors that may offset or interact with risk factors. The goal is to shift the focus of interventions to strengthen positive factors in addition to the more traditional approach of eliminating risk factors.

Graduate Student Opportunities

I am interested in supervising graduate students with an interest in understanding HIV-related risk behaviours, particularly among youth and marginalized populations. Prospective students are expected to apply to the Ontario Graduate Scholarship programs, SSHRC, CIHR, and other agencies that fund graduate students.

Recent Publications

Fergus, S., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2005). Adolescent resilience: A framework for understanding healthy development in the face of risk. Annual Review of Public Health, 26, 399-419.

Fergus, S., Lewis, M. A., Darbes, L., & Butterfield, R. M. (2005). HIV risk and protection among gay male couples: The role of gay community integration. Health Education and Behavior, 32(2), 151-171.

Ramirez-Valles, J., Fergus, S., Reisen, C. A., Poppen, P. J., & Zea, M. C. (2005). Confronting stigma: Community involvement and psychological well-being among HIV-positive Latino gay men. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 27(1), 101-119.

Fergus, S., Zimmerman, M. A., & Caldwell, C. (2005). Psychosocial correlates of smoking trajectories among urban, African-American adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20(4), 423-452.

Fergus, S., Zimmerman, M. A., & Caldwell, C. (Under review). Resilience and sexual risk behavior among urban adolescents: The compensatory and protective effects of mother and father support.

Fergus, S., Zimmerman, M. A., & Caldwell, C. (Under review). Sexual risk behavior in adolescence and the transition to young adulthood: Specification of a piecewise growth model for a predominantly African-American sample.

Fergus, S., Zimmerman, M. A., & Caldwell, C. (Under review). Growth in sexual risk behavior in adolescence and the transition to young adulthood: Psychosocial resilience among a predominantly African-American sample.

PhD (University of Ottawa)

MSc (University of Montreal)

BSc (University of Ottawa)

Graduate and Undergraduate Courses

KNPE 465 – Sport Participation and Performance

Research

My research interests focus on the developmental and psychosocial factors that affect sport participation, performance, and personal development. I am interested in the complex interaction of youth, parents, and coaches in developing participants’ assets and strengths. My research aims to identify variables and behaviours within families, participants, and coaches that create favourable conditions for interest and continued engagement in sport. This research program uses various qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including unstructured and structured interviews, observation, video-task analysis, and questionnaires.

Graduate Student Opportunities

Postgraduate training in the study of youth in sport offers many exciting opportunities. Prospective students are encouraged to apply to the Ontario Graduate Scholarship programs, SSHRC, or other agencies supporting graduate students. As part of their training, students will have the chance to present at Sport Psychology meetings, providing a platform to share their insights and learn from others in the field. This training will enhance their academic and research skills and give them a platform to contribute to the field of Sport Psychology.

Current Funding

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)

Links

Queen’s University Sport Psychology Lab

PhD (University of Waterloo)

BSc (KNUST)

Undergraduate Courses

HLTH 350 – Topics in Global Health

Graduate Courses

KHS 830 – Health Promotion Research Seminar

Research Summary

The Centre for Environmental Health Equity (www.cehe.ca) works closely with communities, advocacy groups, policymakers, and citizens to nurture the development of research partnerships to address the conditions that promote healthy environments for all. Within CEHE, I do research on:

•  Water insecurity and wellbeing
• Environmental determinants of health
• Role of trust in health promotion
• Collective action in environmental health promotion
• Colonialism and global health research

I am a health geographer whose primary area of research focuses on social and environmental production of health and well being. I draw on social theory and employ mixed-method approaches in my research projects.  My published research contributions include studies on collective action for environmental health promotion, environmental stress and psychosocial health, community based participatory research, health systems resilience to climate change, disparities in urban health outcomes, and water insecurity and safe sanitation in Sub-Saharan Africa.  I collaborate with researchers, policy makers, community groups, and development agencies on research projects in Canada, Kenya, Mexico, Ghana, and Burkina Faso.

Graduate Student Opportunities

CEHE is an ideal training environment for students who are interested in gaining research skills in the areas of urban justice, water security, human rights, health inequities, food sovereignty, environmental governance, and citizen engagement. I welcome students who are interested in research projects that broadly align with my broad research areas outlined above. Students who are interested in community-engaged research, health inequities and environmental health promotion in Africa sub of the Sahara are encouraged to contact me.

I am currently accepting applications from prospective graduate students. Successful applicants will be encouraged to apply to the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program and to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and IDRC if eligible. If you are interested in learning more about graduate opportunities, please feel free to contact me.

Current Major Funding

SSHRC Insight Grant

SSHRC Insight Development

Empowerment in Water and Sanitation

Recent Publications

For a full list of academic publications, see my Google Scholar Page.

Dickin, S.,Bisung, E. & Charles, K. (2020) Empowerment in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Index. World Development. 137

Achore, M, Bisung, E., Kuusaana, E (2020) A review and meta-ethnographic synthesis to understand water insecurity coping strategies. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health (In press)

Kangmennang, J., Bisung, E. , Elliott, S.J (2020) ‘We Are Drinking Diseases’: Perception of Water Insecurity and Emotional Distress in Urban Slums in Accra, Ghana. International Journal of Public Health and Environmental Research https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030890

Cadwell, F., Bisung, E., Elliott, S.J. and Clarke, A Hacking Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE): Outcomes of the Waterlupus Hackathon. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada: Research, Policy and Practice. https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.40.7/8.03

Bisung, E. and Dickin, S. (2019) Concept mapping: Engaging stakeholders to identify factors that contribute to empowerment in the water and sanitation sector in West Africa.SSM Population Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100490

Plamondon, K & Bisung, E. (2019) The CCGHR Principles for Global Health Research: Centering equity in research, knowledge translation, and practice. Social Science and Medicine https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112530

Kuuire, V., Bisung, E., & Were, J. (2018) Understanding the connection between residential histories and obesity among Ghanaians: evidence from a national survey. Journal of Public Health. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-0983-8

Bisung, E., & Elliott, S. J. (2018). Improvement in access to safe water, household water insecurity, and time savings: A cross-sectional retrospective study in Kenya. Social Science and Medicine, 200: 1 – 8.

Bisung, E., Kangmenaan, J. & Luginaah, I. (2018) Neighbourhood structural differences, social capital and women’s health in Accra, Ghana. Quality of Life Research, 27(3):661-671.

Bisung, E., Elliott, S. J., Schuster-Wallace C. J., Karanja, D. M. & Abudho, B. (2015) “Dreaming of toilets”: Using photovoice to explore knowledge, attitudes and practices around water-health linkages in rural Kenya. Health and Place, 31, 208-215.

Bisung, E., Elliott, S. J., Schuster-Wallace C. J., Karanja, D. M. & Abudho, B. (2015) Using photovoice as a community based participatory research (CBPR) tool for changing water, sanitation and hygiene behaviours in Usoma, Kenya. BioMed Research International. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/903025

Bisung, E., Elliott, S. J., Schuster-Wallace C. J., Karanja, D. M. & Abudho, B. (2014) Social capital, collective action and access to water in rural Kenya. Social Science and Medicine,119: 147-4.

Links
Empowerwash
Centre for Environmental Health Equity
Geography of Health and Health Care Study Group

Ph.D. (Queen’s University)
MScPT (Queen’s University)
BKin (Hons) (McMaster University) 

Undergraduate Courses

HLTH 200 - Physical Fitness and Wellness

KNPE 355 - Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Laboratory

KNPE 356 - Exercise Prescription

KNPE 400 - Professional Practice in Allied Health

Research Summary

The central goal of my research is to improve the lifelong health of women. Specifically, my research interests aim to enhance women’s knowledge of the importance of exercise during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. I am also interested in the effects of pregnancy on the abdominal and lumbar spine musculature and how physical activity and exercise can manage or improve the health of women diagnosed with chronic diseases. My current research projects aim to establish guidelines for physical activity in the postpartum period.

Recent Publications

For current publications, visit Nicole Beamish on Google Scholar

Post-Doctorate (Imperial College London)

PhD (McGill University)

MASc (Dalhousie University)

MSc (Isfahan University of Technology)

BSc (Isfahan University of Technology)

Contact Information

Email: p.amiri@queensu.ca

Telephone:613-533-6000 x78988

Office:  KINE 301G

Undergraduate Courses

More information coming soon

Graduate Courses

More information coming soon

Research Summary

My research focuses on understanding the underlying cause of movement impairment and applying this knowledge to prevent illness and optimize health and physical performance. To do this, I combine computational musculoskeletal models, medical imaging, and functional experiments to quantify muscle and joint forces and develop subject-specific interventions (e.g. personalized surgeries) and rehabilitation technologies (gait training devices). I am particularly interested in biomechanical adaptations due to lower limb amputation, mechanics of knee osteoarthritis, and human balance control and fall prevention in the elderly.

Some of my current research themes are:

• Development of predictive musculoskeletal models for lower limb amputees
• Use of functional electrical stimulation to reduce the knee articular loading in patient with knee osteoarthritis
• Identifying the role of somatosensory, vision, and vestibular systems in healthy and impaired human balance control
• Development of biofeedback training methods to enhance gait efficiency in lower limb amputees

Recent Publications

• P Amiri, A M J Bull, Prediction of In vivo Hip Contact Forces during Common Activities of Daily Living Using a Segment-Based Musculoskeletal Model. Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology 10 (2022): 995279.
• A Mohebbi, P Amiri and R. E. Kearney (2022). Identification of human balance control responses to visual inputs using virtual reality. Journal of Neurophysiology 127(4): 1159-1170.
• P Amiri, and RE Kearney, Identification of Central and Stretch Reflex Contributions to Human Postural Control. IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 2021. 29: p. 497-507.
• P Amiri, and RE Kearney, Patterns of muscle activation and modulation of ankle intrinsic stiffness in different postural operating conditions. Journal of Neurophysiology, 2020. 123(2): p. 743-754.
• P Amiri, A Mohebbi, and RE Kearney, Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2019(151).
• P Amiri, RE Kearney. Ankle intrinsic stiffness changes with postural sway. Journal of Biomechanics, 2019. 85: p. 50-58.

Graduate Student Opportunities

I am seeking highly motivated PhD and Master’s students interested in musculoskeletal biomechanics and technologies to enhance human movement. Interested students should contact me via email with a brief description of their experience and interests. All students are encouraged to apply to the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program and to the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (some internal funding is available as well.)

Links

Google Scholar

LinkedIn 

ResearchGate

• Cross-Appointed to the Department of Sociology
• Affiliated with the Cultural Studies Graduate Program

Undergraduate Courses

HLTH 333 – Contemporary Issues in Human Sexuality

KNPE 167 – Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Sport and Physical Activity

KNPE 367 – Fitness, the Body and Culture

KNPE 473 – Sport and Culture

Graduate Courses

KHS 873 – Critical Methodologies: The Politics of Knowledge and Research

KHS 869 – Sport and Social Theory

Research Summary

 My research investigates everyday movement and recreation cultures as sites where relations of domination are both produced and resisted. Drawing on literatures and theories from feminist studies, cultural studies, and sport studies, and using a range of qualitative, interpretive, and historical methods, I explore embodiment, the meanings of movement, and the relationship between active bodies and their historical and cultural contexts.  My current projects are concerned with: the political, environmental and cultural history of a municipal park; expressions of feminist and utopian ideals in recreational sports; and sexual harassment in sport coaching.

Selected Publications

Books

Artistic Impressions: Figure Skating, Masculinity and the Limits of Sport. University of Toronto Press, 2011.

• Women’s and Gender Studies Association Outstanding Scholarship Prize, 2013
• North American Society for Sport History Book Award, 2012
• North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Book Award, 2012, Honourable Mention 

The Trouble with Normal: Postwar Youth and the Making of Heterosexuality. University of Toronto Press, 1997.

Articles and book chapters

“Revolution, utopia, and feminist softball: sport as a site of political transformation” for Reading the Past Critically, a special issue of Journal of Sport History (forthcoming 2021).

Barnes, S. & Adams, M.L. “Methods and Theory in Historical Research” in Sport and  Recreation in Canadian History, edited by Carly Adams. Human Kinetics (forthcoming 2021).

“Objectified bodies and instrumental movement: What might Merleau-Ponty say about fitness tracking?” Sport, Physical Culture and the Moving Body: Materialism, Technologies and Ecologies edited by Joshua L. Newman, Holly Thorpe and David L Andrews. Rutgers University Press, 2020.

Adams, M.L. & Barnes, S., “Sex, gender and sexuality,” in Social Dimensions of Canadian Sport and Physical Activity, Second edition, edited by Jay Scherer and Brian Wilson. Toronto: Pearson, 2020.

“Step-counting in the ‘health society’: Phenomenological reflections on walking in the era of the Fitbit.”Social Theory and Health 17, no. 1 (2018), 109-124.

Adams M.L., Davidson, J., Jamieson, K., Helstein, M., Kyoung-Yim, K., King, S., McDonald, M.G., Rail, G. “Feminist cultural studies: Uncertainties and possibilities,” Sociology of  Sport Journal 33, no. 1 (2016), 75-91.

“Feminism and sport,” Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics, edited by Alan Bairner, John Kelly and Jung Woo Lee. London: Routledge, 2016, 115-125.

“Astounding exploits and laborious undertakings: Nineteenth-century pedestrianism and the cultural meanings of endurance,” in Endurance Sports edited by William Bridel, Jim Denison and Pirkko Markula. Routledge: 2016. pp. 19-34.

“No taste for rough and tumble play: Sport discourses and the regulation of effeminacy,” GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 19, no. 4 (2013), 515-543.

“From mixed-sex sport to sport for girls: The feminization of figure skating.” Sport in History 30, no. 2 (June 2010), pp. 218-241.

• Taylor & Francis Sport in History Prize for best article published in 2010

“The Manly History of a Girls’ Sport: Gender, Class and the development of nineteenth-century figure skating.” International Journal for the History of Sport 24, no. 7 (July 2007), pp. 872-893.

“The game of whose lives? Notes on gender and identity in a hockey mad culture.” In Artificial Ice: Hockey, Commerce and Cultural Identity, edited by David Whitson and Richard Gruneau. Toronto: Broadview Press, 2006. pp. 71-84.

“‘Death to the prancing prince’: Effeminacy, sport discourses and the salvation of men’s dancing.” Body and Society 11, no. 4 (December 2005), pp. 63-86.

Graduate Student Opportunities

I will be retiring from the university in June 2025, and so I am no longer able to accept new MA or PhD students for supervision.