Eric Hedge
Assistant Professor
Training
BSc – Kinesiology (University of Western Ontario)
MSc – Kinesiology (University of Waterloo)
PhD – Kinesiology (University of Waterloo)
Post-Doctoral Fellowship – Internal Medicine (Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine & University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center)
Undergraduate Courses
KNPE 227 – Exercise Physiology
Research Summary
The goal of my research program is to advance our understanding of the integrative physiological mechanisms governing cerebral blood flow and cardiovascular function, with a focus on the effects of exercise and inactivity across the lifespan. My laboratory is currently focusing on 3 lines of investigation:
1) Cerebrovascular control during exercise
2) Cardiovascular consequences of spaceflight/bed rest/inactivity & countermeasures to protect cardiovascular health
3) Integrative cardiovascular responses to exercise
Graduate Student Opportunities
My laboratory is currently considering applications for MSc and PhD student positions. Prospective students are strongly encouraged to apply for scholarships and awards offered through the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), or Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS). Deadlines for these competitions generally fall in October — several months before the deadlines for our graduate programs. Only students who have already applied for funding from these external agencies will be eligible for the various internal scholarships and awards offered by Queen’s University to incoming students.
Selected Publications
Hedge, E.T., Howden, E.J., Lawley, J.S., Cornwell, W.K., Haykowsky, M.J., Levine, B.D., and Sarma, S. (2026). Influence of sex and heart size on cardiovascular adaptations to 2 years of endurance exercise training in sedentary middle-aged adults. Journal of Physiology. 604: 5817-5830. DOI: 10.1113/JP290689.
Hedge, E.T., Bryans, C.G., Mastrandrea, C.J., Siebenmann, C., Hargens, A.R., Karlsson, L.L., Hughson, R.L., and Linnarsson, D. (2025). Exercise during artificial gravity preserves cardiorespiratory fitness but not orthostatic tolerance following 60 days of head-down bed rest. Journal of Applied Physiology. 139(4): 943-950. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00224.2025.
Hedge, E.T., Mastrandrea, C.J., Patterson, C.A., and Hughson, R.L. (2025). Sex differences between postmenopausal women and similar-age men in response to orthostatic stress following 2 wk of bed rest. Journal of Applied Physiology.138:1, 226-237. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00477.2024
Hedge, E.T., and Hughson, R.L. (2025). Competing influences of arterial pressure and carbon dioxide on the dynamic cerebrovascular response to step transitions in exercise intensity. Journal of Applied Physiology. 138:3, 816-824. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00643.2024.
Hedge, E.T., Robertson, A.D., and Hughson, R.L. (2025). Effects of dynamic changes in arterial pressure and carbon dioxide on middle cerebral artery blood velocity during high-intensity interval exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology. 139(5): 1175-1184. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00638.2025.
Hedge, E.T., Mastrandrea, C.J., and Hughson, R.L. (2023). Loss of cardiorespiratory fitness and its recovery following two weeks of head-down bed rest and the protective effects of exercise in 55- to 65-yr-old adults. Journal of Applied Physiology. 134:4, 1022-1031. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00726.2022.
See PubMed for full list of publications (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Hedge+ET&sort=date)