In 2009 I graduated from the University of Vermont with a BS in Exercise and Movement Science.
I completed my MSc at the University of British Columbia in 2011. My thesis investigated the interaction between exercise and high altitude and specifically, susceptibility to high altitude illness. My thesis can be found at the UBC library here.
I am currently completing my PhD at UBC in the Environmental Physiology Laboratory where I plan to continue examining the role of exercise in both the hyperbaric and hypobaric environments.
In the summer of 2012, I participated in two research expeditions. The first was to Bamfield on Vancouver Island in British Columbia to study the effect of exercise on diving safety. We worked with an excellent group of scientific divers in training, taking blood samples, evaluating decompression stress and monitoring dive profiles. We also had three weeks secluded on Vancouver Island to run on the West Coast Trail and paddle around Bamfield Harbor. Read Each of the expedition updates below:
The second was a little further away, to Lake Gosainkunda in Nepal to study acute mountain sickness in Nepali Pilgrims. Our team evaluated illness in Nepalis at 4500meters. To do so, we trekked across landslides and up single-track paths into the Himalaya. We worked closely with a group of doctors and students from the teaching hospital in Kathmandu, without their help, the project would have been a dismal failure. We hope that in the future, the results of our project will help early identification of people who are at a higher risk of illness so that they can be prepared.
Several new research projects are currently underway or about to begin in our Laboratory at UBC. If you are interested in participating in Kinesiology research at UBC, check out this link. Scroll to the bottom and look for Acute Mountain Sickness to see my studies.