School of Kinesiology welcomes Spencer Briggs, Lecturer in Physical Education & Health Pedagogy

School of Kinesiology welcomes Spencer Briggs, Lecturer in Physical Education & Health Pedagogy

The UBC School of Kinesiology is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Spencer Briggs as a Lecturer (full-time) in Physical Education and Health Pedagogy.

Mr. Briggs joins the School from Brock University where he is a doctoral candidate (expected to defend autumn 2026).  As a researcher in physical activity and physical education pedagogy, and sessional instructor, Mr. Briggs’ scholarship and pedagogical practice are anchored in frameworks of Meaningful Physical Education and Contextualized Instruction. By prioritizing student identities and lived experiences, his work seeks to create inclusive environments that restore a sense of joy and personal meaning to movement for students.  Mr. Briggs’ also brings several years of international teaching experience as a physical education teacher in Sweden and Australia. Drawing on his teaching experiences, Mr. Briggs’ work as a researcher and teacher educator aims to prepare pre-service teachers and kinesiology students to navigate professional complexities and to thrive in their future careers.  

Please join the School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Education in welcoming Mr. Spencer Briggs in his new role beginning August 2026.

Briggs, Spencer

Lecturer

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Exercise is Medicine On Campus (EIM-OC) is looking for students to join their leadership team

Hi All,

I’m writing to share an exciting opportunity to get involved with Exercise is Medicine On Campus (EIM-OC), a student-led initiative housed within the UBC School of Kinesiology.

Over the past few years, our team has made tremendous progress toward integrating physical activity more directly into campus healthcare. Working alongside partners across UBC Student Health & Wellbeing, Counselling Services, Mind in Motion, the UBC Physical Activity Committee, Exercise is Medicine Canada, and CHANGE BC, we have established a referral pathway through which UBC Student Health and Counselling can connect students who would benefit from additional physical activity support with Qualified Exercise Professionals for individualized consultations and exercise prescriptions.

Our broader goal is to help integrate physical activity into campus healthcare infrastructure and create an accessible, sustainable system of support for students, particularly those who may face the greatest barriers to becoming physically active.

As I prepare to leave UBC in the coming weeks to begin a faculty position in Michigan, we are looking to expand the EIM-OC student leadership team and identify students interested in helping lead the initiative into its next phase. EIM-OC has always been intended to be student-led, and this transition represents an exciting opportunity for new leaders to shape its continued growth and development while working alongside our established campus and community partners.

We welcome interest from undergraduate and graduate students across Kinesiology. We are particularly interested in hearing from students who hold a relevant exercise professional certification (e.g., CEP, RKin, CPT, CSCS, or similar) or who would be interested in pursuing certification, as expanding our capacity to provide individualized exercise consultations and prescriptions is currently one of the initiative’s greatest needs. Opportunities to become involved extend beyond consultation delivery and include program leadership, partnership development, outreach, evaluation, and helping shape the future direction of EIM-OC.

We will be available to help onboard and support the next group of student leaders during the transition. If you are interested in becoming involved or would simply like to learn more, please feel free to reach out to myself and Max Abercrombie at gabriel.zieff@ubc.ca and maxaber@student.ubc.ca. 

Thank you!

Gabe, Max, and the EIM-OC Team

UBC FAST Lab is looking for Volunteer Research Assistants!

We are recruiting volunteer research assistants to support the Remote Exercise iNtErvention for Wellbeing (RENEW) Trial: A 2-arm randomized at-home, app-based exercise trial to improve adherence, mental health, and wellbeing of British Columbian healthcare workers.

Healthcare workers report significantly worse mental health and wellbeing than the average employed Canadian. Evidence suggests that healthcare workers’ leisure-time physical activity is associated with improved mental and physical health. This randomized control trial examines whether the use of at-home exercise routines can increase healthcare workers engagement with an exercise intervention over a 6-month period. Our laboratory’s goal is to develop a feasible, engaging, and accessible physical activity program that can be more widely utilized in the future to support mental health in healthcare workers and beyond.

For more information, visit this link: https://fastlab.kin.educ.ubc.ca/opportunities/

Bone Stress Injuries Study

Have you experienced bone stress injuries? We’re looking for people who have competed at an elite- or international-level sporting competition and who have a history of bone stress injury (sometimes called ‘stress fracture’) to join our Research Advisory Panel.

We would like to work with athletes who are willing to share their experiences of recovering from bone stress injury, common in basketball, gymnastics, or track & field. Participation in all types of sport of level of competition will be considered.

We will ask you to share your experiences and opinions to help shape a research project on how athletes and their support team make decisions about their rehabilitation following a high-risk bone stress injury.

If you have experienced bone stress injury and you think you might be interested, please reach out to learn more: paul.blazey@ubc.ca

If you agree to participate, commitments and opportunities will include at a minimum:

  • 1-2 hour meeting every 3 months
  • Space to share your experiences and ideas
  • A place to learn about and contribute to research

If you are interested and would like to learn more, please send us a short paragraph about why you’re keen to be involved and your experience of bone stress injury. Get in touch by emailing paul.blazey@ubc.ca

MSc and PhD opportunities in exercise physiology at the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation at St. Paul’s Hospital

The Cardiopulmonary Exercise Physiology (CPEP) Laboratory is recruiting new students interested in pursuing graduate studies in human exercise physiology. The CPEP laboratory is located within the world renowned UBC Centre for Heart Lung Innovation at St. Paul’s Hospital. The lab studies the physiological mechanisms and management of exercise limitation and breathlessness across the full spectrum of health and fitness, including elite athletes to those suffering from chronic cardiorespiratory diseases. Students will work under the mentorship of Dr. Jordan Guenette and will collaborate with physicians, scientists, and graduate students from multiple institutions around the world. The following links provide more details about these exciting opportunities:

PhD position: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/ad/55188

MSc position: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/ad/55184

Exploring eating behaviours, dietary intake, food insecurity and body composition in undergraduate students

Principle Investigator:
Tamara Cohen, Pragti Varshney

Details:
Food insecurity is a growing concern among university students and is linked to poor diet quality, higher stress, and unhealthy eating behaviours. Students are particularly vulnerable due to financial pressures and life transitions that can make regular access to food difficult. Intuitive eating, which involves listening to hunger and fullness cues rather than following strict diet rules, is associated with better mental well-being and fewer disordered eating behaviours, but it may be harder to practice when food access is unreliable.

 Research consistently shows that higher food insecurity is associated with lower intuitive eating, especially when food insecurity is ongoing. Limited access to food can disrupt hunger cues and increase stress, leading to overeating or disordered eating patterns. While intuitive eating may help reduce some negative effects, little research has examined this relationship among Canadian university students, highlighting the need for further study in this population.

How to participate:

Click here to sign up

School of Kinesiology welcomes Mark Newman, Lecturer in Exercise Prescription & Injury Management

The UBC School of Kinesiology is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Mark Newman as a Lecturer in Exercise Prescription and Injury Management.

Mark joins the School from the University of Derby where was an instructor in strength and conditioning, sport and exercise science, and rehabilitation. His teaching centers on exercise prescription and testing, injury biomechanics, and applied rehabilitation and focuses on supporting students to develop the clinical reasoning, confidence, and professional judgement required for safe and effective practice. Mark designs learning activities to be inclusive and applied, integrating theory with hands-on experience through case-based teaching, authentic assessment, and practical laboratory work to prepare students from diverse educational backgrounds for real-world clinical and professional contexts. Mark draws on prior experience working as a sports therapist, strength and conditioning coach, and exercise professional across healthcare, community, and high-performance sport settings. He is completing a PhD in neuromuscular physiology, with research interests in the force–velocity relationship and applied performance assessment.

Please join the School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Education in welcoming Mr. Mark Newman into his new role beginning September 1, 2026.

Newman, Mark

Lecturer

Email: Coming soon!

Office: Coming soon!

Education

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New federal funding supports UBC research on heat and schizophrenia

The Government of Canada has announced more than $17 million in funding through its Climate Change and Health Capacity Building Program, including support for University of British Columbia research examining how extreme heat affects people living with schizophrenia.

At this morning’s announcement, Dr. Liv Yoon highlighted findings from the 2021 B.C. heat dome, during which people living with schizophrenia represented approximately 1% of the population but accounted for nearly 16% of heat-related deaths. Research suggests that a combination of social, environmental, and health-related factors can increase vulnerability during extreme heat events.

Dr. Yoon’s HeatADAPT-funded project aims to better understand the relationship between residents’ lived experiences and the physical conditions inside their homes during extreme heat, helping inform more equitable climate adaptation strategies. Her broader research focuses on the intersection of climate change, health, and social inequities.

Dr. Liv Yoon speaking at the HeatADAPT funding announcement

Learn more:

Read the Q&A on the Faculty of Education website

Government of Canada Climate Change and Health Capacity Building Program