Associate Professor | Canada Research Chair Tier 2 in Physical Activity & Health | Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar
Email: eli.puterman@ubc.ca
Phone: 604 822 2854
Lab Website: Fitness, Aging, & Stress (FAST) Lab
Office: Medical Sciences Block C, Room 104 | 2176 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3
Mailing Address: War Memorial Gymnasium, Room 210 | 6081 University Boulevard, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1
Publications: ORCID, Google Scholar, Research Gate
Education
The University of British Columbia, 2009, PhD, (Psychology)
The University of British Columbia, 2004, MA, (Psychology)
Concordia University, 2001, BA, (Psychology)
McGill University, 1995, BSc, (Physiology)
Courses Taught
KIN 489X Psychobiology of Physical Activity
Research Areas
Research Interests
Publications
See ORCID, Google Scholar and Research Gate for a list of current publications.
Research and Teaching
My research seeks to understand the interplay among stress, aging, and exercise. It is unquestionable that habitual physical activity promotes health. My recent randomized controlled trial is the first to demonstrate that 6 months of exercise can reverse cellular aging of the immune system in previously inactive, highly stressed adults. These results invite a compelling question: does exercise benefit the immune system simply by bolstering basic cell mechanisms associated with aging or additionally by bolstering adaptive psychological and biological stress processes that can directly improve immune function? I am currently developing new intervention trials and laboratory based studies to disentangle the extent to which both acute and long-term exercise can strengthen both psychological and biological stress responses and immune function in children and adults alike.
Potential Students
Students interested in pursuing a graduate degree or post-doctoral fellowship are encouraged to contact me at the email address above.