Director
Dr. Catherine Sabiston is a professor in the FKPE and holds a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Physical Activity and Mental Health. She has nearly 200 peer-reviewed publications, over 400 presentations, and has held over 19 million dollars in funding for her research broadly focused on physical activity and mental health. Dr. Sabiston has also trained 8 post-doctoral fellows, 6 PhD students to completion, and 23 Master-level students to completion, as well as over 50 undergraduate students working on independent research programs. She has built international collaborations and has worked on multidisciplinary teams aimed at enhancing physical activity opportunities and experiences. Her mixed-methods research expertise is also an added value to her role as Director of MPARC. Dr. Sabiston is currently President-elect of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Postdoctoral & Graduate Students
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Erin O'Loughlin
Year 3 Post-Doc
My work focuses on describing trends in exergaming over time, comparing characteristics of exergamers vs. non-exergamers, and assessing exergaming outcomes in real-life settings.
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David Brown
Year 4 PhD
My work utilizes mixed-method and collaborative approaches to investigate body image within the context of sport. My current research interests encompass body image, coach education, athlete maltreatment, and programme design & evaluation.
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Roxy O'Rourke
Year 4 PhD
The intersection between quality sport experiences and mental health/illness of athletes experiencing disabilities, with a broader interest in sport and mental health for individuals at-risk of experiencing mental health challenges.
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Maryam Marashi
YEAR 3 PhD
Interests in exercise and health psychology. She is particuarily interested in how body image influences and is influenced by women's exercise behaviour. Maryam also works as a fitness and nutrition coach, helping individuals in the general population to enact lasting lifestyle changes.
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Delaney Thibodeau
YEAR 3 PhD
My work is focused on exploring body-related psychological variables related to elite athletes’ attention in competition with the implications for performance and risk of injury.
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Danika Quesnel
YEAR 2 PhD
My research is underscored by an interdisciplinary approach to mental health that merges my background in health sciences with clinical psychology to foster wellness for both the mind and body. Primarily, my research focuses on developing guidelines to systematically help clinicians address lifestyles factors in mental health treatment.
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Samira Sunderji
Year 2 MSc
My current research explores the effects of cognitive and emotional fatigue on physical activity enjoyment from a body image perspective.
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Edi Bijvoet
YEAR 2 MSc
My masters thesis work is focusing on examining Body Surveillance and Motor Performance using Biometric Sensors.
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Sarah Ryan
YEAR 1 MSc
I’m interested in the experiences of body image among adolescents, specifically within the context of physical activity.
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Amy Nesbitt
Updating soon!!
Undergraduate Research Assistants
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Andrew Alvarez
An undergraduate Kinesiology and Physical Education student, where one of his biggest interests lies in the human body and how it moves. Specifically finds the intricacies of our anatomy and physiology fascinating, and enjoys learning about the various ways we can improve our physical health and well-being.
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Hamza Salah
As an undergraduate Kinesiology & Physical Education student, he’s gained a strong passion in the movement and physiology of the human body. Biomechanics is an aspect of anatomy that he finds interesting as he enjoys learning how to improve physical performance and health.
Research Managers
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Vanessa Coulbeck
B.A., M.A.
Research and Development Manager
Research Interests: body image and psycho-education (i.e., self-compassion/mindfulness) practices related to involvement in sport and physical activity. Particularly passionate about intuitive physical activity promotion for girls and aims to create programming across the globe targeting barriers to mental and physical well-being in school and sports contexts
