At the end of March, students from ten Canadian universities visited the Athletic Centre for the 25th annual Bertha Rosenstadt National Undergraduate Research Conference (NURC), presented by the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education. Across over 120 presentations, participants shared literature reviews, critiques, term papers, and findings from research projects to their peers.
Professor Gretchen Kerr, dean of KPE, opened the day’s proceedings by reminding students that they were in a truly supportive environment—one dedicated to taking on important challenges. “Never before have the questions that we wrestle with in this field been more important to the health and wellbeing of the population at large, and of the environment as well,” she said, welcoming representatives from McMaster University, the University of Ottawa, the University of Waterloo, York University, Brock University, Lakehead University, the University of Guelph-Humber, Western University, Ontario Tech University, and Queens University. U of T students, meanwhile, accounted for 56 of the day’s presentations.
Since 1999, the NURC has been hosted by KPE. The multidisciplinary event includes topics from exercise physiology, biomechanics and sports medicine to motor learning and control, exercise and sport psychology, philosophy, history, and sociology of sport. The conference gives undergraduate students the opportunity to present to their peers—often for the first time.
““It means a lot,” said Roya Rahmani, a third-year KPE student who presented research on Interindividual variability in menstrual cycle characteristics. “This is a great opportunity, and this whole experience has been so amazing. Presenting at a conference is so huge.” Rahmani added that learning about the practical, logistical side of research—as well as seeing her peers come together—was a highlight. “It’s so inspiring!” Fourth-year student Taylor Wilcox agreed: “I love that there are so many different fields here. Getting exposure to a wide range of expertise is really exciting,” she said. (Wilcox presented her findings on Greater exogenous glucose oxidation in females compared to males at rest and following acute exercise.) Both students were supervised by Dr. Jenna Gillen, assistant professor of exercise physiology with the Faculty.
“These conferences are so important for our undergraduate students because it’s one of their first opportunities to present their research and give a presentation outside of a class setting,” said Dr. Gillen. “It gives them a taste of what life as a graduate student could be like, or if they get involved in research, how to communicate those findings. It really helps them in that way.” The quality of presentations and research across the board was extremely impressive for undergraduates, or anyone, she added. “The students did fantastic. It’s one of the best parts of my job—seeing their success; it’s so rewarding.”
Dr. Tricia McGuire-Adams, associate professor with the Faculty, delivered the day’s keynote with an address entitled Indigenous Research in Physical Cultural Studies. Drawing on her own journey in learning about Indigenous research methodologies, Dr. McGuire-Adams showed that while Indigenous-led research is essential to advancing scholarship in sport and physical cultural studies, the presence of Indigenous research methodologies within this field remains underexamined. There is a necessity, she said, of positioning settler colonialism as a foundation for including Indigenous research methodologies in physical cultural studies. “However,” she continued, “when I teach, I am most often left with an enduring sense of hope.”
That hope was clearly shared by a room full of conference attendees, who ended their day with a short presentation of the 2025 Outstanding Presentation Awards. Of those named, including Haddie Arber Oakes (Queens University) and Grace Lochner (McMaster University), KPE student Keegan Zavits was applauded for his presentation, The effect of blood flow restriction training on peripheral hemodynamics.