The Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education will be welcoming four new faculty members on board this summer. Robert Bentley, Amy Kirkham, Adam Ali and Timothy Burkhart will be assuming the positions of assistant professors in the faculty from July 1.
Robert Bentley and Amy Kirkham accepted appointments to tenure stream positions at the rank of assistant professor in the area of cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory exercise physiology.
Bentley completed his PhD in cardiovascular physiology in the School of Kinesiology & Health Studies at Queen’s University in 2016. His doctorate was followed by a postdoctoral position, during which he conducted research in the laboratories of KPE Professor Jack Goodman and Associate Professor Susanna Mak of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
“My interest in exercise physiology was sparked when I was a teenager. While playing highly competitive hockey, I suffered a severe facial injury and had my jaw wired shut for eight weeks. While recovering, I noticed a stark reduction in my fitness and performance. Without appreciating the underlying physiological changes at the time, I simply wanted to restore my fitness and performance as quickly as possible. This experience drove my initial education in exercise physiology, which over the years has grown into a passion for exploring oxygen delivery and the cardiovascular response to exercise,” says Bentley, whose other passion is cooking.
“I love to cook and my favourite appliance is my KitchenAid stand mixer. Whether making dough for pizza, pasta or cinnamon buns, I always have fun and the end product is usually pretty good, as well.”
Bentley’s research will focus on oxygen delivery and precision phenotyping in health and cardiovascular disease. Specifically, he will be determining the mechanisms and health/exercise performance implications of disparate vasodilatory (the widening of blood vessels), cardiac and blood pressure responses.
“The overarching goal of my research is to inform strategies and interventions to improve exercise performance, exercise tolerance and quality of life across the health spectrum,” he says.
Assistant Professor Robert Bentley brings a cinnamon bun to life (photo courtesy of Robert Bentley)
Kirkham completed her PhD in rehabilitation sciences in 2016 on the topic of cardiac and exercise oncology in the Department of Physical Therapy in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta, focusing on cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging.
“My first research study in graduate school saw me helping out with an exercise training intervention during chemotherapy for breast cancer. I was immediately struck by the importance and potential impact of the exercise program for the women in the study and became interested in the cardiac side effects of cancer treatment,” says Kirkham.
Her research will apply cutting edge, non-invasive, imaging techniques to study precisely prescribed lifestyle interventions to prevent and improve cardiovascular dysfunction and disease, with an emphasis on women. A primary focus will be on cardiovascular disease in breast cancer survivors, the top cause of death of women in Canada.
“While exercise is a key diagnostic and therapeutic tool, I take a multi-disciplinary approach to both research and teaching. My research and teaching will focus on clinical populations, primarily cardiac and cancer, but also other chronic diseases, and incorporate an appreciation for the individual impact and synergies with exercise of other lifestyle interventions including especially nutrition, but also management of smoking, stress, or sleep as potential risk factors,” says Kirkham.
Although she studies exercise in clinical populations, Kirkham’s personal and academic beginnings were in high performance sport. She competed at the provincial, national or international levels in the sports of cross country running, track & field, road cycling and triathlon. During her undergraduate degree at York University, she pursued the athletic therapy program while concurrently competing on the varsity cross country and track teams. During graduate school in Vancouver, she competed internationally as a professional triathlete.
“While I no longer compete seriously, I still ‘walk the talk’ as an exercise physiology researcher by commuting by bicycle year-round, even in -30 degrees Celsius weather, mountain biking, lifting weights and practicing yoga,” says Kirkham.
Assistant Professor Amy Kirkham mountain biking in Golden, British Columbia (photo courtesy of Amy Kirkham)
Adam Ali accepted a two-year term appointment at the rank of assistant professor, teaching stream. He completed his PhD in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University in 2019. His doctoral research examined the issue of sport as a tool of de-radicalization, examining connections between physical culture, race, terror and surveillance.
Ali translated his research into a fourth-year seminar course in KPE called Sport and the War on Terror, which examines how contemporary renditions of sport and physical cultures have emerged alongside and been shaped by the continuing global war on terrorism.
“I am excited to teach this course once again in the upcoming fall term,” he says.
Ali did his post-doctoral fellowship at KPE under the mentorship of Assistant Professor Simon Darnell, researching the history, policy and practice of sport for development and environmental sustainability, his second area of research interest. As part of this research, he is currently working with Darnell on a project that explores sport and international development as they relate to environmental sustainability.
“I interrogate the relationship between sport, sustainability and the environment, and the broader impacts of this relationship for the struggle against climate change.”
Ali is a proud alumnus of the faculty’s undergraduate program, having earned his Bachelor of Physical Health and Education in 2010.
“I am thrilled to join this illustrious faculty, many of whom I had the privilege to learn from throughout my undergraduate tenure. I am most looking forward to continuing to teach our outstanding undergraduate cohort. As a former student of the program, it is a privilege to be able to bestow the knowledge I have gained onto the next generation of national leaders in sport studies,” he says. “In addition to teaching, I am also looking forward to assisting the faculty fulfill its anti-racist and justice-related objectives through my work on the Equity Sub-Committee.”
Assistant Professor Adam Ali got his undergraduate degree in kinesiology from U of T (photo courtesy of Adam Ali)
Timothy Burkhart accepted an appointment to a tenure stream position at the rank of assistant professor in the area of biomechanics and motor control.
Burkhart completed his PhD in engineering with a focus on biomechanical engineering at the University of Windsor in 2012. His doctorate was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Western University. He will be coming to KPE from the Lawson Health Research Institute at the London Health Sciences Centre, where he worked as a research scientist.
Burkhart’s research is within the field of lower extremity injury, orthopaedic and musculoskeletal biomechanics with a focus on sports medicine, orthopaedic surgery and bone fractures. The primary goal of his research is to advance the reduction, treatment and rehabilitation of lower extremity orthopaedic related issues to improve long-term health, performance and quality of life.
“Our latest faculty additions are all prolific researchers in their field of expertise with impressive records of student mentoring experiences, research, peer-reviewed journal publications and knowledge translation activities,” says Professor Ira Jacobs, dean of KPE. “Moreover, they all have strong research networking and collaboration histories that leave me confident that they will continue and accelerate their trajectories of academic and research excellence in our faculty. I am excited to welcome them on board.”