A Brock University PhD student is quite literally taking up the torch for athletes with disabilities.

Aly Bailey, a first-year PhD Student in Applied Health Sciences, will be one of the torchbearers when the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games torch relay rolls through St. Catharines Monday evening.

The 26-year-old was nominated by two fellow students who felt Bailey was deserving of the honour because of her masters research involving body image experiences facing individuals with physical disabilities.

“I’m definitely honoured and humbled by the opportunity … as well as excited, and a little nervous,” Bailey said with a laugh.

Bailey’s research led to a passion for working with individuals with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities. In addition to working on her PhD, she works at Brock’s Centre for Health and Well-Being, where she’s developing a positive body image program that can be widely used among individuals with disabilities.

Bailey said her masters research made her realize people with physical disabilities have both negative and positive body image experiences.

“I feel that the positive gets missed a lot in the media and in some of the notions people have around disability. A lot of them are inaccurate,” she said. “The celebrations of the Parapan Am Games are highlighting some of the positives, so it definitely resonates with me.”

Brock PhD student Lindsay Cline, who along with Brock alumna Larkin Lamarche nominated Bailey, said being a torchbearer will allow her friend to continue spreading an important message.

“One of the reasons we thought to nominate Aly was to give her this platform for her research and to bring some needed attention to the Parapan Am Games,” Cline said.

The Parapan Am Torch Relay Celebration will take place at Lakeside Park in Port Dalhousie Monday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Bailey and the other torchbearers will each carry the torch for about 200 metres.