{"id":58400,"date":"2019-06-07T15:30:34","date_gmt":"2019-06-07T19:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=58400"},"modified":"2019-06-07T15:30:58","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T19:30:58","slug":"phd-recipient-among-brock-employees-graduating-next-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2019\/06\/phd-recipient-among-brock-employees-graduating-next-week\/","title":{"rendered":"PhD recipient among Brock employees graduating next week"},"content":{"rendered":"

The road to earning a doctorate has not been without obstacles for Greig Inglis.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Faculty of Applied Health Sciences Senior Lab Co-ordinator\u2019s quest for higher education has meant late nights, early mornings and learning to balance the ongoing demands of work, family life and his studies.<\/span><\/p>\n

But on Monday, June 10, years of hard work will culminate in Inglis receiving his PhD, the highest academic degree a person can achieve.<\/span><\/p>\n

Inglis is one of four Brock employees set to cross the stage during the University\u2019s <\/span>Spring Convocation<\/span><\/a>, which includes nine ceremonies from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Grimsby native\u2019s Brock journey began in 1994, when as an undergraduate student he planned to someday become a Physical Education teacher. However, his aspirations changed after taking an introduction to exercise physiology class with Professor<\/span> William J. Montelpare<\/span><\/a>, who taught at Brock from 1986 to 1998.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first met Bill, his energy and teaching style really resonated with me,\u201d Inglis recalled. \u201cThis was the first time I really saw how human physiology could be applied to human performance. Soon after, Health Sciences Professor Brent Faught guided me to appreciate research and it inspired me to become a lifelong learner.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Faught, who spent much time in the exercise physiology lab with Inglis in the mid-90s, recognized his \u201cinquisitive character\u201d early on.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo be a scientist, you always have to be wondering,\u201d he said. \u201cGreig has a desire to learn; he was always inquiring about the why and how, and trying to answer compelling questions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After completing his Bachelor of Physical Education in 1998, Inglis left Brock to complete a master\u2019s degree at East Tennessee State University before returning in 2000 as a research assistant. He accepted the position of Senior Lab Co-ordinator the following year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with people I\u2019ve known since 1996 has given me the opportunity to develop a sense of community,\u201d Inglis said. \u201cFor as long as I can remember, I knew I wanted to do a PhD, but I waited 10 years before finally going back and doing it part time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For the past seven years, Inglis has focused his doctoral work in the area of clinical neurophysiology and biomechanics, studying sex differences in the neural control of movement. His research included three studies with more than 100 participants that looked at different aspects of skeletal muscle electrophysiology and how biomechanical sex differences affect muscle activation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to know why after removing differences in body size, sex differences in strength persist, and if there are potential neuromechanical differences between the sexes,\u201d Inglis explained. \u201cThis meant measuring electrical activity in the muscles of men and women to illuminate potential differences in motor unit behaviour and how these differences could account for sex differences in strength.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The future direction of this work could be used to develop specific training modalities and rehabilitation techniques in specific populations, and to add a large data set to the study of motor unit behaviour throughout force gradation.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Inglis, accomplishing his academic goals meant not only working hard in the lab, but also learning the fine art of balancing his full-time job with his studies and his responsibilities as a father.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWorking every evening from the time my two daughters were very young has meant surrounding myself with people who understand the time commitment,\u201d Inglis said. \u201cThere were times I put my girls to bed, did research into all hours of the night and then squeezed in a few more hours of work in the morning before making them breakfast and heading off to work. This has meant working both evenings and weekends, making some tough decisions and sacrifices.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Supporting Inglis throughout his academic journey was his PhD supervisor, Kinesiology Professor David Gabriel.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Greig expressed interest in completing a PhD, I saw a graduate student with a great deal of desire and aptitude for research, but with multiple constraints on his time,\u201d Gabriel said. \u201cWorking full time and being a single parent brought challenges that I could not imagine, but he persevered and completed his PhD when many others would have given up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflecting on his experience, Inglis acknowledged that although some answers were brought about by his research, his work has ultimately generated more questions he hopes to address going forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always wanting to learn and grow,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m never satisfied until I find the answers and I look forward to more opportunities in the future that will enable me to do this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Gabriel, on the other hand, is hoping Inglis will take some time to appreciate his accomplishments. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot only can Greig rejoice in completing a long journey while retaining a sense of humour, but colleagues have called his dissertation work a \u2018game changer\u2019 in the field,\u201d he said. \u201cI look forward to hooding him at Monday\u2019s Convocation ceremony.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Inglis is a recipient of the 2019 Jack M. Miller Excellence in Research Award and the Spring 2019 Distinguished Graduate Student Award, which is presented to one student from each program who has achieved the highest overall average. He will receive his doctoral degree and join his colleagues on stage on Monday, June 10.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also graduating next week are fellow Brock employees:<\/span><\/p>\n