{"id":95465,"date":"2024-09-09T14:53:46","date_gmt":"2024-09-09T18:53:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=95465"},"modified":"2026-05-08T16:15:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T20:15:48","slug":"crc-spotlight-regulating-body-temperature-in-hot-climates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2024\/09\/crc-spotlight-regulating-body-temperature-in-hot-climates\/","title":{"rendered":"CRC Spotlight: Regulating body temperature in hot climates"},"content":{"rendered":"

The federal government\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Canada Research Chairs<\/em><\/a>\u00a0program invests up to $311 million per year to attract and retain some of the world\u2019s most accomplished and promising minds. Chairholders are recognized to be national and international experts in the fields of engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities and social sciences. Brock University has\u00a0<\/em>12 active Canada Research Chairs<\/em><\/a>. This\u00a0<\/em>monthly series<\/em><\/a>\u00a0profiles the work, and lives, of Brock\u2019s Chairholders.<\/em><\/p>\n

Toby M\u00fcndel is happiest on a sweltering summer day.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sentiment stretching back to his childhood in Germany when he frequently found himself sitting among family members and friends in the backyard sauna.<\/p>\n

The group would sweat up a storm, then roll around the snow or plunge into an ice-cold pool.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hated that part, but I quite liked the heat,\u201d says the Professor of Kinesiology.<\/p>\n

Decades later, M\u00fcndel is doing a deep dive into thermoregulation. As Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Extreme Human Environments<\/a>, he studies how the human body regulates temperature under a variety of situations inside and outside the body.<\/p>\n

The human body\u2019s thermoregulation system includes the sweat glands, circulatory system, skin and a gland in the brain called the hypothalamus. Among other strategies, the body sweats, shivers and changes where it sends its blood flow to keep itself as close to 37 degrees C as possible.<\/p>\n

M\u00fcndel\u2019s entry into the field was a bit of a fluke. During his very first week as an undergraduate student at the University of Birmingham in the U.K., he saw a small poster calling for participants for a research study.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey offered money, and so I said, \u2018Yup, I’ll do it.\u2019 And it just so happened that it was a study where you had to cycle in a sauna for one hour for 14 days,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was hell; it was horrible. But from that first hook, mainly for money and joy of an ice-cream whilst horribly hot, I got interested.\u201d<\/p>\n

His Honours Bachelor of Science, considered to be the equivalent of a master\u2019s degree in Canada, focused on the impact of high intensity exercise on immune function through saliva samples, while his PhD focused on endurance and perception while exercising in the heat.<\/p>\n

M\u00fcndel began his career as a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, where he had earned his graduate degrees. He transferred to Massey University in New Zealand, working his way up to become Associate Professor of Kinesiology before joining Brock in 2022.<\/p>\n

Two major events took place during this time that put M\u00fcndel on the road to his current Canada Research Chair position.<\/p>\n

The first was a conversation M\u00fcndel had with the PhD student he supervised. The student decided to return to the U.S. to research how the aging process affects heat thermoregulation, a large population not well studied.<\/p>\n

He says that experience challenged him to expand the scope of his research.<\/p>\n

The second event occurred much closer to home.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, my wife was pregnant,\u201d he says. \u201cWe enjoyed all the changes that went on and I took an interest in the birth of our daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when the proverbial lightbulb went off.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the research on thermoregulation has been done on men,\u201d he says. \u201cI decided I was going to focus my work on what most researchers ignored or found too difficult to pursue, because women are important and form half of the population.\u201d<\/p>\n

M\u00fcndel\u2019s work examines the role of hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, and processes such as menstruation, pregnancy and ovulation in regulating body temperature, especially under conditions of exercise.<\/p>\n

Other goals he has in his Canada Research Chair<\/a> position include studying how thermoregulation affects fasting and how innovative new technologies such as wearable sensors that monitor temperature in real time can detect heat strain early and to protect the body against extreme heat.<\/p>\n

He also plans to work with Canada Research Chair Newman Sze<\/a> to examine molecular biomarkers in blood to determine who might be at greater risk of heat stroke or other vulnerabilities to the heat.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a Canada Research Chair is an incredible privilege: it allows for first-class facilities, supports graduate students and enables me to hit the ground running,\u201d says M\u00fcndel, adding he is grateful for his colleagues\u2019 support and the \u201cgiants\u201d of Brock\u2019 current and former CRC holders.<\/p>\n