MEDIA RELEASE: R00253 – 2 December 2016
The federal government has awarded Brock University two new Canada Research Chairs in the areas of workplace injury and the aging process.
Michael Holmes, assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology, holds the Canada Research Chair in Neuromuscular Mechanics and Ergonomics.
He examines how the brain and nervous system interact with the mechanics of hand, arm, shoulder and neck muscles as we perform a variety of tasks.
Holmes’ research aims to understand why some people develop carpal tunnel syndrome, repetitive strain injury and other upper-body injuries while others doing the same job do not.
“This research will lead to workplace and tool design strategies that make occupational tasks safer and more efficient,” says Holmes. “It will impact the lives of working Canadians because work shouldn’t hurt.”
Karen Campbell, who is set to join Brock University in January as assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, holds the Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging.
Her research shows that memory as a whole is preserved in older adults. What is different is that older adults are less able than younger people to focus their attention on the task at hand.
Specifically, they tend to take in more information than their younger counterparts. This causes older people to lose focus as they sift through facts, images, thoughts and other stimuli.
“The common view is that memory declines with age,” explains Campbell. “I think our view of age-related memory decline is quite exaggerated or at least it’s misplaced, in that it’s probably more to do with a loss of attentional control.”
She will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of younger and older adults as they perform a variety of tasks and compare the scans to determine how brain networks critical for controlling attention differ with age.
Campbell and Holmes are 203 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs across the country, announced Friday, Dec. 2 by federal Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan.
The Canada Research Chair program invests around $265 million per year to attract and retain some of the world’s most accomplished and promising minds in the fields of engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences.
“We are delighted to welcome our two new, world-class scholars to Brock. I’m confident that their work here in Niagara will make substantial contributions to knowledge and will also have significant implications in areas of health and wellness,” says Brock’s Interim Vice-President, Research Joffre Mercier.
With Campbell’s and Holmes’ awards, Brock University now has a total of 10 Canada Research Chairs.
See story in The Brock News.
For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
* Cathy Majtenyi, research communications/media relations specialist, cmajtenyi@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5789 or 905-321-0566
* Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970
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