Funded positions are available for domestic or international PhD students within the lab of Dr. Amy Kirkham in the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education, at the University of Toronto.
Interested students should complete this form in lieu of emailing Dr. Kirkham. Only the top candidates will be contacted for an interview. Apply before November 30, 2024 for the best chance of receiving an interview.
Selected candidates will then be asked to apply to the University of Toronto for admission. Deadlines for applications for admission are January 2025 for September 2025 start.
This call is specifically for potential candidates who hold or would be eligible to hold registered dietitian credentials in Canada who are interested in the integrative approach of diet and exercise in the prevention and treatment of chronic disease (primary focus on cardiovascular disease and cancer in women). Over the course of the PhD, the candidate would lead 2-3 projects involving the role of diet alone or in concert with exercise or other lifestyle interventions in the development or treatment of cardiovascular disease or cancer and also contribute to ongoing large clinical trials in the lab by developing and delivering interventions to women with or at risk for chronic disease. Current interventional approaches in the lab include both acute and chronic exercise in various formats, novel nutritional strategies (e.g., caloric restriction, time-restricted eating/intermittent fasting, ketogenic diet) as well as healthy eating practices or focussed protein intake counselling, as well as multimodal cardiac rehabilitation. Our lab spaces contain a metabolic kitchen and exercise training suite, as well as developed protocols for remote delivery of nutrition and exercise interventions. Opportunities to learn various data collection techniques will be offered based on the interests of the candidate including imaging (ultrasound and MRI of the heart, vessels, brain, muscle, adipose tissues, as well as DEXA), cardiopulmonary exercise testing, human tissue (blood, urine, saliva, skeletal muscle) collection and analysis, and other non-invasive techniques such as arterial tonometry, biolelectrical impedance, continuous glucose monitors, physical activity and sleep trackers. PhD students will be encouraged to develop their own projects and contribute to ongoing projects within the scope of the lab.
Significant opportunities will be provided to both receive and give mentorship to others including in the supervision of dietetic students from the University of Toronto and the nearby Toronto Metropolitan University. Manuscript writing and academic presentations are expected outputs throughout the degree. All projects in the lab follow a strong “team science” approach involving various trainees (undergraduate to doctoral) and both clinical (especially oncology and cardiology) and academic collaborators. Typically, PhD students in the lab will have one committee member who is a clinician scientist (in either oncology or cardiology depending on the focus) who will additionally provide guidance on clinical judgement and knowledge tranlsation of research to clinical practice.
The University of Toronto
Located in Canada’s most vibrant and culturally diverse city, the University of Toronto is consistently ranked among the world’s best research universities. The location, size and diversity provide unique opportunities for collaboration and innovation.
The Kirkham lab is located in the Goldring Centre for High Performance (building to the right of the track above). This award-winning building was completed in 2014 and houses cutting-edge research and teaching labs, a strength and conditioning centre, a state-of-the-art sports medicine clinic and a 2000-seat basketball and volleyball field house.
More information about the graduate program can be found here: https://kpe.utoronto.ca/academics-research/graduate-studies
Requirements:
- Human research experience of some sort is required
- Experience (research, volunteer, or work) with clinical populations or older adults
- At a minimum, candidates must have completed at least one internship or 3 months of dietary counselling in an older adult or chronic disease population
- Ability to take initiative and work independently, while also working well as part of a collaborative team
- An academic standing equivalent of a University of Toronto A- (80-84%) in the master’s degree completed. Note direct entry PhD is available for candidates without a thesis-based Masters degree.
- Candidates without degrees in English must meet the U of T English language proficiency requirements
Assets:
- Assets include education or experience related to human or exercise physiology in addition to the nutrition/dietetics training
- Experience and skill in academic writing and statistical analyses
- Leadership or mentorship experience
- Experience with one or more data collection techniques listed above
- Direct experience or education in cancer or cardiometabolic disease