Brian Timmons
Associate Professor, Pediatrics

Dr. Brian Timmons is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics. He also holds status as Associate Member in the Department of Kinesiology, an Investigator with the CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, and is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physical Education and Kinesiology at Brock University. Dr. Timmons was recruited into the Department of Pediatrics to continue the research program previously led by the late Dr. Oded Bar-Or. Today, this program is known as the Child Health & Exercise Medicine (CHEM) Program.

Our unique facility has the capacity to address a variety of research questions relevant to child health ranging from optimizing clinical exercise testing in children with a disease or disability to unravelling the molecular mechanisms that translate physical activity into optimal growth and development. Our approach is to combine basic science techniques with clinical research trials to facilitate the translation of physiological principles into clinical applications. Ongoing projects are investigating the impact of exercise on inflammation in children with a chronic inflammatory disease; the development of an in vitro model of skeletal muscle adaptation; growth-related changes in energy metabolism during exercise using stable isotope tracers; and children's exercise responses in different environmental conditions.

The diversity of research at CHEM creates a unique training environment. Students and trainees are exposed to a unique combination of clinical research methods and basic science techniques. Exercise laboratory protocols include cycle ergometry, indirect calorimetry, and spirometry. We use accelerometry to measure free living physical activity in healthy children and in children with a chronic disease. ELISA, cell isolation and flow cytometry, metabolite analysis and stable isotope methods are also used in our studies.

The Exercise Medicine Clinic is designed to assess and help to improve the physical fitness and function of children with significant ongoing medical conditions. Referrals can be faxed to 905-385-5033.