Western’s unique graduate program in High Altitude Exercise Physiology (HAEP) provides both students and faculty with the tools they need to conduct and publish cutting-edge research regarding a wide variety of topics in the Exercise and Sport Science field. Over the past three years, HAEP faculty members and students have published nearly 20 academic papers in scientific journals, making their mark as a program that effectively puts textbook knowledge into hands-on practice.
Student and professor research covers a wide breadth of topics including Heat Stress and Acclimation, Metabolic Syndrome, Effects of Equipment Weight on Performance Efficiency, Cold Water Immersion for Recovery, and Benefits of Training with a Sauna Suit, among other compelling subjects. The findings presented through their research has helped guide both students and faculty in further developing research questions and conducting their own related investigations based on this new data.
In addition to a prominent showing in academia, Western’s expertise in the field of Exercise Physiology has gone beyond scientific research journals. Dr. Christina Buchanan, Director of the HAEP program, has been interviewed in several popular magazines, blogs and even a Discovery Science Channel television show about timely topics, such as how to safely exercise while wearing a mask and the up and coming movement of high altitude training while living at a lower elevation. Her communication with these popular media outlets has put Western on the map as a prestigious university for studying Exercise and Sport Science with a distinct advantage in the high-altitude exercise physiology realm.
The HAEP program’s specific focus on research and scientific investigation promotes the program as one that offers practical, hands-on learning and prepares graduates to enter into the workforce with the analytical skills and theoretical knowledge they’ll need to be successful. Notably, this professional development doesn’t stop with students; Western professors who partake in research bring their expertise to the classroom through not only sharing their findings, but also providing a thorough understanding of the scientific process and answering thought-provoking questions.
2020 / 2021
As the HAEP program enters into the 2020-21 academic year, students and faculty alike will continue to search for answers to exercise physiology-related questions and share their findings with both Western and the greater Exercise and Sport Science community.
Subjects Researched
The complete list of subjects researched can be viewed through the following links:
- Effects of Acute Reduced-Exertion High-Intensity Interval Training and Vigorous-Intensity Exercise on the Advanced Lipid Profile
- The Acute and Chronic Responses to Exercise with the Core-Tex™
- Relationship Between Single Leg Reactive Strength Index and Overuse Injuries in Collegiate Middle-Distance and Distance Runners
- Post-Exercise Passive Heating Strategies with Hot Water Immersion and Sauna Suits Improve VO2max, Running Economy, and Lactate Threshold
- Can reduced-exertion, high-intensity interval training combat the deleterious cardiometabolic effects of a sedentary lifestyle?
- The Effects of Delayed Ischemic Preconditioning on Performance and Recovery in Repeated Cycling Bouts
- The Effect of Ischemic Preconditioning on Performance and Recovery during Repeated Supramaximal Cycling Bouts
- Personalized Blood Flow Restriction: A Pilot Study for Total Knee Arthroplasty Rehabilitation
- The Acute Cardiovascular and Metabolic Responses to GlidingTM Sliding Disc Exercise in Women
- The Acute and Chronic Physiological Responses to Pickleball in Middle-Aged and Older Adults
- The Performance Benefits of Training with a Sauna Suit: A Randomized, Controlled Trial
- Acute Metabolic Responses of Exercise with a Sauna Suit
