Our Principal Investigators
Dr. John Cairney, C0-Director
Dr. Cairney is the co-director of the INCH lab and is the head of School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences at the University of Queensland in Australia. Dr. Cairney is also an Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Public Health Sciences and Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University and a core scientist with the Offord Centre for Child Studies, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research at McMaster University, and the independent Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.
He is an academic leader in the field of paediatric exercise medicine and child health research and is particularly well-known for his work on developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and its impact on the health and well-being of children. He has held, among other research leadership positions, a Canada Research Chair in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and a Professorship in Child Health, and subsequently a Research Chair, in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University.
Dr. Matthew Kwan is Associate Professor in the Department of Child and Youth Studies at Brock University, and a holder of a Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Youth Mental Health and Performance. He is Co-Director of the INfant Child and youth health (INCH) lab, and Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Family Medicine and Kinesiology at McMaster University. Dr. Kwan has formal training in Kinesiology with a specific focus in health and exercise psychology, but his current research interests reflect a broader interdisciplinary science comprising behavioural medicine, health and exercise psychology, and population health.
The primary objective of his program of research is to understand the determinants of physical activity and other health-promoting behaviours, and its impact on mental health and wellbeing throughout the early life course. Guided by a socio-ecological perspective, this work aims to better understand the complex interplay between environmental, social, and individual factors, to determine how we can effectively target healthy behaviours to improve mental health and wellbeing of children and youth. Dr. Kwan’s current research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Rossy Family Foundation.
