Postdoctoral Researchers

Ricardo Martins, PhD

Ricardo Martins is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Behavioural Epidemiology Lab in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation. He completed his PhD in Exercise, Health and Life Sciences at Coventry University (United Kingdom), where his doctoral research examined the effects of exercise on cognition and affect in children.

Ricardo’s research focuses on physical activity, movement behaviours, fundamental movement skills, and executive functioning across childhood and adolescence. His work examines how movement and physical activity influence children’s cognitive development, health, and wellbeing. He has experience using behavioural and neurophysiological assessments and works across quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research approaches.

He currently contributes to research within the international SUNRISE Study, examining how 24 hour movement behaviours relate to early childhood development and health outcomes across diverse global contexts.

SangHyun Hwang, PhD

SangHyun Hwang (he/they) is a postdoctoral researcher in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation at the University of Alberta. His research interests lie in reinterpreting disability sports, physical activities, recreation, and outdoor sports through the lenses of anti-imperialism and post-colonialism, particularly from the standpoint of Korean Indigenous people. SangHyun is committed to contributing to an international disability alliance based on disability justice to dismantle ableism on a global scale. Born in Japan and raised in South Korea, he studied Adapted Physical Education and has been actively engaged in research and practice in the fields of adapted physical activity and disability sports.

Gabriele Marinari, PhD

Gabriele’s research focuses on the neural control of vascular function at rest and in response to acute exercise in humans. Specifically, he investigates the sympathetic nervous system-mediated regulation of blood pressure and skeletal muscle blood flow to meet metabolic demand during exercise. To explore this, Gabriele employs a range of interventions to alter the neural control of vascular resistance and blood flow. Ultimately, his goal is to identify novel strategies for preventing cardiovascular diseases associated with alterations in nervous system-mediated regulation of vascular function.

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Fallon Mitchell

Fallon is an Honorary Killam Memorial and CIHR Postdoctoral Fellow in the Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health. She earned her PhD from the University of Windsor where her work focused on promoting accessible exercise among older adults and people with a disability. Her postdoctoral research continues to advance knowledge of physical activity among under-represented populations. Specifically, she is examining physical activity behaviours, health outcomes, and experiences among pregnant persons with a disability. Findings will contribute evidence to guide exercise among this population and develop effective interventions. Overall, Fallon aims to reduce health inequities for pregnant persons with a disability.

Katherine Sainsbury, PhD

Katherine Sainsbury is a conservation social scientist whose research explores how people’s interactions with nature shape their perspectives on wildlife and habitat management. Her work combines social, psychological, and economic approaches to better understand public and producer preferences for conservation. Current projects include national and prairie-based studies on stakeholder involvement in conservation, farmer perspectives on wetlands, and urban coexistence with coyotes. Her research is supported by Wildlife Habitat Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada, and the NAWMP partnerships.