Physical Activity & Cancer Lab

Dr. Melanie Keats is a Professor in the School of Health and Human Performance, Division of Kinesiology. She holds a research appointment with the Division of Medical Oncology with Nova Scotia Health, Co-Chairs the Physical Activity and Cancer Care Standards Working Group with the Nova Scotia Cancer Care Program and is a Senior Research Scientist with the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute. Dr. Keats’ research takes an interdisciplinary approach to better understanding the role of exercise in improving the quality of life of cancer survivors. This includes working with experts in the fields of behavioral medicine, exercise science, exercise oncology, medical and psychosocial oncology, chronic disease management, knowledge translation, immunology, population health, clinical trials and implementation science.

Dr. Scott Grandy is an Associate Professor in the School of Health and Human Performance, Division of Kinesiology. He holds a research appointment with the Division of Medical Oncology with Nova Scotia Health and is a Senior Research Scientist with the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute. 

Tom Christensen is the Research Coordinator and Senior Clinical Physiologist (CEP) in the PAC Lab. Tom recently completed his masters degree with the lab and now coordinates all of the ongoing research in the lab. As the senior CEP, Tom is also responsible for coordinating, delivering and overseeing all exercise programming. Tom loves helping people maintain, improve, and enjoy their health and fitness. 

Deborah has over 35 years’ experience as a Registered Nurse in health care.  After many years in Critical Care, Emergency and Flight Nursing, Deborah moved towards management and administration within Nova Scotia Health.  In 2012 as NSH’s Cardiology Research Manager, she led the development of the research enterprise and in this capacity managed large-scale projects. It is in this role that she met and began working with the PAC LAB, specifically Dr Scott Grandy and Dr Melanie Keats.  In October 2017, Deborah joined Dr J. Brown’s Biomedical Engineering research team as Project Manager.  In this role she provides management and administrative support for Dr Brown’s multiple research endeavors with the focus being on the multiple medical device innovations as well as providing the same support to the amazing PAC LAB research program.

Dr. Stefan Heinze is a post-doctoral fellow with the PAC lab and the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s Cancer Care Program working towards integrating exercise and physical activity programming as a standard of care. In addition, he has helped to introduce the measurement of frailty into the PAC Lab’s research. He is interested in how we can use frailty assessments to help decide upon the best care pathways for each person living with a cancer diagnosis.

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Victoria is one of the clinical exercise physiologists in the PAC lab. She is responsible for creating individualized programs for ACCESS and RESIST participants and overseeing/facilitating the delivery of these programs. Working with participants in our various programs brings her so much joy as she is passionate about making movement accessible to everyone and helping individuals overcome their barriers to being physically active.

Denelle Pedrick is a master's student with the PAC lab. She is interested in looking into glioblastomas and the effects of resistance training and protein intake on muscle wasting. She is originally from Saskatchewan, did her undergraduate degree in Michigan, then moved to Nova Scotia to pursue her academic and athletic dreams simultaneously. Denelle is currently a Canadian National team gymnast and hopes to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Chloe Cyr is a master’s student with the PAC Lab. She studies the feasibility of exercise programming in patients with pancreatic cancer. She is passionate about fighting pancreatic cancer and works with patients and families affected by the disease. Chloe was previously on the Canadian National Fencing Team and was the co-president of the Dalhousie Rowing team.  When not in the lab, you can find Chloe hiking, cycling, and paddle boarding.

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Alexandra Finless is a master’s student in the PAC Lab. She completed her honours BSc in Neuroscience at Dalhousie, and works part-time in breast imaging A.I. In the PAC Lab, she will be studying healthcare professional's perspectives on how to increase exercise program access for cancer patients. In her spare time, you will find her running; she is currently training for her second marathon.

Jessica is a master’s student with the PAC Lab. She will be researching cancer survivors’ perceptions and lived experiences with cancer-specific exercise interventions. She is originally from Ontario, and moved to Nova Scotia to complete her undergraduate degree at Saint Francis Xavier University. When not in the lab, her happy places are at the beach with a book, at the gym or running, and most of all spending time with pals. 

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Hannah is a master's student with the PAC lab. She completed her BSc in Medical Sciences (Honours) at Dalhousie University, where her research focused on cloning Rap1Gap for overexpression in breast cancer cells. In her spare time, Hannah enjoys volunteering, reading, and spending time outdoors. She is also quite passionate about athletic training and is currently an athletic trainer for the Dalhousie Women’s Volleyball team. 

Interested in joining our team? Contact Dr. Melanie Keats or Dr. Scott Grandy for more information.