Dr. Shave is known for his work examining the acute and chronic effects of exercise and/or environmental stress upon the heart. Using echocardiography and biomarkers Dr. Shave and his colleagues have provided insight on the effects of endurance exercise upon the heart, the influence of exercise on cardiac remodelling and the ventricular mechanics that underpin cardiac function in health and disease.

Dr. Shave’s recent work combines comparative and experimental approaches to further understand structural and functional cardiovascular adaptations to exercise in a range of populations with a specific focus on human evolution and the potential of cardiovascular mismatch disease. Prior to his academic career, he worked at the British Olympic Medical Centre as an applied exercise physiologist helping a range of elite athletes prepare for competition, and was the co-organiser of the annual London Marathon Science and Medicine conference for more than 10 years.

To relax (which he doesn’t do often), Rob enjoys skiing, hiking and exploring the world with his family.

Neil’s interests lie in how individually tailored exercise can be utilized to improve human performance across the spectrum from elite athletes to chronic disease populations. Specifically, a large aspect of his research seeks to understand how the respiratory and cardiovascular systems adapt or remodel in response to a variety of optimally prescribed exercise stimuli. While his current research predominantly focuses on how to utilize exercise and other adjunct therapies for disease modification, he continues to employ an elite athlete training model to guide his clinical studies.

Neil previously worked in high performance sport as a strength and conditioning coach for Rugby Canada and as an exercise physiologist with the Canadian Para Nordic Ski Team.

Neil is an avid skier and hiker, and will disappear during the summer for “out of office” meetings on the golf course.

Post Doctoral Fellow

Tony is a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at UBC Okanagan, with Dr. Rob Shave. He completed his graduate training in the United Kingdom, which examined the structural and functional cardiovascular adaptations brought about by athletic conditioning. During his time in the UK, one of Tony’s biggest research projects involved training over 60 recreationally active individuals (including himself) across a 12-month period, leading up to a long-distance triathlon in Barcelona, Spain. Tony’s postdoctoral research hopes to build upon this previous project, and provide novel insight into how cardiac structure and function remodels with training.

As someone who has always had a love of sports, Tony is excited to get started with the ULTRA project, and help others fulfil a ‘bucket-list’ challenge!

Supervisor: Dr. Rob Shave

Camille is a registered nurse and retired varsity cross country runner. In her nursing role, Camille coordinates the electrophysiology studies at Kelowna General Hospital. She is slowly chipping away at her PhD in the Shave Laboratory. Her research aims to understand the effects of exercise on the heart.

In her free time, Camille enjoys spending time outside, running (away from her problems), and helping people pronounce her name right.

Supervisor: Dr. Neil Eves

Liam is a PhD student in the integrative Clinical Cardiopulmonary Physiology Laboratory at UBC Okanagan. He is interested in the physiological adaptations to exercise training. Liam comes from a strength and conditioning background where he has worked with individuals who span the continuum from elite athletes to people with chronic diseases.

Although never an elite athlete himself, Liam has played a variety of sports including soccer, hockey, lacrosse, field hockey, volleyball, and CrossFit. Now, Liam is a recreational runner and avid cyclist.

Supervisor: Dr. Neil Eves

Kyla is PhD candidate in Dr. Neil Eves' Integrative Clinical Cardiopulmonary Lab at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Prior to her graduate studies, Kyla spent 7 years training with the National Triathlon Center in Victoria B.C., and represented Canada at several world championships and on the World Cup circuit. She then spent a few years working as a strength and conditioning coach for a broad range of athletes ranging from professional big wave surfers to olympic track and field athletes. However, Kyla found that many of health and performance questions that she faced as an athlete and a coach remained unanswered, so she was motivated to become an exercise physiologist and researcher to figure it out herself!

Kyla is passionate about understanding the limits of human physiology when stressed by exercise or disease. As a side hustle, Kyla has spent the past decade applying her personal experiences in triathlon alongside her academic background in exercise physiology to coach amateur triathletes and endurance sports athletes. In her free time, Kyla loves cross-country skiing, mountain biking, snowboarding and every other outdoor adventure sport.