Keynote speaker

We are pleased to announce the keynote speaker for the KIN@50 conference. This lecture is part of the ongoing Hallman Lecture series and are open to the public to attend.

Lyle S. Hallman (1922-2003), with his wife Wendy, was an outstanding friend and benefactor to the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences and funded the Lyle S. Hallman Institute for Health Promotion and established a number of endowments to expand and sustain the ongoing health promotion activities within the Faculty.

Skeletal adaptation: synthesis and beyond

Ron Zernicke.

Ron Zernicke, PhD, DSc

University of Michigan
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Kinesiology and Department of Biomedical Engineering

Throughout the life span, marked changes occur in the skeletal system, and these bone adaptations are influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. We have investigated and are investigating microstructural, morphological, and mechanical changes in bone as a consequence of diet, exercise and physical activity, or joint injury.

Short-term and long-term ingestion of a high fat and sucrose diet can produce negative effects on both the immature and mature axial and appendicular skeletons. Caloric restriction in rapidly growing animals does not appear to negatively affect long-bone or vertebral mechanical properties. With aging, however, caloric restriction may have a differential effect on the axial and appendicular skeleton.

Specificity of exercise regimens and training extends to bone, as well as skeletal muscle. We have found that high strain rates and high strain frequencies can have potent osteogenic effects. After a significant joint injury, such as knee anterior ligament rupture, bone adaptation can quickly develop. Periarticular bone remodels rapidly after injury, and that remodeling can have a pronounced effect on subsequent bone microarchitecture and joint function.

While investigating the adaptation of bone to diet, mechanical loading, and injury, we are coupling experimental studies with analytical modeling to interrelate intra-osseous fluid flow and localized regions of bone adaptation. Complementing these analytical and mechanistic studies, we are probing the potent differential effects of high versus low aerobic capacity on bone physiology and adaptive responses, and in human clinical and translational studies, we are examining bone adaptation and/or injury mechanisms during sports and physical activity.

About Ron Zernicke, PhD, DSc

At the University of Michigan, Ron Zernicke is professor, Orthopaedic Surgery, with joint appointments in Kinesiology and Biomedical Engineering. He was dean, School of Kinesiology, and is now co-director Exercise and Sport Science Initiative and Michigan Performance Research Laboratory. He was executive director of Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute and at University of Calgary (UC); was Wood professor (Joint Injury Research), Cumming School of Medicine; professor/dean, Faculty of Kinesiology; and professor, Schulich School of Engineering.

After matriculating at Concordia University Chicago (CUC; BA) and University of Wisconsin-Madison (MS/PhD), he joined University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and was professor/chair, Department of Kinesiology, when recruited to UC. He received: UCLA Award for Distinguished Teaching, City of Calgary Community Achievement Award (Education), UC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Graduate Supervision, and was Alumnus of the Year (CUC). He received an honorary DSc from University of Waterloo (2008).

He was president of Canadian (CSB), American (ASB), and International (ISB) Societies of Biomechanics, and co-chaired two ISB Congresses and 4th World Congress of Biomechanics. Research awards include: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Cosmos Achievement Award), Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine (Yasuda Award for Outstanding Research Paper), ASB/ISB (Delsys Award), CSB (Career Award), Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society (Founder’s Medal for Best Research), and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Partnership Award). He is a Fellow of ISB, CSB, ASB, American College of Sports Medicine, and National Academy of Kinesiology.

His career research support (more than $45 million) includes: Arthritis Society of Canada, Adidas, Canadian Space Agency, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Science Foundation (NSF), and National Institutes of Health (NIH), with his focus on bone adaptation, human movement dynamics and performance, and joint injury and osteoarthritis.