Dr. Saija Kontulainen (she/her) PhD

• B.Sc. (Exercise Physiology), University of Jyväskylä
• M.Sc. (Exercise Physiology, Biomechanics), University of Jyväskylä
• Ph.D. (Exercise Physiology, Biomechanics), University of Jyväskylä
• PDF (Postdoctoral Fellowship), University of British Columbia

My research areas fall under the following College of Kinesiology research themes:

• Child and Youth Health and Development, Healthy Aging and Management of Chronic Conditions 
• Human Performance

• Research Themes

Research Interests:

Physical activity for musculoskeletal health and functional ability across the lifespan; osteoporosis, sarcopenia, bone fragility, and fracture prevention; pediatric bone strength; type 1 diabetes and autism spectrum disorder; advanced imaging of bone and muscle; patient-oriented research and implementation.

1. Canadian Bone Strength Development Study, CanBSDS (Funding: CIHR)
   
2. Bone strength development in children with type 1 diabetes (CIHR, Diabetes Canada, SHRF)
   
3. Bone health and physical activity in children with autism spectrum disorder (One Health, USask)
   
4. Inactivity/bed rest study (CIHR, CSA)
5. Nordic/Pole walking interventions (CIHR-SCPOR, SHRF)
6. Validation of imaged bone strength estimates (NSERC Discovery grant)

Laboratories Imaging Bone and Muscle Structure (LIMBS)

• Pubmed
• Scopus
• Google Scholar

Current Staff and Trainees

• Paige Wyatt, Research Assistant (College of Kinesiology, KIN)
• Joelle Schaefer, Research Assistant (KIN)
• Zahra Ghafouri, PhD candidate (KIN)
• Mohsen Karamati, PhD candidate (KIN)
• Ali Rezaei, PhD student (KIN)
• Autumn Carr, undergraduate student (KIN)
• Makayla Robinson, undergraduate student (ENG)
• Brett Robinson, undergraduate student (KIN)

Recently graduated PhD and MSc trainees and PDF 

• Dr. Yuwen Zheng, PhD (KIN)
• Dr. Mahdi Rostami, PhD (KIN)
• Dr. Malakeh Malekzadeh, Postdoctoral Fellow (KIN, ENG)^1,2 
• Pablo Franco, MSc (ENG)² 
• Egeony Tiffany Imanma, MSc (ENG)² 
• Alex Sacher, MSc (ENG)² 
• Manpreet Kaur, MSc (Health Sciences)^3,4

Co-supervised with Drs. McWalter¹, Johnston², Baerwald³ and Singh⁴

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If you are interested in research training opportunities, please contact Dr. Kontulainen with the following information

• A one-page letter outlining your research interests, experiences and goals
• CV and unofficial transcripts
• Names of two academic referees

• ACB 221.3 - Gross Anatomy (College of Medicine)
• KIN 281.3 - Fitness for Life 
• KIN 398.3 - Physical activity, musculoskeletal health and conditions 
• KIN 428.3 - Drugs, nutrition and physical activity
• KIN 445.3 - Acquisition, analysis and interpretation of musculoskeletal imaging
• KIN 807.3 - Research Methods
• KIN 891.3 - Analysis and interpretation of advanced bone imaging