Traditional Métis jigging may provide a better workout than aerobics or cardio training in the gym.
The dance style, firmly embedded in Métis heritage and culture, promotes stamina, physical fitness and heart health, according to a kinesiologist at the University of Saskatchewan (USask).
Heather Foulds, assistant professor in USask’s College of Kinesiology, will assess the fitness potential of jigging in a $120,000 three-year research project funded by the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF).
Foulds is one of 18 USask researchers to receive SHRF establishment grants totaling $1.18 million. The grants are designed to assist researchers who are new or newly resident in Saskatchewan establish an independent program of health research in the province.
The 2019-20 SHRF establishment grant recipients from the College of Medicine are:
- Kerry Lavender, College of Medicine, Differential effects of IFNα subtypes on HIV-1-associated dysfunctional CD8+ T cells.
- Paul Mick, College of Medicine, Hearing and Thinking from Cradle to Grave: Building the Capacity for Sensory-Cognitive Research in Saskatchewan
- Audrey Zucker-Levin, College of Medicine, Wheeling to Healing: A novel method to improve healing of diabetic foot ulceration
SHRF also awarded a total of $800,000 in research fellowships designed to advance the research career development of the award holder.
Research fellowship recipients from the College of Medicine include:
- Anjuman Ara, College of Medicine, Regulating T-cell Fate by Targeting mTORC1-KIF13A-M6PR Axis to Enhance Immunity against Cancer
- Milaid Granadillo Rodríguez, College of Medicine, Role of APOBEC3 deoxycytidine deaminases in somatic mutagenesis
- Behlol Khan, College of Medicine, Targeting EGFR/EpHA2 receptor using bispecific radioimmunoconjugates against triple negative breast cancer
- David Kingston, Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture, College of Medicine, An impactful step: Investigating lower limb joint loads during farm machinery egress
To read more about Heather Foulds' research and the rest of the SHRF establishment grant recipients, visit the university's news site.