Heather A. McKay
798 – 2635 Laurel Street
Robert H.N. Ho Research Centre
Vancouver BC  V5Z 1M9
Tel:  604-675-2585
Fax : 604-675-2576
E-mail: heather.mckay@ubc.ca
Website: http://www.hiphealth.ca/Home.htm

Dr. Heather McKay is Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Departments of Orthopaedics and Family Practice. She currently serves as Director, Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, an internationally renowned research centre that addresses challenging bone and joint health questions that span the life course.

Her research has three primary foci related to the health and mobility of two vulnerable groups. In children, she contributes extensively to the body of literature that recognizes that antecedents of adult chronic disease are present in childhood. She has designed effective school-based (physical activity and healthy eating) interventions shown to effectively ameliorate chronic disease risk factors. In older adults, Dr. McKay focuses upon the design and implementation of effective physical activity interventions to promote older adult health and mobility. She leads an interdisciplinary cross-sectoral team to address the role of the built environment to promote or inhibit the health and mobility of older adults. Finally, knowledge mobilization is a cornerstone and overarching theme of her research.

Dr. McKay has published more than 200 papers in scientific journals related to the positive role of exercise and other lifestyle factors on child and older adult health and has delivered keynote addresses on all continents that speak to the need for a renewed focus on prevention. She has also undertaken a number of intervention studies with older adults that aim to enhance their health and mobility.  To support her research, Dr. McKay has been awarded more than $40M in infrastructure, operating and team grant funding.  Most recently she supported five successful Team or Emerging Team grants (two as nominated or co-PI) that convened researchers from across diverse disciplines to address complex questions related to child and older adult health and mobility.  Her research is currently funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.

She is well known for convening highly effective teams to “move research into action” (knowledge mobilization) and for performing research that has immediate impact. This is illustrated by her lead role in the development and implementation of a whole school physical activity and healthy eating model (Action Schools! BC - a multidisciplinary, multisectoral program of physical activity and healthy eating in elementary schools) that engages almost half a million children in British Columbia.  This tri-ministerial (Ministry of Health, Ministry of Small Business and Economic Development, Ministry of Education) and 2010 LegaciesNow supported project is a broad-based provincial initiative that promotes a shift in elementary school culture towards increased physical activity and healthy eating. The outcomes of her school-based research influenced the development of new policy related to daily physical activity in schools.

Her national recognition includes awards from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (Senior Scholar) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Knowledge Translation Award).  Dr. McKay was also the recipient of a BC Woman of Distinction Award for Health & Active Living in 2009.