Our research group investigates the effects and mechanisms of highly-structured exercise therapy on two major focuses in individuals with or at-risk of cancer: (1) physiological toxicity of cancer and cancer treatment, and (2) cancer pathogenesis / evolution.

Focus 1: Physiological toxicity

We study the utility of different methods to characterize the chronic and long-term adverse physiological toxicities of conventional and novel cancer therapies. By investigating the use of these tools, we can better understand how cancer therapeutics injure organs such as the heart and skeletal muscles to influence whole-body (holistic) integrative organ function (i.e., cardiorespiratory fitness). These tools may also facilitate identification of individuals at high risk of physiological toxicity.

This work, in turn, can facilitate the design and timing of therapeutic interventions to prevent and/or mitigate these devastating side effects. To this end, we conduct clinical trials to study the efficacy of structured exercise therapy on physiological outcomes in individuals before and during treatment, as well as following the completion of therapy, across a broad range of cancer diagnoses.

Focus 2: Cancer pathogenesis / evolution

The second major focus of our program is investigating whether exercise therapy is an effective preventive or treatment strategy for cancer. We adopt traditional laboratory approaches to elucidate the effects and underlying mechanisms of exercise therapy on cancer pathogenesis as well as to determine whether exercise alters the response to conventional and novel cancer therapeutics. This information allows us to design more-effective clinical trials that test a precise “dose” of exercise therapy in selected patient populations most likely to benefit from this behavioral strategy.