John Sasso

Assistant Professor of Teaching

School of Health and Exercise Sciences

Email: john.sasso@ubc.ca

Biography

Throughout my academic career, I recognized value in the practical applications of health and exercise science education and therefore sought out opportunities to apply my lessons working in cardiac rehabilitation, athletic therapy, chiropractic and physiotherapy clinics and community fitness programs. These experiences inspired me to pursue further applied physiology training and led to professions aimed at improving health, fitness and performance in children, Olympic athletes and individuals with chronic conditions alike. It has intrigued me that the very same science that supports athletes to achieve gold medals, can help an individual with cancer endure a lifesaving round of chemotherapy, reduce the health burden of mental illness, and allow an individual with lung disease to walk up a set of stairs. I’ve found that optimizing training prescriptions to improve an individual’s health, performance and wellbeing requires practitioners to be knowledgeable, compassionate, observant and highly-skilled in applying exercise therapy. As an educator in health and exercise science, I most enjoy supporting students in their learning of applied knowledge and practical skills in sport science and clinical exercise physiology. I am passionate about advancing the education and training of future health and exercise practitioners in preparation for careers in health, fitness, research and performance pursuits. By improving the ability for health professionals to design effective training prescriptions and apply individualized exercise therapy, I believe practitioners will be better armed to support their future clients, patients and communities.

 

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES IN HEALTH & EXERCISE SCIENCES
• Manager of Exercise Physiology | Cardio-Oncology Department
• Entrepreneur: Amateur & Professional Athlete Coaching, Consulting, Sport Science Services
• Sport Physiologist and Head Coach | Private Sport Lab
• Sport Trainer, Endurance Coach & Exercise Physiology Consultant
• Graduate Teaching Assistant, Lab Instructor & Guest Lecturer | University & College
• Exercise Physiologist & Lab Technician | High Performance Sport
• Clinical & Applied Physiology Research Assistant | Medical & University settings
• Exercise Physiology Consultant | Cardiology, Oncology & Pulmonary Clinics
• Clinical Exercise Physiology Tech. & Program Coordinator | Cancer Survivor Rehabilitation
• Health & Physical Education / Biology / Science Teacher | Intermediate/Senior School
• Youth & Adult Sport Performance and Conditioning Coach | Community & Schools
• Exercise Specialist Assistant | Cardiac Rehabilitation
• Kinesiologist & Chiropractic Assistant | Chiropractic Clinic
• Athletic Therapy Student Assistant | Varsity Sport Athletic Therapy Clinic
• Kinesiologist & Physiotherapy Assistant | Physiotherapy Clinic
• Manager and Lead Instructor | Aquatic Centres

Degrees

• B.H.K. (Honours Movement Science, Co-operative Education), 2008 | University of Windsor
• M.Kin. (Applied Exercise Physiology), 2010 | University of Calgary
• B.Ed. (Health & Physical Education, Biology), 2014 | Queen’s University
• Ph.D(c). (Clinical Exercise Physiology), University of British Columbia – Okanagan

Research Interests & Projects

Training program optimization in health, high-performance & chronic disease
Improving methods of evaluating & monitoring functional capacity & physiologic stress in humans

Teaching Areas
Exercise Physiology
Physiological Assessment & Evaluation
Training Program Design in Health, Sport & Chronic Disease
Clinical Exercise Therapy
Applied Sport Science
Practical Skills in Exercise Testing, Prescription & Monitoring

Selected Publications & Presentations

Nilsen, T., Scott, J., Michalski, M., Capaci, C., Thomas, S., Herndon, J., Sasso, J., Eves, N. & Jones, L.W. (2018). Novel Methods for Reporting of Exercise Dose and Adherence. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 50(6), pp.1134-1141

Sasso, J., Gelinas, J. & Eves, N. (2018). Are All Steps Created Equal? Revisiting Pedometer Use during Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Individuals Living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 197(3), pp.405-406.

Zahavich, J., & Sasso, J. (December 2017). Examining Effective Triathlon Team Selection Practices in Canada. Poster. ITU Science + Triathlon World Conference. Edmonton, AB.

Scott, J., Iyengar, N., Nilsen, T., Michalski, M., Thomas, S., Herndon, J., Sasso, J., Yu, A., Chandarlapaty, S., Dang, C., Comen, E., Dickler, M., Peppercorn, J. & Jones, L.W. (2018). Feasibility, safety, and efficacy of aerobic training in pretreated patients with metastatic breast cancer: A randomized controlled trial. Cancer, 124(12), pp.2552-2560

Sasso, J., Eves, N., Christensen, J., Koelwyn, G., Scott, J. & Jones, L.W. (2015). A framework for prescription in exercise-oncology research. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, 6(2), pp.115-124.

Steingart, R., Weinstein, H., Sasso, J., Jones, L.W., Johnson, M., Chen, C., Liu, J., Roistacher, N., Pun, S.C., Weinsaft, J.W., McAleer, E, Gupta, D., Yu, A., Baum, M., & Schaffer, W. (2016). Pretherapy cardiology evaluation. In Clinical Cardio-Oncology (pp. 345-378). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier.