“My name is Olivia Roussel and I grew up in Toronto, Ontario. I recently graduated from the University of Guelph with an Honours BSc in Biomedical Sciences.
As a track athlete combined with a passion for physiology and fitness, my future goals include creating and developing partnerships in the wearable technology sector to investigate strategies to improve the limits of human physiology. By using wearable technology, I intend to monitor and assess biomarkers in the field to enhance performance. Knowing the limits of elite athlete physiology will help our understanding of how our physiology adapts to acute (e.g., fatigue) and chronic (e.g., training) stressors to enhance overall function.
My SURF project this summer aims to investigate the final common pathway of all movement, the “motor unit” – the motor nerves and muscle fibres they innervate. My goal is to collect preliminary data from young females and males of all activity levels and, potentially, elite masters athletes to determine the effect of exercise on motor unit function. It is well known that muscle mass and strength often decrease with adult aging, injury, inactivity and certain disease processes, which results in reduced neuromuscular function. It is essential to gain insight the quantity of motor units in individuals to assess functional age and/or disease progression. My project will involve collecting motor unit activity with indwelling electromyography (EMG) to assess the quantity and quality of motor units.
This project is important because it will highlight strategies and lifestyles that may mitigate the loss of motor units, typically observed with adult aging. Through my research, I wish to contribute to the improvement of overall muscle health and function in individuals by promoting active lifestyles and emphasizing the importance of exercise throughout one’s lifetime.”
