Jon McGavock, PhD

Research summary

My research program has three main pillars in order to span the spectrum from causal inference to community-based participatory action research. 

Pillar 1: the determinants of type 2 diabetes and the associated complications. 

Pillar 2: the efficacy and implementation of urban cycling infrastructure for preventing chronic diseases. 

Pillar 3: the role of peer mentoring for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes in youth.

Cross-cutting priorities across these pillars are patient-community engagement in research and anti-racist approaches to address health inequities. Our work has been funded continuously by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research since 2008. 

Over the past 19 years, our lab has secured over $29M in external funding from CIHR, Diabetes Canada, JDRF, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Research Manitoba and the Lawson Foundation.

Jonathan McGavock is a CIHR Applied Health Chair in Resilience and Obesity in Children. He is also an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. 

He has a Bachelor's degree in Physical Education from the University of Manitoba, a Master's degree in Exercise Physiology from McGill University and a PhD in Exercise Science from the University of Alberta. He completed post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Alberta and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center prior to establishing his own lab.

He established the Centre for Physical Activity and Cardiometabolic Health and Equity (PACE) Lab at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM) in 2006 to study the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes in youth. His lab has held continuous CIHR funding from 2008–2029. 

He co-founded the DREAM and DEVOTION research teams within CHRIM. Collectively, these two teams have secured over $40M in external funding to address the growing rates of type 2 diabetes in children in Canada. Jonathan has partnered with several Indigenous communities in Manitoba over the last 19 years to help establish novel strengths-based programs to prevent and manage type 2 diabetes in youth. He currently serves as the principal investigator for several CIHR team grants across various areas related to transdisciplinary advances in diabetes and obesity.

Education

• Postdoctoral Fellowship (CIHR-CDA-HSFC Target Obesity Fellowship), UT Southwestern Medical Center (2006)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship (TORCH Fellowship), University of Alberta (2004)
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Exercise Science, University of Alberta (2003)
• Master of Arts (MA), McGill University (1999)
• Bachelor of Physical Education (BPE), University of Manitoba (1997)

Awards

• CIHR Applied Public Health Chair (2015–2020)
• Robert Wallace Cameron Chair in Evidence-based Child Health (2012–2015)
• CIHR New Investigator Award (2010–2015)
• Canadian Diabetes Association Scholar Award (2008)