Women can lose skeletal muscle mass and strength at an alarming rate during periods of bedrest or immobility caused by illness, injury, or surgery, which can increase health risks long after recovery. Queen's postdoctoral fellow Jennifer Wilkinson and doctoral student Emily Ferguson, working in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies' Nutrition and Metabolism Research Group led by Dr. Chris McGlory, have received Ontario Women's Health Scholars Awards for their efforts to change this through nutritional approaches that protect skeletal muscle health and improve healing.
PhD student Emily Ferguson (left) and Dr. Jennifer Wilkinson (right) have received Ontario Women's Health Scholars Awards for their research on women's muscle health.
Recognizing leaders in women's health research
Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and awarded through the Council of Ontario Universities, the Ontario Women's Health Scholars Awards support emerging researchers who are creating new knowledge to improve women's health. Each year, the program provides funding to master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral scholars whose work has the potential to strengthen Ontario's health care system and lead to better services, products, and outcomes for women.
Preventing muscle decline
Dr. Wilkinson's postdoctoral award supports her research into strategies that preserve women's skeletal muscle and metabolic health across their lifespan. When women experience long periods of inactivity, such as during bedrest or recovering in a cast, their skeletal muscle mass, strength, and metabolism can decline quickly. Current drug treatments are often expensive and carry harmful side effects. Protein supplements may slow the loss of muscle mass, but they do little to protect skeletal muscle function or metabolism.
Her research is testing whether omega-3 fatty acids, commonly found in fish oils, can protect skeletal muscle quality and function during these vulnerable times. She is using advanced tools such as stable isotope tracers to explore how women's bodies respond to treatment at the molecular, cellular, and metabolic levels. The award provides $50,000 in funding and a $5,000 research allowance to support her project.
"Skeletal muscle health in women is often overlooked until health challenges become severe," says Dr. Wilkinson. "With nutrition-based approaches, we have the opportunity to support women's health in ways that are practical, sustainable, and safe."
Nutritional strategies for recovery
Emily Ferguson received a doctoral award to support research on nutritional strategies that help women recover muscle mass and strength after inactivity. Her research focuses on how these strategies to enhance recovery after surgery or injury affect mitochondrial metabolism. Few approaches are designed with women's specific needs in mind, and she is testing whether combining fish oil with protein supplementation can reduce declines in mitochondrial function in women undergoing periods of bedrest.
The project will involve the use of clinical tools such as magnetic resonance imaging alongside lab-based methods like stable isotope tracer analysis and high-resolution respirometry to measure how muscles and mitochondria respond to nutritional support in women undergoing bedrest. Her award includes $35,000 in funding and a $2,000 research allowance to advance her work.
"Women may face unique challenges when recovering from periods of inactivity, and the loss of muscle can slow recovery and increase the risk of complications," says Ferguson. "By identifying nutrition-based approaches that protect muscle mass and strength during inactivity, our findings could guide new recommendations that improve recovery and quality of life."
Advancing women's health
The discoveries made through these projects could inform future clinical guidelines and recovery programs, giving women safer and more effective options during periods of immobility. These awards highlight the importance of supporting early-career researchers as they explore new avenues for advancing women's health.
Learn more about Ontario Women's Health Scholars Awards 2025 on the Council of Ontario Universities website.
