Executive

My research examines the structural and functional effects of aging on basic muscle contractile function; muscle mechanics and lengthening muscle actions; cross-bridge and non-cross-bridge based forces; history dependence of force production; age-related alterations to muscle mechanics, acute and chronic alterations to the​ neuromuscular system as a result of muscle fatigue, damage and natural aging; masters athletes and neuroprotective effects of exercise; muscle architecture plasticity and neural control of human movement.

My research studies the regulation of genes involved in choline transport and phospholipid metabolism; nutrient transporters and kinetics of membrane transport; molecular and cell biology of lipids; the effect of nutrients on protein synthesis and gene expression. Nutritional genomics (nutrigenomics) of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance

Omega-3.  The focus of my research is to better understand how dietary fats influence health and disease throughout life with an emphasis on the prevention of chronic disease. Currently, a major area of study in my laboratory is the role of omega-3 fatty acids in breast cancer prevention.  We have shown that lifelong exposure to omega-3 fatty acids reduces mammary tumour development, which is mediated through changes in mammary gland development.  These findings provide evidence that omega-3 fatty acids are important components of the diet and play an important role in disease prevention.

Omega-6, trans, CLA, SAFA & MUFA.  I am also interested in the role of other bioactive fatty acids including omega-6 fatty acids, trans, conjugated linoleic acids, saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in human health.  Other areas of research include brain health and Alzheimer’s disease, bone development, fatty liver disease and nutrigenomics.

Guelph Family Health Study.  In addition, as the Director of the Guelph Family Health Study (https://guelphfamilyhealthstudy.com), I lead a multidisciplinary team investigating determinants of health and interventions for the prevention of childhood obesity 

Training. As the lead applicant, I support a national network focused on Implementation Science training in Healthy Cities. Increasing urbanization creates opportunities and wicked challenges that require multidisciplinary and multisectoral approaches and interventions.  Training the next generation of leaders in implementation science will provide trainees the necessary skills and perspectives to tackle the problems of today and the future.  

Service.  In addition to my research responsibilities I serve on several committees and former President of the Canadian Nutrition Society.  I have served on CIHR and Cancer Research Society grant review panels, provided consultation for the food/fats & oils industry, and scientific leadership in the development of an unsaturated fat and cholesterol reduction health claim in Canada.

My interest in the role of community leadership and strategies for health promotion reflects my passion for working with communities to strengthen capacity and identify solutions to catalyze change. My work considers the intersection between food, health, nutrition, and the environment to identify challenges and opportunities for collective actions on equitable food systems that can foster healthy communities. Using participatory approaches and implementation science, my research also aims to mobilize evidence into practice broadly related to health promotion and chronic disease prevention.

Executive

Applying participatory approaches to meaningfully engage community partners in research and processes to mobilize knowledge into practice is a key focus of my community-based research portfolio. I regularly collaborate with Indigenous and racialized communities, community-based organizations and health centres on equity-centred and health-promoting initiatives.

Students interested in community health promotion, food security, food sovereignty, health equity, and implementation research are encouraged to contact me about graduate supervision and research opportunities.

Current Research Projects

Minwanjigewin: Towards food security and food sovereignty: Together with Cambium Indigenous Professional Services, Community partners, the University of Guelph, and the University of Waterloo, our research aims to enhance capacity for Community-led actions on food security and food sovereignty. This work is supported by the Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (2024-2027) jointly funded by the Governments of Canada and Ontario under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

Produce prescription program implementation and evaluation: In collaboration with Unison Health and Community Services, this project aims to strengthen a community-based food prescribing intervention for promoting healthy food access.

Connecting the Dots: Mobilizing rural knowledge to knowledge users: This initiative aims to advance connections between rural knowledge producers and end-users across rural Ontario. This research is funded by the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, a collaboration between the Government of Ontario and theUniversity of Guelph.

My research interests in environmental and cerebrovascular physiology began when I was an undergraduate student at Mount Royal University under the supervision of Dr. Trevor Day. As an undergraduate, I participated on a research expedition to the Nepal Himalaya where our team conducted a series of human physiology experiments. This experience led me to completing my MSc under Dr. Glenjamin Foster where I studied the effects of changes in oxygen and arterial blood tension on respiratory function, and my PhD with Dr. Philip Ainslie where I studied the impact of high altitude on peripheral and cerebrovascular function. After the completion of my graduate training, I completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Dr. Craig Steinback’s laboratory at the University of Alberta exploring the relationship between autonomic nervous activity and cerebrovascular function, and then a second postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Mypinder Sekhon at the University of British Columbia where I continued this line of work in mild brain injury (i.e., concussion). My graduate and postdoctoral training shaped the theme of my current research program at the University of Guelph. In my laboratory, we use various methods to evoke alterations in autonomic nervous activity (e.g., hypoxia, carbon dioxide, orthostatic stress, thermal stress) to explore the link between these autonomic stressors and the regulation of brain blood flow in health and disease.

Research

Dr. Tymko’s postdoctoral studies have primarily focused on how environmental stressors (e.g., high altitude, exercise, thermal stress) alter peripheral and cerebral vascular function in healthy humans. Understanding human adaptation (or maldapation) to stress provides novel insight into the mechanism(s) that govern blood vessel health.

As an undergrad, I discovered that being a food scientist was a great way to apply basic scientific principles to everyday life.  By its very nature, food science is an interdisciplinary field; it deals with the chemistry, physics and microbiology of foods and food systems.  This interdisciplinary nature appealed to me right away- it was a bonus that studying food science also meant I had lots of interesting facts to share with family and friends over dinner!  My graduate and post-doctoral research was largely concerned with understanding and modifying the physical functionality and structure of lipids in foods such as butter and chocolate.  However, more and more I began to realize that what I was studying also had implications for nutrition and human health. I became excited about understanding how the structure and physical properties of foods influence their nutritional value and, ultimately, human health.  This motivation continues to fuel my current investigations at the food-nutrition interface.

Research

The Canadian functional food and nutraceutical (FFN) industry continues to see significant growth.  However, there are conflicting reports as to the efficacy of many products that are for sale.  My research aims to support the development of evidence-based food strategies through the application of multi-level research tools. 

My labs NSERC-funded research relates to dietary lipids, stemming from expertise developed during my PhD and PDF training.  Our research examines how the structure and physical properties of food materials determine the health outcomes associated with bioactive compounds.  For example, lipophilic nutraceuticals tend to be poorly released from foods or supplements and inefficiently solubilized during digestion, resulting in limited potential for absorption.  Our team is investigating how food ingredients and structures impact the physiochemical mechanisms involved, including through the application of in vitro models of digestion.  My students and I also lead human studies on diverse topics such as  the effects of  dietary fibres on glycemia, development of methods for investigating satiety potential of functional foods, and testing value-added agricultural products like a rosmarinic acid-enriched spearmint variety for symptoms of knee osteoarthritis.

As part of my faculty appointment, I serve as Director of the Human Nutraceutical Research Unit (HNRU).  This is a research and educational unit within the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences.  Part of our mandate is to conduct human clinical trials of natural health products for collaborative and contract partners.  We also maintain close associations with other food and nutrition related groups on campus and regionally.  The HNRU recognizes the potential that interdisciplinary food-nutrition partnerships have to significantly improve human health.  We are committed to training uniquely and highly qualified personnel through advancing high quality food and natural health product human research.

When I finished my undergraduate degree, I was offered an exciting opportunity to spend 6 months at the Nestlé Research Centre in Switzerland. And I found out that Nestlé does far more than just make good chocolate! Nestlé introduced me to the field of nutrigenomics. This area of research examines how the foods we eat interact with our genes to affect our health. Working in this fascinating area allowed me to integrate various scientific disciplines into my research, ranging from nutritional biochemistry and molecular biology to genomics and bioinformatics. My initial 6 month position with Nestlé ended up becoming a 6 year stay, during which I completed my PhD in association with the University of Lausanne. After finishing my PhD, I moved to The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, USA for a short post-doctoral position and then to the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) in Paris, France for a second post-doctoral position. During my post-doctoral research I explored diet-gene interactions in the context of obesity. This proved both timely and highly relevant given the high prevalence of obesity. Obesity is a complex disease that is highly influenced by lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise. Each of these factors influences our genes and, ultimately, our health. In 2009, I joined the Department of Human Health & Nutritional Sciences to establish a nutrigenomics research program to study how dietary fats influence lipid metabolism in key metabolic tissues such as adipose and liver, and how this influences cardiometabolic outcomes.

Research

My nutrigenomics research program investigates the mechanisms that regulate lipid metabolism in the body, with a major focus on diet-gene interactions in adipose (fat) tissue, skeletal muscle, and liver. Dysfunctional lipid metabolism is a key feature of common chronic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, as well as an underlying cause of inflammation and insulin resistance. My team aims to advance understanding of the genetic and nutritional regulation of fatty acid desaturases (key enzymes involved in endogenous fatty acid synthesis), and their association with cardiometabolic outcomes. Ongoing research in my lab uses cell and rodent models to explore how altered desaturase activity and dietary fatty acids influence cellular processes such as adipogenesis, lipogenesis, and lipolysis. Notably, our research has important implications for humans, since we and others have shown that humans with variations in desaturase genes show many of the same metabolic outcomes as our model systems in which the activity of these desaturases are inhibited.