James McKendry, PhD
University of British Columbia

Before joining UBC, James completed his undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees at the University of Birmingham, UK, in Kinesiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, and Exercise as Medicine, respectively. He then moved to Hamilton, Ontario, to pursue a 5-year postdoctoral fellowship in muscle protein metabolism and aging at McMaster University’s Department of Kinesiology, in Dr. Stuart Phillips’ Protein Metabolism Research Laboratory (PMRL).

James now leads the Muscle Aging (In)activity and Nutrition Laboratory (MAIN) at UBC, which uses innovative methods to investigate how skeletal muscle responds to real-world challenges—such as exercise, inactivity, aging, and disease—and what these changes mean for physical performance, metabolic health, and overall well-being. The MAIN Lab’s research aims to uncover the mechanisms that regulate skeletal muscle mass and to implement novel nutritional and exercise strategies to modify skeletal muscle outcomes, thereby extending health span.