University of Ottawa

Dr. Glen P. Kenny is a Professor of Physiology and Director of the Human and Environmental Physiology Research of the University of Ottawa. He is principal investigator of numerous studies directed primarily at understanding the human heat stress response. This includes co-leading ‘Operation Heat Shield Canada’, a research initiative directed at creating heat-resilient communities and industries across Canada. His state-of-the-art research program unites academic researchers, knowledge users, and technology experts from around the world, including established partnerships and engagement of academia, government, civil society organizations, and industries with the common goal of protecting individuals, workers, and populations against the global health threat emerging from a warming planet. His research is unique in that it employs the world’s only direct air calorimeter [a device for making very precise measurements of body heat exchange (evaporative and dry heat loss)] to assess the physiological consequences of heat stress under a wide array of environmental conditions in different population groups. These include elite athletes, warfighters, first responders, workers, individuals with chronic diseases (i.e., diabetes, hypertension, obesity), burn patients, the elderly, and others. His work has been instrumental in driving the development of evidence-based heat protection guidance and solutions to safeguard the health and well-being of vulnerable individuals during extreme heat events. This includes defining new standards for physical activity and work in hot environments and the development of workplace heat prevention programs encompassing modifications to workplace design and interventions to reduce the negative impacts to health and safety caused by heat. In addition, he has co-led numerous randomized clinical trials evaluating exercise interventions in managing the health and fitness of individuals including heat-vulnerable workers. He has authored over 450 peer-reviewed papers on human thermoregulation as well as physical activity and health.