Researchers: If you’re wondering whether it’s worth applying for an ACSM Foundation research grant, consider Dr. Jenna Gillen’s story. 

Gillen, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto, leads an exercise metabolism research lab. When she applied for and was subsequently awarded an ACSM Research Endowment grant, she was at a critical point her career. 

“It was the first grant I received as a new principal investigator,” Gillen says. “I had just gotten my faculty position, and so I was really grateful for this funding to help start my research lab.” 

Gillen, who was inspired to pursue kinesiology and nutrition research after a particularly fruitful mentorship in her fourth year of undergraduate studies with Dr. Martin Gibala, now researches the effects of different exercise and nutrition strategies on carbohydrate metabolism, both from the perspective of basic science and in terms of overall health outcomes. 

“We know that exercise is good for blood sugar regulation and improves insulin sensitivity, but there are still unanswered questions regarding the types of exercise that are most effective and the underlying mechanisms,” Gillen says. 

The ACSM funding allowed Gillen to get her lab up and running; the initial study she was pursuing, which led to the publication of “Interrupting prolonged sitting with repeated chair stands or short walks reduces postprandial insulinemia in healthy adults,” required proficiency in a number of research techniques, from exercise testing, blood sampling, muscle biopsies, nutritional preparation, wet lab analysis, and molecular biology. (Gillen and her team would go on to publish a second manuscript, “Walking or body weight squat ‘activity snacks’ increase dietary amino acid utilization for myofibrillar protein synthesis during prolonged sitting,” under the auspices of the same ACSM grant.) 

“All of those methods were required to conduct the project that ACSM gave us the funding for, so it allowed me to establish these methods within my lab at the University of Toronto,” she says. 

The boost from ACSM put Gillen in a position to train up her graduate students in these critical techniques, giving her and her team the foundation they needed to pursue their subsequent research. The grant also supported a fruitful partnership for Gillen and her trainees with another member of the Toronto faculty: 

“This project wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my faculty colleague Daniel Moore, who is an expert in protein metabolism and exercise,” Gillen says. “We collaborated on the project to explore the effect of activity snacks on both postprandial glucose and protein metabolism. The grant assisted in supporting that collaboration, which also resulted in an enriching and cross-disciplinary learning environment for our trainees.” 

But because Gillen received the grant in 2019, the team found their work somewhat unexpectedly and abruptly interrupted by COVID-19 lockdowns, and they weren’t able to get into the lab for some time. Fortunately, they had already completed most of their initial research, and ACSM was able to bridge the gap. 

“ACSM was really helpful. They were very generous with grant extensions, which allowed us to fulfill the project goals under fairly challenging times,” Gillen says. 

Despite the interruption, the research itself was rather fast paced. In a short while, Gillen was able to use results gleaned from the original ACSM-backed work to apply for further funding — a key step for a new PI. 

“We ran the study quite quickly,” Gillen says. “We were able to get ethics approval right away. The project took about a year to run, and then we were quick on analysis. So within two to three years of getting the grant, we were able to use some of that data to apply to more grants.” 

Gillen and her team are now working on a number of projects focused on understanding how exercise alters insulin sensitivity and associated mechanisms. For example, they are investigating if pre- and post-exercise nutrition modulate the glycemic effects of exercise, and exploring if there are sex-based differences in skeletal muscle mechanisms underlying exercise-induced improvements in insulin sensitivity. 

You can read more about Gillen’s research in recent narrative reviews from her research group: “Skeletal muscle mechanisms contributing to improved glycemic control following intense interval exercise and training,” “Physiological responses to low-volume interval training in women,” and “Exercise-nutrient interactions for improved postprandial glycemic control and insulin sensitivity.” 

What would Gillen say to someone on the fence about applying for an ACSM Foundation grant? 

“It’s such a great opportunity to generate initial data that could be leveraged for larger grants and additional projects,” she notes. “Also, getting a grant from ACSM, a prestigious exercise organization — having that on my CV is valuable as well. All around it was a fantastic opportunity.” 

Applications for ACSM Foundation research grants are due Nov. 10.

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Psychologist Carl Rogers believed that every person is naturally inclined to grow in a positive direction, not only for themselves but for society and their community. Rogers therefore suggested that it’s unhelpful and unnecessary to center a coaching or therapeutic relationship on telling, directing, and prescribing. When such relationships are grounded instead in authenticity, warmth, and empathetic understanding, patients are more likely to grow — and to stick with that growth. 

Authenticity — showing up as ourselves with the best of our personalities — may actually come quite easily to us, particularly as we enter into the later stages of our careers set on a firm foundation of competence and experience. And warmth is likely a strength of yours as well. After all, you entered this field because of your care for others and passion for their well-being. 

The healthiest approach for you and your patient is one that allows you to explore how the other person is feeling and acknowledge it — and to care about their situation without the “righting” or “fixing” reflex that can undermine their autonomy and make us feel emotionally bound up in their situation. 

By the way, this isn’t just about getting through empathy and on to the “real work” of goal-setting and action-planning. Empathy in health care providers actually leads to better clinical outcomes, better understanding of symptoms and more effective treatment plans. 

Research in the field of exercise oncology has created a large and consistent body of knowledge regarding the benefits of physical exercise throughout the cancer continuum. In this regard, several international organizations, in particular the American College of Sports Medicine® (ACSM), have published recommendations based on the existing evidence that justifies the need for appropriately programmed physical exercise for the prevention and management of cancer-related side effects such as fatigue, loss of function, or anxiety and depression. 

These recommendations were largely based on studies that included patients without metastases. The exercise effects in people with metastases have not yet been extensively studied, and these patients are often excluded from clinical trials. In this context, the EFFECT study (NCT04120298) was conducted at centers in Europe and Australia to assess the effects of physical exercise on quality of life, fatigue, and other side effects in people with metastatic breast cancer. The exercise program was structured, individualized, progressive, and supervised. The program duration was nine months and included balance, resistance, and aerobic training two days per week for the first six months and one day per week from the seventh to the ninth month. 

Over the course of the EFFECT study, we had a case, published in the October 2023 issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise®, of particular interest to exercise professionals. The case highlights the value of adding supervised exercise to the treatment of patients with metastatic disease. 

One of our participants, a 75-year-old woman, had regularly attended the training program under the direct supervision of the same physical trainer. During the seventh month of training, the trainer noticed some subtle changes in the patient’s motor function. For example, the patient displayed issues during balance exercises, and she required longer rest intervals or a reduction in load during aerobic training. Additionally, the loaded movements that she had previously mastered, such as the bench press, became more uncoordinated. The trainer also noticed the patient had a slightly slower eyelid movement. However, the patient did not seem concerned about the changes, and when the trainer suggested she discuss these changes with her oncologist, the patient’s own indifference delayed this. Suspecting brain metastases based on the patient’s subtle deterioration in neurological functioning, and with the patient's permission, the trainer herself spoke to the clinician, who immediately ordered an MRI scan, which confirmed the suspected brain metastases. 

The primary lesson of this case is that exercise trainers by the nature of their profession can detect small but important changes in motor function that patients, relatives, or clinicians themselves may not be able to detect in the early stages of brain metastases. This highlights the importance of proper qualification and education, especially for supervising people with diseases like cancer, and the advantages of supervised exercise training. At the same time, it is necessary to create adequate channels of communication between the patient, trainer, and clinician to ensure that relevant information is conveyed in a timely manner. Although early detection of brain metastases does not result in prolonged survival in every patient, for some patients this can be the case and for others early treatment might prevent further loss of quality of life. 

In summary, our case report adds another advantage to implementing supervised physical exercise as part of routine cancer care. It emphasizes the importance of skilled exercise trainers and the benefit of a close collaboration between the medical team and exercise professionals. 

Acknowledgements: The EFFECT study is part of the PREFERABLE project and received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No. 825677). The study is also co-funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (2028/GNT1170698). 

Dr. Mireia Pelaez’s research focuses on the effects of physical exercise in special populations, specifically cancer (treatment-related side effects) and pregnancy (excessive weight gain and its consequences). She currently combines her teaching activity as an associate professor at the European University of the Atlantic in Santander, Spain, with her research activity as a project manager for GoNorte and freelance consultant. You can find Dr. Pelaez at Instagram or X: @mireia_pelaez.

Dr. Anne May is a professor of the clinical epidemiology of cancer survivorship and director of research at the Julius Center at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands. She investigates the effects of lifestyle on treatment-related side effects and prognosis as well as in the underlying mechanisms, with a special emphasis on physical activity and exercise. Dr. May has served on lifestyle- and cancer-related guideline panels (ACSM/ASCO/WCRF) and is the principle investigator for several large national and international exercise RCTs, including Preferable (h2020preferable.eu) and Preferable II (preferable2.eu). You can connect with Dr. May at X: @annemariamay and follow PREFERABLE at X: @preferable_mbc.