The Adams State University Kinesiology Department recently received a grant to continue vital research on the effects of exercise on cancer survivors. The department is pleased to host an expert in that field of study, Heather J. Leach, Ph.D., ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Cancer Exercise Trainer. Leach will present a free lecture “Physical Activity for Cancer Survivorship,” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, in Richardson Hall Auditorium.
Leach, an assistant professor, and director of the Physical Activity for Treatment and Prevention Lab in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State University, will discuss her previously published and current research on the benefits that physical activity has on an individual after receiving a cancer diagnosis, throughout treatment and remission. Leach will also be discussing her experiences promoting exercise, active living and teaching exercise related courses at the University of Calgary.
The event is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served following the event.
Leach completed her Ph.D. in Kinesiology from the University of Houston. Additionally, she completed two-years of postdoctoral fellowship training in physical activity for cancer survivorship in the Department of Kinesology at the University of Calgary. Leach has been working with clinical populations to promote exercise and active living, and teaching exercise science-related courses at the university level for over 10 years.
Leach’s current research interests focus on 1) the social ecologic determinants of physical activity adoption and maintenance, 2) the physical and psychosocial benefits of physical activity for cancer survivors and other chronic disease populations, and 3) translation of physical activity intervention research into standard health care practice and sustainable community programming. She is a Transdisciplinary Research in Energetics & Cancer (TREC) National Cancer Institute Fellow, and recently completed the Physical Activity and Public Health Post Graduate Course on Research Directions and Strategies, sponsored by the University of South Carolina and Centers for Disease Control. In 2018, she was awarded an American Cancer Society Mentored Research Scholar Grant, which will fund her work in physical activity and cancer survivorship for the next five-years. She has presented her work nationally, and published in peer-reviewed journals such as Supportive Care in Cancer, Health Psychology, Journal of Physical Activity and Health, Oncology Nursing Forum, American Journal of Health Promotion, and the Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.
