Dr Greg Wells

Dr. Greg Wells is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Physical Education and Health and in the Department of Anaesthesia at the University of Toronto. He is also an associate scientist in Physiology & Experimental Medicine at The Hospital for Sick Children. As a researcher, Wells is working in a field of investigation called exercise medicine, where he uses specific exercise protocols to test the limitations of the human body in various diseases – mostly related to muscle and lung conditions. He has been using advanced MRI technologies to measure these limitations, as MRI does not require any radiation or drugs and can offer a look inside the human body without the use of needles or other invasive measures.

Greg's research interests include physical activity, fitness and health outcomes are strongly related, especially in children with chronic disease. Chronically ill children often suffer from exercise intolerance, have poor fitness, participate in fewer activities, and spend less time exercising and they are often deconditioned. Fortunately, exercise and physical activity may attenuate chronic disease and its associated disability. Therefore the objectives of Wells' research program are 1) to determine the physiological mechanisms of exercise intolerance in patients with chronic disease and to test our Impaired Perfusion and Muscle Metabolism hypotheses and 2) to develop a knowledge base for evidence-based specific exercise and activity interventions. To accomplish this he uses traditional exercise testing, and also non-invasive magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging techniques to investigate the pathophysiology of exercise intolerance in children with chronic disease.

Contact Details

Email: Greg.well@utoronto.ca