McKendry, James

McKendry, James

Ph.D.

Faculty of Land and Food Systems, Food, Nutrition and Health

Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Healthy Aging

The University of British Columbia

Biography:

Dr. James McKendry joined the University of British Columbia as an Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Healthy Aging in July 2024, in the Human Nutrition program within the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. He leads the Muscle, Aging, (In)activity, and Nutrition (MAIN) Lab, is an Associate Member of the School of Kinesiology, and an Investigator with the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Aging in the Faculty of Medicine.

The overarching aim of his research program is to uncover the mechanisms and identify the modifiers — nutrition, mechanical loading, aging, and biological sex — that drive skeletal muscle adaptation, and to translate these insights into evidence-based strategies that enhance muscle health, improve physical function, and extend health span across diverse populations. The MAIN Lab pairs in vivo human studies with in vitro models, combining muscle biopsies, stable isotope tracers, tissue culture, and multi-omics to examine how muscle remodels in response to feeding, loading, and disuse.

Research areas of interest:

Aging, Skeletal Muscle, Protein Metabolism, Stable Isotopes, Nutrition, Exercise, Hypertrophy, Atrophy, Omics, Tissue Culture

Research Themes:

Sexual and Reproductive Health Chronic Disease Genomics and Personalized Health

Website: https://mainlab.landfood.ubc.ca/

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The Women’s Health Research Institute would like to acknowledge that we are uninvited guests on the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lo, and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-waututh) Nations.

As a provincial research institute committed to improving the health outcomes of women, including those across the 2SLGBTQIA+ spectrum, we recognize our responsibility in the collective effort towards establishing culturally safe health care systems and services that address health inequities among Indigenous peoples, especially Indigenous women, girls, and Two-spirit peoples.

We encourage all people involved in research to read both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action and the In Plain Sight Report, and reflect on ways we can incorporate the recommendations into our work. As we gather in spaces together, we encourage you to reflect on your positionality on these lands and your personal commitments to reconciliation.

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