Jason Gilliland receives Children’s Health Foundation CHRI Scientist of the Year Award

March 13, 2020

 Jason Gilliland

Jason Gilliland, Professor in the Department of Geography, has received the Children’s Health Foundation CHRI Scientist of the Year Award.

The purpose of this award is to recognize the Scientist or Associate Scientist of the CHRI (Children’s Health Research Institute) who has made a significant contribution to the field of children’s health research from 2017-2019.

Gillland was recognized for his research on “Identifying and Overcoming Barriers to Children’s Physical Activity”. Children’s physical inactivity is a major public health issue in Canada. Only a small proportion of Canadian children get enough physical activity for optimal growth and development. Children’s sedentary lifestyles and low physical activity levels may be countered using effective population-level interventions.

 To inform the design of population-level child health interventions, Gilliland has conducted innovative research to gain a better understanding of the individual, social, and environmental factors that influence children’s physical activity behaviours, and how these factors vary in different geographic contexts. His groundbreaking research has positively impacted child health by informing the development and growth of community-based interventions to increase physical activity, which have already directly benefited tens of thousands of children in London and the surrounding Southwestern Ontario region.

The award, which comes with a $10,000 prize to support research, will be presented to Gilliland by a representative of the Children’s Health Foundation at the Lawson Impact Awards Evening on April 16th, 2020.