High school students aspiring to become physicians toured the Faculty of Human Kinetics last week, learning how a degree in kinesiology may be a pathway to medical school.

The tour was part of the Discovery Healthcare camp put on annually by the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. It’s the first time the weeklong camp has been held at the University of Windsor.

“I want to be a psychiatrist,” said Nour Boussi, who is going into Grade 11 at Vincent Massey Secondary School. “It’s been very interesting,” she said of the camp’s offerings.

In human kinetics, students toured six labs where professors and graduate students demonstrated the kind of research they do. Students learned about vascular physiology, biomechanics, cognitive ergonomics, tissue regeneration and decline, and the physiological effects of circadian rhythm disruption. They saw demonstrations of an exoskeleton, got to try out a driving simulator, and watched a readout of oxygen levels to the brain rise and fall as a test subject held his breath and purposefully hyperventilated.

They ended their visit in the Centre for Human Performance and Health, which performs body analysis on athletes and tests their strength, conditioning, and risk of injuries such as ACL tears.

The camp is led by Schulich students. Organizers bring in speakers from a variety of health-care fields and students get to do lots of hands-on activities.

“Our goal is to inspire and mentor students,” said camp organizer Kelly Peters, Schulich’s project co-ordinator.

The visit to human kinetics was organized by Cheri McGowan, associate dean of research and graduate studies.

“It’s an honour to host this group of bright high school students and to welcome them into the human kinetics family,” Dr. McGowan said. “It was an afternoon of learning and exploring made possible thanks to the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, and HK students and my colleagues who gave their time to make this happen.”

—Sarah Sacheli