Faculty Spotlight: Thomas Hawke

“Exercise is medicine” – Dr. Hawke

Dr. Hawke completed his PhD in Biophysics – Electrolyte Physiology at the University of Guelph in 2000. He then completed his Postdoctoral Fellowship in Muscle Stem Cell Biology at the University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Centre in April 2003. Dr. Hawke became an assistant professor at York University before becoming an Associate Professor for the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine in 2009. This led to his current role as Full Professor in 2018 and is now the new Associate Chair of Research! Other honors, experience, and professional memberships include but are not limited to, Associate Editor, American Journal of Physiology- Cell Physiology 2017-present and the Alexander von Humboldt Fellow – Experienced Researcher, Bonn Germany.

Q. What is your specialty and why did you choose it?

A. My specialty is studying the health of skeletal muscle from molecular biology to whole-body function. Skeletal muscle is amazing tissue; highly resilient and extremely adaptable. As an athlete, I was always amazed at the ability of muscles to grow, adapt, and recover from stressors (like training and trauma) and that interest turned into a career.

Q. What’s something about you (a fun fact) that people may not know about you?

A. I have undertaken research at McMurdo Station in Antarctica studying the skeletal muscle of Weddell Seals