The Adamo Lab - Prevention in the Early Years Research Program

Dr. Kristi Adamo
Picture
Dr. Adamo is a Full Professor in the School of Human Kinetics and the Faculty of Medicine (Pediatrics) at the University of Ottawa. She is also a founding member of the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group at the CHEO RI. Dr. Adamo has a multidisciplinary background and her research program, Prevention in the Early Years, focuses on early lifestyle intervention and upstream prevention of childhood obesity. Specifically, her research team explores the impact of healthy active living during key phases of growth, development and determination of long term health (pregnancy/intrauterine, preschool and elementary school). Dr. Adamo’s unorthodox background has uniquely positioned her to undertake trials that look at traditional physiological, anthropometric and metabolic outcomes but also incorporate biochemical or cellular aspects where appropriate.  She previously held a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) New Investigator Award from the Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health and is a previous recipient of the Early Researcher Award from the Ministry of Research and Innovation for her work on ‘Tackling Childhood Obesity, starting with MOM’. Dr. Adamo was the 2015 recipient of the Canadian Obesity Network’s Faculty Supervisor award and the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology Young Investigator Award. Current projects in her lab are funded by the CIHR, NSERC, DND, and the Public Health Agency of Canada. Kristi’s most successful experiments have resulted in the birth of her daughters Kysia in 2007 and Mallea in 2009.

Educational Background

  • BSc. (Human Kinetics) University of Guelph
  • MSc. Human Biology & Nutritional Sciences (Physiology) University of Guelph
  • PhD. Cellular and Molecular Medicine (Physiology), University of Ottawa
  • Postdoctoral fellow: Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute

Memberships

  • Member of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
  • Affiliate investigator, Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, CHEO Research Institute
  • Member of the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP academic & certified exercise physiologist)
  • Member of the Canadian Obesity Network (CON)
  • Member of the Society of Obstetricians & Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC)
  • Member of The Obesity Society (TOS)

In the Media

  • Click here to view Dr. Adamo's input in a CTV news report denouncing the false belief that mothers should "eat for two" during pregnancy.
  • Click here to read a Q&A session between Dr. Adamo and Nutrition Remarks. This article highlights the role epigenetics, gestational weight gain, and the home environment play in childhood obesity. 
  • Click here to read Dr. Adamo's input in CBC news article. Here Dr. Adamo emphasizes the importance of healthy maternal behaviours during pregnancy for both the mom and the developing baby. ​

For more on Dr. Adamo's research and teaching visit:

Click here to visit Dr. Adamo's biography on the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Health Sciences webpage.