KPE is delighted to announce that Jackie Zehr will be joining the Faculty as the incoming assistant professor in biomechanics as of July 1, 2025.
“I’m looking forward to establishing a biomechanics lab dedicated to joint and tissue research,” says Zehr, “and I can’t wait to start connecting with everyone at KPE—as well as the broader university community!”
Zehr is no stranger to the Faculty, having graduated with a BKin and MSc from the Faculty in 2015 and 2017, respectively. From here, she went to the University of Waterloo where she obtained her PhD in 2023. Currently, she is an NSERC-funded postdoctoral fellow in the Human Performance Lab in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. “It’s so exciting to return to a familiar place,” she says. “I’m really eager to begin my professional career at a renowned institution like U of T.”
Her research interests include integrative musculoskeletal biomechanics with a focus on soft tissue mechanics in the spine and knee, multi-scale mechanisms of injury and adaptation to complex mechanical and physiological stimuli as well as prevention of musculoskeletal injuries across the lifespan. “I’m specifically interested in how microscopic damage starts in the soft tissues and then progresses to become a macroscopic injury that we feel and see on medical imaging,” she says. “My program aligns with a KPE’s core mission to understand the interactions between physical activity and health.”
As an assistant professor, Zehr will be teaching advanced biomechanics and a yet-to-be-determined graduate course as well as writing grants to support her research program and purchase infrastructure. “My initial plan is to conduct experiments to characterize how soft tissues in the spine and knee recover—both mechanically and biologically—following habitual loading periods,” she says.
Zehr has an exceptional research profile as well as a strong record of scholarships, awards and innovative knowledge translation activities. Her research innovation and productivity have been recognized through several awards including the Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal, Canadian Society for Biomechanics Young Investigator Award – Doctoral, a finalist in the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies (CAGS)/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award (engineering/medical sciences/natural sciences category), and the Royal Society of Canada Alice Wilson Award Finalist (Nominated by NSERC based on top overall ranking in 2023 PDF competition).
Outside of work, she is an avid sports fan and enjoys playing golf, hiking and running.