Professor Jonathon Fowles of Acadia’s School of Kinesiology has been honoured with the 2022 Exercise is Medicine® (EIM) Global Leadership Award. This prestigious award is given to a American College of Sports Medicine Member with a proven history of advancing the EIM initiative through their professional endeavors.

Dr. Fowles has “demonstrated tremendous leadership in transforming EIM Canada into one of the most prominent programs in the EIM Global Network, building a flourishing EIM On Campus program with 27 institutions,” notes Robyn M Stuhr, EIM’s vice-president, and “he has received numerous rounds of funding to support the development and evaluation of physical activity training programs for physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals and published multiple papers on those efforts.”

The vision of EIM is to make physical activity assessment and promotion a standard in clinical care, connecting health care with evidence-based physical activity resources for people everywhere of all abilities. The scientifically proven benefits of physical activity remain indisputable, and they can be as powerful as any pharmaceutical agent in preventing and treating a range of chronic diseases and medical conditions. Dr. Fowles was the Scientific Lead for a provincial Exercise is Medicine pilot in Nova Scotia, which has resulted in several initiatives to improve medical education, physical activity counseling,  and exercise programming and referral in the province.

Dr. Fowles, who is finishing his term as National Chair with EIM Canada after 6 years at the helm, will be formally recognized at the EIM World Congress in San Diego California in June 2022.