How can technology change exercise oncology? Part 2: Tech Trends

This webinar will focus on the utilization of wearables and sensors to monitor and track physical activity and other health outcomes, providing a deeper understanding of their impact on exercise oncology research. Our expert presenters will delve into innovative applications, research methodologies, and the implications of integrating these technologies into cancer exercise and rehabilitation interventions. Strategic collaborations with big tech companies, emphasizing the synergy between academia and industry to drive advancements in exercise oncology research will also be touched on.

NEW: Special presentation from lululemon athletica highlighting their research collaborations and exciting apparel innovations!

11:00AM Keynote:

Dr Zachary Beattie, PhD

While a graduate student at OHSU, Dr. Beattie developed a new technology with the ability to detect sleep apnea using non-contact sensors. After completing his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Beattie accepted a Research Scientist position at Fitbit where he innovated new features for Fitbit wearables, working as project lead for several Fitbit research projects including the recently released Fitbit Sleep Stages feature, which has been used to collect over 6 billion nights of sleep data. In 2017, Dr. Beattie returned to OHSU to join the team at the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology. Currently as lead data scientist at ORCATECH (Oregon Center for Aging and Technology), Dr. Beattie is focused on data validity, provenance and integrity for the ORCATECH platform. The ORCATECH platform consists of digital sensors placed in the homes of elderly individuals that are used to collect a variety of data (e.g. walking speed, activity levels) about the individuals with the goal of developing digital biomarkers that can be used to facilitate studies of aging and in clinical trials. Dr. Beattie is particularly focused on overseeing data architecture and algorithm development for the NIA and VA funded national CART (Collaborative Aging Research using Technology) Initiative by building out the ORCATECH platform to enable research for multiple investigators ultimately engaging thousands of homes across the U.S.

11:45-1:00PM Presentations

Dr Sian Allen, PhD

Sian is a Research Manager on the Product Innovation team at lululemon athletica where she manages in-house research and external research partnerships in support of new innovations in activewear apparel development. She holds an Undergraduate degree in Sport & Exercise Science from the University of Bath (UK), a Masters in Exercise Physiology from Loughborough University (UK) and a PhD in statistical modelling of athlete performance from AUT University (New Zealand). Prior to working at lululemon she worked in high performance sport in Great Britain and New Zealand, providing sport science support to athletes and coaches in Olympic, Paralympic and professional sports.

Dr Kathryn Schmitz, PhD

Kathryn Schmitz, Ph.D., M.P.H., FACSM, FTOS, FNAK, is a Professor in the division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She serves as the Associate Director of Catchment Area Research, Co-leader of the Biobehavioral Cancer Control program and Director of the Exercise Oncology Initiative for the Hillman Cancer Center. Dr. Schmitz’s research focuses on people living with and beyond cancer and investigates the role of exercise in improving physiologic and psychosocial outcomes, including symptoms, treatment tolerance, and other chronic diseases. In addition, Dr. Schmitz studies technology based supportive care interventions (that include physical activity) to improve outcomes among advanced cancer patients. She has held NCI funding consistently since 2001. She has published over 350 scientific peer reviewed papers, some in prestigious journals such as JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine, and Journal of Clinical Oncology. Her well regarded research on resistance exercise and breast cancer related lymphedema has been translated into a physical therapy delivered program called ‘Strength After Breast Cancer’ that is available in over 1000 locations across the United States and beyond.

Dr. Schmitz was the moving force behind two American College of Sports Medicine development processes for exercise and cancer guidelines for patients in 2010 and 2018. She founded the Moving Through Cancer initiative of the American College of Sports Medicine, which has a bold goal of making exercise standard of care in oncology by 2029. She has written a popular press book to raise awareness about exercise for cancer patients and survivors entitled ‘Moving Through Cancer’ that was released by Chronicle Books in October 2021. She is the winner of numerous awards, most notably the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society of Behavioral Medicine, the Citation Award from the American College of Sports Medicine, and the Clinical Research Professorship from the American Cancer Society. She is the past president of the American College of Sports Medicine.

Dr Kerri Winters-Stone, PhD

Dr Kerri Winters-Stone, is an exercise scientist and Professor and Section Head of Cancer Population Sciences in the Division of Oncological Sciences at Oregon Health & Science University. She is also co-director of the Knight Community Partnership Program and Co-program leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program for the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center. As a scientist, Dr. Winters-Stone’s research focuses on the effects of cancer treatment on musculoskeletal health and cancer recurrence risk and the ability of exercise to improve health and longevity in cancer survivors. Dr. Winters-Stone has been funded by the National Cancer Institute, National Heart Blood and Lung Institute, the American Cancer Society, and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Livestrong, and Movember Foundations. She has conducted 14 controlled clinical exercise trials that have trained over 2500 cancer survivors in different exercise modalities that are used as specific countermeasures to treatment-related toxicities. She has also co-led the update of the American College of Sports Medicine Exercise Guidelines for Cancer Survivors, released in October 2019.