Martin Sénéchal

Research interests

• Exercise
• Physical activity
• Exercise response
• Obesity
• Pediatric obesity
• Type 2 diabetes
• Cardiometabolic health

Biography

Dr. Sénéchal did a bachelor and a master in kinesiology from University of Sherbrooke. He did his Ph.D. in gerontology investigating the impact of muscle strength on cardiometabolic health of obese individuals. Dr. Sénéchal did a first postdoctoral fellowship at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center (PBRC) in Louisiana. His second postdoctoral fellowship was performed at the Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM) in Winnipeg, were he spent three years.

Dr. Sénéchal is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Fredericton and a Certified Exercise Physiologist from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP-CEP). He joined the Faculty of Kinesiology July 1st 2015 and teaches Pediatric Exercise Science and Exercise Physiology. Dr. Sénéchal’s research interests focus on the impact of physical activity and exercise training on cardiometabolic health in obese individuals. More specifically, his research program encompasses three pillars. The first pillar aims to understand why some obese individuals experience benefits from exercise while other obese individuals do not display these benefits from the same exercise intervention.

A better understanding of these predictors as well as the mechanism of such an exercise response will help designing appropriates intervention for obese individuals. The second pillar aims to identify predictors and understand why some obese individuals remain healthy despite high adiposity levels. Therefore, understanding different obesity phenotype might offer a more comprehensive way to manage cardiometabolic health. The third pillar aims to develop community programs to increase physical activity among individuals, especially obese youth.

Publications

1. Sénéchal M., Johannsen N.M., Swift D.L., Earnest C.P., Blair S.N., Church T.S. Association Between Changes in Muscle Quality with Exercise Training and Changes in Cardiorespiratory Fitness Measures in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Results from the HART-D Study PLOS One: 2015 (In Press)

2. Sénéchal M. Slaght JL., Bouchard D.R. Cumulative Weight Exposure is Associated with Different Weight Loss Strategies and Weight Loss Success in Older Adults. Journal of Aging Research: 2015 (In Press)

3. Sénéchal M., Rempel M., Duhamel T.A., MacIntosh A.C., Hay J., Wicklow B.A.,Wittmeier K.D., Shen G., McGavock J.M. Cardiorespiratory Fitness is a Determinant of the Metabolic Response to Endurance Training in Adolescents at Risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Obesity (Silver Spring), 2015, (4): 823-32.

4. Sénéchal M., Slaght J., Barti N., Bouchard DR., Benefits of Diet and Exercise in Overweight and Obese Adults with Pre-diabetes. Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets & Therapy, 2014; 7 1-9 (Impact Factor: N/A).

5. Sénéchal M., McGavock J.M., Church T.S. Earnest C.P., Lee D.C., Sui M., Blair S.N. Cut-points of Muscle Strength Associated with Metabolic Syndrome in Men. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2014, Aug; 46(8): 1475-81

6. Sénéchal M. Ayers CR., Gore OM., See R., Abdullah SM., McGuire DK., McGavock J.M. Is Cardiorespiratory Fitness a Determinant of Cardiomyopathy in the Setting of Type 2 Diabetes? Diabetes Vascular Disease Research, 2014, Sept; 11(5): 343-51

7. Mollard R.C., Sénéchal M., MacIntosh A.C., Hay J., Wicklow BA., Wittmeier K.D., Sellers E.A.C., Dean H.J., Ryner L., Berard L., McGavock J.M., Dietary Determinants of Hepatic Steatosis and Visceral Adiposity in Overweight and Obese Youth at Risk of Type 2 diabetes. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2014, Apr; 99(4): 804-12

8. Lavie CL., Johannsen N.M., Swift D.L., Sénéchal M., Earnest C.P., Blair S.N., Church T.S. Exercise is Medicine –The Importance of Physical Activity, Exercise Training, and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in the Prevention and Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus European Endocrinology, 2014; 10(1): 18-22

9. Sénéchal M., Swift D.L., Johannsen N.M., Earnest C.P., Blair S.N., Church T.S. Change in Body Fat Distribution and Fitness are Associated with Changes in Hemoglobin A1c after 9 Months of Exercise Training: Results from the HART-D Study. Diabetes Care, 2013 Sept; 36 (9)2843-9.

10. Sénéchal M., Wicklow B.A.,Wittmeier K.D., Hay J., MacIntosh A.C., Eskicioglu P., McGavock J.M. : Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Adiposity in Metabolic Healthy Overweight and Obese Youth. Pediatrics 2013,Jul; 132(1): e-85-92.

11. Sénéchal M., Bouhard D.R., Dionne I.J., Brochu M. Lifestyle Habits and Physical Capacity in Patients With Moderate or Severe Metabolic Syndrome. Metabolic Syndrome & Related Disorders. 2012 Jun; 10 (3):232-40.

12. Sénéchal M., Arguin H., Bouchard D.R., Carpentier A., Ardilouze J-L., Dionne I.J., Brochu M. Interindividual Variation in Resting Metabolic Rate Following a 5-week Weight Loss Program in Obese Postmenopausal Women. A Pilot Study. Metabolism. 2010 Apr; 59 (4): 478-85.