Dr. Kathy Keiver
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Research Interests
- Prenatal alcohol exposure and the stress system (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function)
- Physical activity intervention programs for children with FASD
Other Scholars in School of Kinesiology
Biography
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
BSc: University of British Columbia (Zoology)
MSc: University of Guelph (Zoology – physiology)
PhD: University of Guelph (Zoology – physiology/nutrition/toxicology)
Post-doctoral fellowship: University of British Columbia (Zoology – biochemistry/physiology)
Post-doctoral fellowship: University of British Columbia (Anatomy – toxicology/physiology)
TEACHING INTERESTS
Nutrition
Research Methods and Statistics
RESEARCH AND OTHER INTERESTS
My research interests have been focused mainly in the area of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). My initial research examined the effects of maternal alcohol consumption on maternal and fetal calcium regulation, bone metabolism and bone development using a rat model. In 2006, I began collaborating with Alison Pritchard Orr and Chris Bertram to develop and evaluate intervention programs for children with FASD.
Neuropsychological deficits, resulting from damage to the developing brain, are the most devastating effects of prenatal alcohol exposure for individuals with FASD. Intervention programs have the potential to improve the neuropsychological deficits and thus reduce the burden on affected individuals, families and society. One intervention strategy that appears promising for improving multiple areas of the lives of individuals with FASD is exercise or physical activity. Physical activity improves both physical and mental health, and studies using animal models indicate that it can improve some of the neuropsychological deficits induced by prenatal alcohol exposure. We developed a physical activity program, FAST Club, for children with FASD and have been examining its effects on motor skills, executive function, adaptive and maladaptive behaviours, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function, and, in collaboration with researchers from Sunnyhill Health Centre for Children, sleep disturbances.
More recently, Alison Pritchard Orr and I have been collaborating with researchers from the University of Victoria to investigate if exercise (FAST Club) can enhance the effects of a cognitive training intervention for children with FASD. We are also collaborating with researchers from Queen’s University to investigate the effects of exergames on neuropsychological function and fitness. In collaboration with Central Elementary Community School and the Chilliwack School District we are also determining the feasibility of embedding FAST Club into the public school curriculum to increase accessibility for affected children.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Member of the Research Society on Alcoholism
Member of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Study Group
Member of the Canadian Nutrition Society
Provide nutrition advice to UFV athletes
Recent Citations for Dr. Kathy Keiver
- FAST Club: The Impact of a Physical Activity Intervention on Executive Function in Children With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
- Exergaming for children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: a pilot study
- An exercise intervention for children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder as a public-school program: a feasibility perspective
- Effect of the Liberi exergaming program on executive function abilities in children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: a pilot study
- Effects of a motor skill program on neurocognitive function (NEPSY-II) in children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
- Prenatal ethanol exposure disrupts the histological stages of fetal bone development
- Effect of chronic ethanol consumption on the response of parathyroid hormone to hypocalcemia in the pregnant rat
- Sleep disturbances in children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
- Ethanol administration results in a prolonged decrease in blood ionized calcium levels in the rat
- Preliminary effects of a neurofeedback program on executive function measures in children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
- Games as neurofeedback training for children with FASD
- Salivary cortisol levels are elevated in the afternoon and at bedtime in children with prenatal alcohol exposure
- Accuracy of DXA scanning of the thoracic spine: cadaveric studies comparing BMC, areal BMD and geometric estimates of volumetric BMD against ash weight and CT measures of bone volume