Biography
Chris Blanchard, PhD, Professor of Medicine holds cross appointments in the Dalhousie Schools of Health and Human Performance, Psychology and Physiotherapy.
Dr. Blanchard's research program mainly focuses on identifying key determinants/correlates of exercise behavior in diseased and non-diseased populations using various health behavior change theories with a particular emphasis on the social ecological model. Within this model, he concentrates on the unique and interactive influence of the intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, community, and policy variables on exercise.
Since arriving at Dalhousie University in 2006, Dr. Blanchard has received over $1 million in funding to support his research program from the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation, among others. He is also involved with numerous projects across Canada as a co-investigator amounting to over $4 million examining several behavioural aspects in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Prior to joining Dalhousie, Dr. Blanchard held an Ontario Career Scientist award funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and a University of Ottawa Research Chair in the Department of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa.