Conference connection leads to postdoctoral fellowship and milestone for Cardiovascular Dynamics Lab

With his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Waterloo, Joshua Cherubini is the first “full-circle student” for kinesiology professor and McMaster Provost Maureen MacDonald.

Cherubini spent nearly eight years working in MacDonald’s Vascular Dynamics Lab. He joined in the third year of his undergraduate kinesiology degree. He’d applied to several labs but MacDonald’s was at the top of his wish list. He says the anatomy and physiology lectures MacDonald delivered in his first and second-year courses left a lasting impression, especially a video of red blood cells circulating through the microvascular system of a hamster’s cheek. “A striking departure from the regular textbook images we’d usually see in the classroom,” says Cherubini.

He stayed on in the Vascular Dynamics Lab to complete an undergrad thesis project and then earned his PhD with MacDonald as his supervisor, exploring the interactions between sleep profiles and exercise on cardiovascular function. “I didn’t have much interest in research until I joined Maureen’s lab and then I was hooked.” He says it’s not unusual for students in the lab to stay for an extended tour of duty.

Cherubini opened a whole new world of research for the lab by exploring the impacts of disturbed sleep on the cardiovascular system, says MacDonald. “Josh’s project on partial sleep deprivation pretty much describes every student’s life.”

Cherubini is now a member of Richard Hughson’s research group at the University of Waterloo, supporting a study into the cardiovascular health of astronauts on the International Space Station. There’s no out-of-this-world fieldwork involved in his postdoctoral fellowship. “I’m keeping both feet firmly on the ground,” says Cherubini.

Hughson is the Schlegel Research Chair in Vascular Aging and Brain Health with the Schlegal-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging.  He holds a PhD from McMaster where he worked as an assistant professor of kinesiology between 1977 and 1982 before joining the University of Waterloo.

In the 1990s, Hughson was MacDonald’s MSc and PhD supervisor and co-supervisor for her second postdoctoral fellowship funded by the Canadian Space Agency. Three decades later, Hughson is now Cherubini’s supervisor.

It’s a full-circle moment and point of pride for MacDonald. “Josh is the first student from my lab to be supervised by Rich. That’s a milestone that brings me great joy.”

MacDonald connected Cherubini with her former supervisor during the Ontario Exercise Physiology Conference hosted by Mac last summer. This will come as no surprise to any student who’s worked in MacDonald’s lab and gone to conferences with their supervisor, says Cherubini.

“If you go to a conference with Maureen, prepare to shake a lot of hands. Maureen will make a point of introducing you to collaborators, colleagues and graduates from her lab. Whatever conference you’re at, she seems to know everyone and everyone knows Maureen.”

For Cherubini, working with Hughson will be a way to discover the source code that explains what he experienced in MacDonald’s lab.

“Maureen taught us that while science is important, it’s even more important to work as a team. You need to get to know and trust the people you’re working. Science isn’t a solo process. You’ll always do your best science through collaboration.”

During his interview over Zoom, Cherubini puts up on the screen the last core values worksheet he filled out. Every September, everyone in the lab – undergrads, grad students, postdocs and MacDonald – identify their four core values. Sharing these values is one of the ways that help turn the group into a team.

Cherubini also remembered MacDonald somehow finding the time to sit in on major presentations and thesis defences delivered by the students in her lab. “Maureen would be sitting dead centre in the front row offering moral support and helping calm your nerves.”

And she was there at the Phoenix when Cherubini celebrated his successful PhD defence, filling the pub’s Thallion chalice with Big Wheel craft beer.

MacDonald readily admits Hughson had an outsized impact on how she leads her lab and works with students. “The most important thing I learned from Rich is that people matter the most.” MacDonald watched and learned how her supervisor prioritized family and friends and made time for colleagues and students.

“Rich would leave the lab to pick his kids up from school and include his wife and family in our lab celebrations. He’d join the U Waterloo noon-hour running groups most days and attend all department seminars regardless of the topic. And he demonstrated his commitment to students by contributing to all our projects as a member of the team and always thinking about the intersection between our interests and skills and the needs of his lab.”

Saying goodbye was hard for both MacDonald and Cherubini. She looks forward to hooding Cherubini at Convocation.

“Josh is a pretty special person and I’m honestly not sure what the lab will look like without him. One of his lab mates made a photo book for Josh as a going away gift – it’s no coincidence that everyone in all the photos were always smiling in his company.”

Joining a research group at a different university in a new city was initially jarring for Cherubini. “The awkwardness I felt at the start was short-lived. Everyone here is so welcoming and supportive. And that’s a very familiar feeling.”