Gabriela TymowskiGabriela Tymowski, PhD

Contact Information:

Gabriela Tymowski
Associate Professor
Office Phone:  506-447-3231
Office Location:  2 Peter Kelly Drive, A19A
E-Mail:  tymowski@unb.ca

Degrees (University) BA, BEd, MA (Western) PhD (Gloucestershire)



Research Interests

  • Applied ethics (sport, health)
  • Children's rights
  • Children, physical activity & sport
  • Childhood obesity
  • High-risk sport
  • The Olympic movement

Biography

Gabriela Tymowski is an associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of New Brunswick. She has undergraduate degrees in kinesiology and education, and a master's degree in kinesiology (University of Western Ontario), and a Ph.D. in applied ethics (University of Gloucestershire, UK). Gabriela was the founding director of LEAP! (Learning Eating Activity Programme), an interdisciplinary pediatric weight management clinic in the faculty of Kinesiology (2003-2008). The major focus of her research has dealt with the ethical issues affecting children, from one end of the activity spectrum where they are over-involved in competitive and high-performance sport to the other end where they are under-involved in physical activity and sport, and overly sedentary. The problem of childhood obesity has been a focus of late, with an attempt to unravel this complex issue through social commitment and policy change to investing in children’s health and futures. She is concerned with children's rights, particularly the child's right to an open future. She is also interested in high-risk sport, and the ethical concerns surrounding personal autonomy and the demands injured athletes make on the health care system. Other projects have included a study with the RCMP on the attitudes and behaviours of New Brunswick students regarding the use of performance-enhancing substances in sport, and BOOST, a community outreach activity for kinesiology students working with elementary school children at St. Mary’s First Nation.

Graduate Student

Jennifer Charters, M.Sc. (Sept. 2009 - present)  Parents coaching their children:  The ethical challenges.

Caitlin Wheeler, M.Sc. (Sept. 2008 – present) The moral implications of pharmacopherapy and bariatric surgery as treatment options for childhood obesity.

Sung Min Kang, M.Sc. (Sept. 2006 – 2009) Defining sport: Philosophical conflicts between the practices of sport and cybersport.

Eric Porcellato, M.Sc. (Sept. 2004 – 2006) The right of responsibility: Childhood obesity, children’s rights and the best-interest standard.

Jeff Callaghan, M.Sc. (Sept. 2002 – August 2004) Unchecked: A critical analysis of the moral issues of introducing body checking in youth ice hockey.