Through a new CAD $50 million investment, the McCall MacBain Foundation is partnering with McMaster University to accelerate globally leading research, transform community practice, and train generations of healthcare leaders to elevate the role of kinesiology and healthspan within health policy and practice in Canada and around the world.
Advances in medicine and healthcare have lengthened lifespan significantly over the last several decades. But a long life doesn’t always come with good health. In fact, too many people spend years of their lives with chronic illness, debilitating conditions, and aging-related decline. This partnership focuses on closing the gap between healthspan and lifespan, maximizing quality of life and supporting people to enjoy more years in better health.
The gift will establish a new McCall MacBain Kinesiology and Healthspan Institute, an interdisciplinary platform that will draw from diverse expertise, enable collaboration across faculties and institutes, advance cutting-edge research, and influence policy and community engagement.
The institute will advance McMaster’s strengths in research and will be jointly affiliated with the Department of Kinesiology in the Faculty of Science and the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact in the Faculty of Health Sciences.
Working alongside the renowned Physical Activity Center of Excellence (PACE), which delivers tailored programs to community members, including seniors, cancer survivors, those with heart disease or spinal cord injuries, and those with multiple sclerosis, the institute will transform the latest knowledge into community practice with direct impacts on people’s health.
The institute’s work will be shaped by four new McCall MacBain Chairs in Healthy Living, who will bring globally leading expertise across kinesiology and integrated health, healthspan research, impacts of the physical environment on health, and evidence-informed health policy.
Working alongside the chairholders will be the Marcy C. McCall Kinesiology Scholars – an opportunity that will be available to 10 kinesiology undergraduate students each year, who will receive $50,000 in stipends to support their learning through internships, summer research placements, and international exchanges, in addition to offsetting tuition costs.
This gift is the largest investment in kinesiology in Canadian university history. It is inspired by Dr. Marcy McCall MacBain’s time as an undergraduate student at McMaster University, where she experienced the firm grounding that Kinesiology offers students interested in a diverse range of health-related pathways and gained exposure to McMaster’s world-class researchers in the area of evidence-based medicine. She also benefited from experiential learning opportunities at PACE, where she worked with individuals with spinal cord injury. These experiences laid the foundation for her future work as a researcher and philanthropist, championing evidence-based healthcare in various contexts.
In the months ahead, the McCall MacBain Kinesiology and Healthspan Institute will begin laying the foundation for its launch, including the recruitment of chairholders and the inaugural cohort of scholars. Recruitment and application processes are expected to begin in summer 2026, with updates shared through the institute’s website.
Read more about the partnership here.
Learn about healthspan and McMaster’s role in leading research on good health: watch video.