Harris, Dr. Luke

PhD University of Alberta, BSc Acadia University

Associate Professor
Phone
Office
10-3590
Campus
Prince George

Biography

Dr. Harris completed an undergraduate degree in biology at Acadia and a doctoral degree in neuroscience at the University of Alberta. Luke then worked as a postdoctoral fellow in physical medicine and rehabilitation/exercise biochemistry (U of A) and respiratory rehabilitation/muscle biophysics (UBC, funded by the BC Lung Association). Dr. Harris began his position at UNBC in 2009, where he established the Northern BC Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) Laboratory in 2014. He enjoys teaching a variety of topics, especially human physiology.

Research and Expertise

With his students and colleagues, Dr. Harris uses near-infrared spectroscopy, or NIRS, for non-invasive investigations of hemodynamics (e.g., blood volume changes) and metabolism (e.g., oxygenation) in various body tissues. Their recent experiments have included the following:

  • leg muscle hemodynamics and metabolism changes due to spasticity after stroke
  • brain and respiratory muscle hemodynamics and metabolism changes in response to training with specialized respiratory exercise devices
  • brain hemodynamics and metabolism during meditation, compared to during mental math
  • the influence of acute bouts of exercise on brain hemodynamics and metabolism during cognitive tasks
Research Fields
  • Biomedical
  • Health
  • Health and Well-being
  • Neurophysiology
Areas of Expertise
muscle physiology, neuroscience, rehabilitation science, biomedical optics, near-infrared spectroscopy, respiratory physiology
Languages Spoken
  • English
Not accepting graduate students
Available to be contacted by the media as a subject matter expert