UWindsor researchers climb to new heights in high-altitude health study

UWindsor research participants (left to right): Jessica Kenney, Ibrahim Wafai, Professor Anthony Bain, Brooke Shepley and Lana Yacoub.

(Photo courtesy of Anthony Bain)

What happens to the human body when oxygen is scarce?  

That was the central question driving kinesiology professor Anthony Bain and fellow researchers who recently returned from a landmark research expedition to White Mountain in California. 

“I’ve always been amazed by the limits of human physiology,” says Dr. Bain. 

“How can someone climb Everest without supplemental oxygen? How do freedivers push beyond what seems possible? These questions drive my curiosity, and altitude research is a natural extension.” 

The trip, co-organized by Bain with colleagues Mike Tymko of the University of Guelph and Kurt Smith of the University of Victoria, brought together nearly 30 researchers, physicians and students to study the effects of hypoxia. 

Hypoxia is caused by low levels of oxygen availability and typically experienced at high altitudes. The condition causes symptoms like confusion, difficulty breathing, rapid heart rate and bluish skin. If the lack of oxygen is extreme, hypoxia can become life-threatening. 

The group spent two weeks at the White Mountain Research Center, living in close quarters while conducting over a dozen interrelated studies at 3,810 metres above sea level. 

“The overarching goal is to understand how low oxygen impacts the human body and understand why certain individuals are highly susceptible to altitude-related illnesses,” says Bain. 

“We see parallels in people living with chronic respiratory diseases. Our work helps bridge those connections.” 

Bain led a UWindsor contingent of four students including PhD candidate Brooke Shepley, whose project formed the centrepiece of her doctoral thesis. 

“Brooke’s project is helping us uncover how proteins may regulate vascular processes under stress conditions like hypoxia,” says Bain. 

Before heading up the mountain, the research team established baseline measurements at the University of Guelph, thanks to support from faculty who opened their labs to the project. 

Once on the mountain, the participants became both researchers and subjects. 

Sleep, exercise tolerance, blood pressure, and brain blood flow were just some of the parameters tracked daily.  

Bain’s own focus was on vascular function, while other projects explored sleep-disordered breathing, brain bloodflow regulation, pulmonary hypertension and the use of ketone supplements as a potential aid against altitude sickness. 

The altitude led to most experiencing some form of sleep disturbance and mild illness. That’s where the project’s medical collaborators — pulmonary critical care specialists and anesthetists — played a critical role, ensuring safety while also capturing valuable clinical data. 

“Part of the research design is that many of us will get sick,” Bain says. 

“That’s a critical part of the research and why we had physicians on site with constant monitoring. Knowing that was likely to happen, we could study those responses in a way you never could with casual climbers.” 

While full data analysis is still underway, Bain notes that the immediate benefits of the expedition were clear — especially for students. 

“It was an incredible experiential learning opportunity,” he reflects. 

“Our students worked alongside physicians and researchers from across Canada and abroad, forming networks and friendships while doing meaningful science. Even those who struggled with the altitude came away with a transformative experience.” 

With analysis now underway, Bain and his students are back in Windsor, studying data and preparing next steps for their research. 

The thin air of White Mountain may be behind them, but the discoveries it may uncover are only just beginning.

Courtesy: John Paul Bonnadonna, University of Windsor: https://www.uwindsor.ca/news/2025-09-02/uwindsor-researcher-climbs-new-heights-high-altitude-health-study