Said Mekari, Université de Sherbrooke

Research

Aging Cognition Community Program Exercise Francophones Health Primary Prevention

Latest papers

Acute metabolic responses to breaking up sedentary time in older adults.
Physiology & behavior · 2026
Frailty is associated with lower-limb osteoarthritis incidence over six-years regardless of sex and type of frailty index in the Canadian longitudinal study on aging.
Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2026
The Impact of a Prior Traumatic Brain Injury and Injury Characteristics on Frailty in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.
Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2026

All 18 publications

Latest funding

L'étude PARTAGE-D : Pratiques Améliorées par Rendez-vous Thérapeutiques Avec Groupes Encadrés pour la Dyslipidémie
CIHR · 2025 · Co-investigator
$100,000
Managing and AVOIDing Frailty and Adverse Musculoskeletal Health among Canadian Males and Females
CIHR · 2024 · Co-investigator
$70,000
Essai pragmatique contrôlé randomisé de promotion de l'Activité physique Post Réadaptation cardiaque en s'Exerçant chez Soi (l'étude APRES)
CIHR · 2023 · Co-investigator
$100,000

All 4 grants and awards

18 publications.

01

Acute metabolic responses to breaking up sedentary time in older adults.

Maréchal R, St-Martin P, Desjardins C, Ghachem A, Mekari S, Bélanger M, Cohen AA, Dionne IJ

Physiology & behavior2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2026.115361 PMID: 42069279

02

Frailty is associated with lower-limb osteoarthritis incidence over six-years regardless of sex and type of frailty index in the Canadian longitudinal study on aging.

Halliwell C, Moyer R, Legge A, Theou O, Bélanger M, Mekari S, O'Brien MW

Osteoarthritis and cartilage open2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.ocarto.2026.100827 PMID: 42283064

03

The Impact of a Prior Traumatic Brain Injury and Injury Characteristics on Frailty in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Courish MK, O'Brien MW, Shivgulam ME, MacDonald EE, Mekari S, Theou O

Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.apmr.2026.01.021 PMID: 41620060

04

Lower-limb physical function is associated with executive function in frail older adults.

OBrien MW, Ahmadi S, Faivre P, Quirion I, Bouffard-Levasseur V, Emond T, Lang A, MacDonald E, Dupuy O, Champod AS, Bélanger M, Mekari S

GeroScience2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1007/s11357-026-02234-7 PMID: 41917533

05

Impact of physical activity and exercise training on health-related quality of life in older adults: an umbrella review.

Schwartz BD, Liu H, MacDonald EE, Mekari S, O'Brien MW

GeroScience2025

DOI: 10.1007/s11357-024-01493-6 PMID: 39754009

06

Acute effects of high-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity continuous training on executive functions in healthy older adults.

Ahmadi S, Bélanger M, O'Brien MW, Registe PPW, Dupuy O, Mekari S

Scientific reports2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-91833-z PMID: 40000786

07

Relationship between frailty and executive function by age and sex in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Courish MK, O'Brien MW, Maxwell SP, Mekari S, Kimmerly DS, Theou O

GeroScience2025

DOI: 10.1007/s11357-024-01256-3 PMID: 39014131

08

Association between physical fitness and executive functions in cognitively healthy female older adults: a cross-sectional study.

Ahmadi S, Quirion I, Faivre P, Registe PPW, O'Brien MW, Bray NW, Dupuy O, Sénéchal M, Bélanger M, Mekari S

GeroScience2024Senior author

DOI: 10.1007/s11357-024-01188-y PMID: 38722469

09

Executive functions in male and female older adults with aligned levels of VO2max.

Ahmadi S, Mekari S

The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness2024Senior author

DOI: 10.23736/s0022-4707.24.15618-6 PMID: 38965892

10

Do not underestimate the cognitive benefits of exercise.

Dupuy O, Ludyga S, Ortega FB, Hillman CH, Erickson KI, Herold F, Kamijo K, Wang CH, Morris TP, Brown B, Esteban-Cornejo I, Solis-Urra P, Bosquet L, Gerber M, Mekari S, Berryman N, Bherer L, Rattray B, Liu-Ambrose T, Voelcker-Rehage C, Cheval B

Nature human behaviour2024

DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01949-x PMID: 39164416

L'étude PARTAGE-D : Pratiques Améliorées par Rendez-vous Thérapeutiques Avec Groupes Encadrés pour la Dyslipidémie

Co-investigatorCIHR2025Project Grant - PA: Health and Official Languages in Minority Communities

Principal investigators: Bélanger, Mathieu

Keywords: Dyslipidemia; Family Medicine; Group Medical Visits; Health Education; Health Related Behaviours; Lifestyle Medicine; Primary Healthcare; Shared Medical Appointments

$100,000

Managing and AVOIDing Frailty and Adverse Musculoskeletal Health among Canadian Males and Females

Co-investigatorCIHR2024Catalyst Grant: Analysis of CLSA Data - IMHA Early Career Researcher

Principal investigators: O'Brien, Myles

Keywords: Aging; Frailty; Healthcare Utilization; Longitudinal; Musculoskeletal Health; Osteoarthritis; Sarcopenia; Sex Differences

$70,000

Essai pragmatique contrôlé randomisé de promotion de l'Activité physique Post Réadaptation cardiaque en s'Exerçant chez Soi (l'étude APRES)

Co-investigatorCIHR2023Project Grant - PA: Health and Official Languages in Minority Communities

Principal investigators: Bélanger, Mathieu

Keywords: Activité Physique; Francophones En Situation Minoritaire; Réadaptation Cardiaque

$100,000

Bringing An Evidence-Based Community Physical Activity Program to Francophone Minorities in New Brunswick: Can We Fit the Brain with Physical Activity

Nominated PICIHR2021Catalyst Grant: Official Language Minority Communities in Health Research

Principal investigators: Mekari, Said; Sénéchal, Martin

Keywords: Aging; Cognition; Community Program; Exercise; Francophones; Health; Primary Prevention

$97,530

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Physiotherapy
Neurology and Neurosurgery
Kinesiology
Physical Therapy
Other

Co-authors at Université de Sherbrooke, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Shirko Ahmadi

Faculty

6 shared papers, latest 2026

Olga Theou

Physiotherapy

3 shared papers, latest 2026

Teresa Liu-Ambrose

Physical Therapy

1 shared papers, latest 2024

Louis Bherer

Neurology and Neurosurgery

1 shared papers, latest 2024

Louis Bherer

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2024

Shilpa Dogra

Kinesiology

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Louis Bherer

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2024

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their CIHR grant from 2021

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Aging Dear Professor Mekari, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Acute metabolic responses to breaking up sedentary time in older adults." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your CIHR-funded project "Bringing An Evidence-Based Community Physical Activity Program to Francophone Minorities in New Brunswick: Can We Fit the Brain with Physical Activity" (2021), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]