Research story
Imagine helping a friend carry a couch from one room to another and somehow pivoting it around tight corners without scraping the walls. How is it that the two of you move as if you share the same mind?
Dr. Melanie Lam’s path to human kinetics was anything but straightforward. She was originally trained in psychology and criminology, but an unexpected opportunity redirected her career toward movement science. Now a professor at St. Francis Xavier University, she reflects on that journey and the questions that continue to shape her work. NSERC spoke with Dr. Lam about the pivotal moments that defined her path.
Dr. Lam, you started your studies in psychology and criminology. What led you to human kinetics?
My path shifted unexpectedly. I had hoped to complete an honours degree with a phenomenal forensic entomologist at Simon Fraser University. However, their lab was full, so I had to figure out the next step.
Someone suggested I meet with the new chair of psychology, Dr. Daniel Weeks. He offered me a research assistant position in his lab and eventually asked if I had ever considered graduate school. That was a pivotal moment in my life, because it allowed me to pursue my passion for understanding human behaviour from a psychology perspective and to apply the knowledge I had gained in the field of movement science. This ultimately led me to St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, to teach as a professor in motor control.
Your research is currently focused on joint action. Can you explain what joint action is, and how it impacts our lives?
Joint action is the study of how the “we” becomes a single unit moving together in space and time. We see it when ballroom dancers glide, when rowers coordinate a perfectly synchronized set of strokes, or when musicians in an orchestra seem to have the same internal metronome guiding their timing. The overarching question is, “How is it that we’re able to synchronize our movements to achieve these shared goals?”
My undergraduate degree in psychology gave me a foundation for understanding human behaviour, and my grad studies in kinesiology gave me additional insight into how the central nervous system plans, executes and regulates voluntary movement. Joint action is where these two worlds meet. Our brains constantly predict others’ actions, allowing us to coordinate in real time. When I hand you a pen, I don’t just let go of it; I have to wait to sense the tactile feedback that lets me know you’re gripping the pen before I release it. It’s incredible that our nervous systems, independent of each other, are somehow communicating without words.
Joint action isn’t just about two people achieving a goal. When you engage in these shared movements, studies have shown that it increases feelings of togetherness, closeness and trust. Empathy increases with the simple thought of engaging in joint action, ultimately helping us understand others’ intentions and beliefs.
You are also striving to better understand how special populations, like people living with Down syndrome or Parkinson’s disease, adapt their actions under constrained conditions. What has surprised you most about how these populations adapt?
We tend to judge behaviour on appearance, but atypical movements often reflect clever adaptations. It’s important to understand the underlying mechanisms of behaviours.
People may see someone moving atypically and assume that their motor system malfunctions. What surprises me most in my research is that atypical movements are incredibly clever adaptations. In one of our studies, we found that people with Down syndrome moved more slowly, not because their brains are making mistakes, but because their nervous system optimizes for stability; their movements are logical solutions to a unique set of biological constraints.
Individuals with Parkinson’s disease may experience freezing of gait, feeling as if their feet were glued to the floor. Their brain is telling them to move forward, but their internal starter motor can’t initiate the next step. Yet, if you provide a visual cue, like pieces of tape mimicking steps on the floor, it helps them initiate those steps. This also works with auditory cues, such as a headset playing a beat. When individuals use the beat as timing to walk to, we observe reduced freezing of gait.
I think it’s important to think of these adaptation strategies as innovative solutions. The brain is a master of adaptation.
How could your joint action research influence the design of assistive technologies or rehabilitation programs for individuals with motor impairments?
Motor learning can be used to shape rehabilitation programs. This is important, especially since we know emotions can impact our willingness to engage with others. The research being done in motor control is trying to contribute to an understanding of what shapes our movements. When engineers design humanoid robots and companion robots meant to complete simple tasks for elderly people and keep them company, this kind of research can be informative. Eventually, we are going to teach these robots to model human behaviour and adapt their actions depending on the user’s emotional state. For example, it may move faster or more quietly if its user seems upset. The research we conduct will help robotics engineers program robots so that they can make predictions.
How do you think your research could contribute to shaping the future of human kinetics research in Canada?
The future of human kinetics lies in exploring dyads and coordination. Over the last 20 years, we’ve shifted away from looking at individuals in isolation and instead study coordination between people. My research contributes to examining how our motor system treats someone else’s limb as an extension of our own body, with that invisible coordination enabling a seamless joint action. Researching joint action will help us develop better ergonomic equipment and better rehabilitative protocols.
Future research may focus on external factors, like an individual’s emotional state and how it shapes their actions. If anger or happiness act as noise that alters their willingness to engage in joint action, this moves human kinetics beyond simple biomechanics into the realm of social neuroscience.
The research also continues to shift approaches to disability and special populations away from a deficit-based model and toward an adaptation model, based on a better understanding that the neuro hacks developed by members of special populations are a brilliant, logical response to one’s own unique set of biological constraints.
As an educator, I hope that my contributions will lead to great training for our future generation of Canadian kinesiologists, who will have a strong sense of empathy and curiosity. I hope my students will appreciate learning about motor control as something foundational and consider the inner workings of their patients to provide deeply human-centered care.
This interview was condensed and edited for length and clarity.
Photo: Crossman & Burke
About Dr. Melanie Lam
Dr. Melanie Lam is an Associate Professor in Human Kinetics at St. Francis Xavier University. She grew up in British Columbia and holds a Master of Science and PhD, following a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Criminology from Simon Fraser University.