A dislocated shoulder playing high school sports is an unusual starting point for an award-winning academic career.

But for Dr. Evan Lockyer that incident and a few other sports-related injuries set him on a path to one of Memorial University’s highest academic honours.

The Faculty of Medicine’s PhD (neuroscience) fall graduate was named one of two recipients of the prestigious Governor General’s Gold Medal in Graduate Studies at spring convocation.

The award is presented annually to the graduate students who achieve the highest academic standing in their programs.

Arm cycling

Recovering from his injuries sparked an interest in physiotherapy, and in 2011, Dr. Lockyer began studying kinesiology at Memorial.

That interest evolved into a passion for research and teaching, which led him to a master’s degree.

My master’s was also in kinesiology, and my master’s supervisor, Dr. Kevin Power, who is cross-appointed with the Faculty of Medicine, wanted me to stay on as a PhD student,” he said. “There was no PhD program in kinesiology, so I did a PhD in medicine via neuroscience.”

His doctoral research focused on understanding how the brain and spinal cord work together to produce movement, using arm cycling as a model.

“Arm cycling resembles other forms of locomotion, like walking and running, and it is used in rehab for individuals with spinal cord injury and stroke,” Dr. Lockyer said. “The idea is that hopefully one day we can apply what we’ve learned in a healthy, or more neurologically intact, population to regain function in others.”

Driving force

It may have taken him seven years to complete his PhD, reworking his doctoral research proposal in response to pandemic protective measures and balancing work, research and, more recently, family life.

But Dr. Lockyer felt cheered on every step of the way.

“My family supported me throughout my whole undergrad, master’s and PhD. They were the driving force behind it. My wife, Natasha, and son, Jack, my parents Debbie and Neil, and my two sisters, Erika and Emily, both of whom are Memorial graduates themselves. I also very much need to thank my supervisor, Dr. Power.”

Winning the Governor General’s Gold Medal came out of the blue for Dr. Lockyer, who is a lab instructor in the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation and is currently on family leave until September.

“I was actually golfing and I saw I had a couple of missed calls from my supervisor,” he said. “I called him back and he said, ‘Congratulations, check your email.’ So that’s how I heard. When he first told me I’d won the award, I didn’t really know what it was, so I went home and looked into it. I realized it was more prestigious than I thought. I was shocked, to be honest. But I’m really honoured. It makes all the hard work I put in worth it.”