Faculty and Staff Profiles

Dr. Yiyang Chen is an Assistant Professor of Exercise, Sport & Movement Sciences in the College of Health Sciences at the University of Memphis. As a former provincial-level taekwondo athlete, her athletic experience sparked a passion for understanding human movement and performance. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Shanghai University of Sport under the supervision of Dr. Lin Wang, where she developed her early interest in women's postural control and footwear ergonomics. Dr. Chen completed her Ph.D. in Kinesiology Sciences at McGill University, working with Dr. Julie Côté and Dr. Philippe Dixon. Her research lies at the intersection of biomechanics, sex & gender studies, and computational data analysis, with a focus on applying advanced analytical approaches and wearable technology to examine movement synergy, fatigue, and sex differences during whole-body repetitive motions. The overarching aim is to better understand, predict, and prevent fatigue-related musculoskeletal injuries in both sport and occupational settings. With experience teaching and mentoring both undergraduate and graduate students, Dr. Chen is dedicated to supporting and inspiring the next generation of health and exercise science professionals, and she is currently accepting graduate students for the 2025 - 26 academic year.

• Assistant Professor, College of Health Sciences - University of Memphis - 2025 - present
• Course Lecturer, Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education - McGill University - 2024 - 2025
• Research Assistant, Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education - McGill University - 2024 - 2025

• The Post Graduate Students’ Society of McGill University Travel Award - McGill University - 2024
• Canadian MSK Rehab Research Network Trainee Travel Award - Canadian MSK Rehab Research Network - 2022 & 2023
• Graduate Excellence Award - McGill University - 2020 - 2024
• Graduate Student Oversea Study Scholarship - Shanghai University of Sport - 2019
• Third rank in the China National Professional Skills Competition in Physical Therapy & Sports Rehabilitation - World Confederation of Physical Therapy - 2016
• Distinguished Volunteer Award - Committee of Summer Youth Olympic Games - 2014

• ESMS 2004 Introduction to Exercise Sciences, 2025 Fall - University of Memphis
• EDKP 208 Biomechanics and Motor Learning, 2025 Winter - McGill University
• POTH 225 Introduction to Biomechanics, 2025 Winter - McGill University, Guest lecture
• EDKP 206 Biomechanics of Human Movement, 2023 & 2024 Winter - McGill University, Graduate Teaching Assistant
• EDKP 566 Advanced Topics in Biomechanics, 2022 Fall - McGill University, Guest lecture

• 10th World Congress of Biomechanics (WCB) 2026 - Session Chair - 2026
• American Society for Biomechanics - Conference Abstract Reviewer - 2025
• Sports Medicine and Health Science | Journal - Reviewer - 2025 - present
• Sports Biomechanics | Journal - Reviewer - 2025 - present

• Chen Y., Yang C., Côté JN. Few sex-specific effects of fatigue on muscle synergies in a repetitive pointing task. Journal of Biomechanics, 2023.

• Chen Y., Li J., Wang L. Influences of heel height on human postural stability and functional mobility between inexperienced and experienced high heel shoe wearers. PeerJ, 2020.

• Chen Y., Li J., Hong Y., Wang L. Plantar stress-related injuries in male basketball players: variations on plantar loads during different maximum-effort maneuvers. BioMed Research International, 2018.

• Chen Y., Zhang Y., Wang L. Low diagnostic accuracy of body mass index-based and waist circumference-based references of childhood overweight and obesity in identifying overfat among Chinese children and adolescents. BioMed Research International, 2018.

• Zhou W., Yin L., Jiang J., Zhang Y., Hsiao C., Chen Y., Mo S, Wang L. Surface effects on kinematics, kinetics and stiffness of habitual rearfoot strikers during running. PLoS ONE, 2023.

• Lai Z., Lee S., Chen Y., Wang L. Comparison of whole-body vibration training, strength training and health education on physical function and neuromuscular function of individuals with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness, 2021.

• Wu Y., Johnson BT., Chen S., Chen Y., Livingstonf J., Pescatello LS. Tai Chi Quan as antihypertensive lifestyle therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 2021.

• Chen Y., Emmerzaal J., Paquette C., Côté, JN., Dixon PC. Sex-specific changes in movement dynamics of whole-body motion during fatigued running. The 2025 Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, July 2025, Stockholm, Sweden, Oral presentation.
• Chen Y., Fernandes GA., Lajeunesse H., Sierra I., Ippersiel P., Dixon PC., Paquette C., Côté, JN. Sex-specific effects of fatigue on lower-limb coordination and coordination variability during running in highly trained endurance runners. The 2024 Canadian Society of Biomechanics Conference, August 2024, Edmonton, Canada. Oral presentation.
• Chen Y., Yang C., Côté, JN. Sex-specific effects of fatigue on muscle synergies in a repetitive pointing task. The 2022 International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology (ISEK) Congress, June 2022, Québec City, Canada. Oral presentation.
• Chen Y., Wang L. The effects of heel height on human static and dynamic balance while wearing high heeled shoes. The 10^thAsia Conference on Kinesiology, August 2019, Chengdu, China. Oral presentation.

• Chen Y., Wang L. Plantar loads during different cutting maneuvers among basketball players. The 17^th Society of Chinese Scholars on Exercise Physiology and Fitness, August 2018, Taiwan, China. Oral presentation.

• Potvin-Desrochers A., Moreno AM., Clouette J., Chen Y., Lajeunesse H., Seo F., Fernandes GA., Parent-L'Ecuyer F., Parent A., Cheng M., Sharp M., Paquette C. Short term effects of modulating the excitability of the posterior parietal cortex with rTMS for freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease. The 2022 International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology (ISEK) Congress, June 2022, Québec City, Canada. Oral presentation.

• Chen Y., Kang D., Côté JN. Sex-specific myoelectric manifestations of fatigue in time-frequency and complexity domains during a repetitive pointing task. submitted to The IGH Sex & Gender in Health Research Trainee Network at McGill University Health Centre, April 2024, Montreal, Canada. Oral presentation.

• Chen Y., Jlassi O., Emmerzaal J., Paquette C., Côté JN., Dixon PC. Machine learning-based sex-specific prediction of fatigue during running using inertial measurement unit sensors. The 2025 American Society of Biomechanics Conference, August 2025, Pittsburgh, USA. Poster presentation.

• Chen Y., Fernandes GA., Lajeunesse H., Sierra I., Paquette C., Côté JN. Effects of fatigue on lower-limb coordination and coordination variability during running in highly trained endurance runners. The 2023 American Society of Biomechanics Conference, August 2023, Knoxville, USA. Poster presentation.

• Chen Y., Kang D., Côté JN. Sex-specific fatigue detection during a repetitive pointing task using continuous wavelet transforms. The 2022 North American Congress on Biomechanics (NACOB) Congress, August 2022, Ottawa, Canada. Poster presentation.

• Yang C., Chen Y., Côté JN. Sex-specific effects of fatigue on inter-joint coordination during a repetitive pointing task. The 2022 International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology (ISEK) Congress, June 2022, Québec City, Canada. Poster presentation.

• Yang C., Chen Y., Côté JN. Sex-specific fatigue effects on principal components and complete kinematic time series in a repetitive pointing task. The 2022 North American Congress on Biomechanics (NACOB) Congress, August 2022, Ottawa, Canada. Poster presentation.

• Yang C., Chen Y., Renda E., Côté JN. Sex differences in neuromuscular adaptations to fatigue in a repetitive task on a sit-stand stool. The 21^st Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics (ISB), July 2021, Stockholm, Sweden. Poster presentation.

• Potvin-Desrochers A., Moreno AM., Clouette J., Chen Y., Lajeunesse H., Seo F., Fernandes GA., Parent-L'Ecuyer F., Parent A., Fulford A., Cheng M., Paquette C. Modulating the excitability of the posterior parietal cortex with rTMS in individuals with Parkinson’s disease and freezing of gait. The 2022 International Society of Posture & Gait Research (ISPGR) Congress, July 2022, Montréal, Canada. Poster presentation.

• Potvin-Desrochers A., Moreno AM., Clouette J., Chen Y., Lajeunesse H., Seo F., Fernandes GA., Parent-L'Ecuyer F., Parent A., Fulford A., Cheng M., Paquette C. Hand and leg motor cortices excitability in individuals with Parkinson’s disease and freezing of gait. The 2022 International Society of Posture & Gait Research (ISPGR) Congress, July 2022, Montréal, Canada. Poster presentation.

• Clouette J., Potvin-Desrochers A., Moreno AM., Chen Y., Lajeunesse H., Seo F., Fernandes GA., Parent-L'Ecuyer F., Parent A., Fulford A., Cheng M., Paquette C. Excitatory rTMS increases gait speed and stride length in patients with Parkinson’s disease and freezing of gait. The 2022 International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology (ISEK) Congress, June 2022, Québec City, Canada. Poster presentation.

• Sierra I., Fernandes GA., Lajeunesse H., Clouette J., Moreno AM., Potvin-Desrochers A., Chen Y., Parent-L'Ecuyer F., Nguyen HHA., Parent A., Gibbs J., Côté JN., Basset FA., Paquette C. Sex differences of increased excitability of the prefrontal and motor cortex to improve performance. 2023 Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping, July 2023, Montréal, Canada. Poster presentation.

• Lajeunesse H., Fernandes GA., Sierra I., Clouette J., Potvin-Desrochers A., Moreno AM., Parent-L'Ecuyer F., Chen Y., Nguyen HHA., Basset FA., Côté JN., Paquette C. Investigating the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation applied to the primary motor and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices on brain excitability in trained runners. 2023 Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping, July 2023, Montréal, Canada. Poster presentation.

• Sierra I., Fernandes GA., Lajeunesse H., Clouette J., Moreno AM., Potvin-Desrochers A., Chen Y., Parent-L'Ecuyer F., Nguyen HHA., Parent A., Gibbs J., Côté JN., Basset FA., Paquette C. Sex differences of increased excitability of the prefrontal and motor cortex to improve performance. 2023 Canadian Association for Neuroscience, May 2023, Montréal, Canada. Poster presentation.

• Lajeunesse H., Fernandes GA., Sierra I., Clouette J., Potvin-Desrochers A., Moreno AM., Parent-L'Ecuyer F., Chen Y., Nguyen HHA., Basset FA., Côté JN., Paquette C. Investigating the effects of iTBS on cortical excitability in endurance runners. 2023 Canadian Association for Neuroscience, May 2023, Montréal, Canada. Poster presentation.