Being committed to our values, we, at the Canadian Academy of Sports Nutrition (CAASN), aim to seek out the best teaching team and provide our students with a variety of topics. The team of our faculty constitutes qualified health care professionals of different fields. They all are honorary guest lecturers. Our students can experience the exhilaration and joy of learning new trends, applicable knowledge, updated information, and new research findings.
Faculty Members:
Abazar Habibinia
MD, DFN, CSDTT
Abazar Habibinia
Awards and Publications:
Teaching sports nutrition and obesity medicine, Abazar Habibinia has been awarded three times as the best nutrition professor by the Canadian Academy of Natural Health in 2011, 2012, and 2023. He was rewarded three times as the Best Sports Nutritionist by the former Extreme Fitness Company in 2007, 2009, and 2010. Abazar Habibinia is the author of the bestsellers “How to Naturally Increase Growth Hormone and Testosterone”, “Doping and Drug Abuse in Sports”, “I Want To Be A Champion, a pocket guide to sports supplementation”, “Therapeutic Exercises in Women”, “Hormones and Sports”, “Sports Dietary Supplements” and “Weight Loss Accelerators in Women”.
He is a board member of the Natural Medicine Health Society of Canada.
Sports Background:
Abazar was a professional weightlifter, competing for seven years from 1984 to 1991. As a sports nutrition advisor, he has attended many international sports events, including, but not limited to, World Freestyle Wrestling Championship in 1998, World Soccer Cup in France in 1998, and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
As a sports nutrition specialist, Abazar Habibinia was the nominee to lead Brazil’s soccer team during the World Soccer Cup, Brazil, 2014. Currently, he is the chief medical advisor for the wrestling federation of Iran. He was the appointed team physician for the Iranian freestyle wrestling team during the World Wrestling Championships in Serbia in September 2022.
Dr. Shahin Pourgol
DC, DOMP, DO, CSDTT (Honorary Guest Lecturer)
Dr. Shahin Pourgol
Certifications and Publications:
Dr. Pourgol was the former editor of the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine and former president of the Canadian – Iranian Chiropractic Association. He is a diplomat of the Canadian Chiropractic Examining Board, the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (USA), and the Canadian Manual Osteopathy Examining Board. As well as being the founder of World Osteopathy Day, Dr. Shahin Pourgol is also a member of the College of Osteopathic Manual Practitioners of Ontario, the Ontario College of Osteopathic Rehabilitation Sciences, and the International Osteopathic Association.
Dr. Pourgol is the author of numerous books including “Canadian Guide to Healthy Feet and Legs”, “Manual Osteopathy Techniques: Lumbar”, and “Clinical Ergonomics: Joint Specific Exercises”.
Sports Background:
Dr. Shahin Pourgol is a former Taekwondo champion and he served as a doctor of Football Club of Porto (FCP) in Portugal and Iftin Football Club and Arya Football Club in Toronto.
Nader Shavandi
BSc, MSc, PhD (Honorary Guest Lecturer)
Nader Shavandi
Certifications and Publications:
Nader Shavandi holds a certificate of Sports Medicine course from IOC (International Olympic Committee), a certificate of Volleyball Coaching from Germany, a certificate of Olympic Solidarity course in Volleyball from IOC, and International Volleyball Coach certificate (levels 1 and 2) from FIVB.
Nader has published 16 articles regarding sports science, and he is the author of the books “Physiology of Volleyball”, “Periodization of Strength Training for volleyball”, and “Laboratory of Sports Physiology”.
Sports Background:
Attending many international volleyball events, Nader Shavandi is currently the high-performance Indoor Development Coach at the OVA (Ontario Volleyball Association). He was the coach and trainer for the Iranian national volleyball team. Nader Shavandi has been honored as the best researcher by the Department of Physical Education and Sports Science of Arak University.
Dr. James Fung
Dr. Fung has a special interest in sports medicine, functional neurology, scoliosis, and corrective spinal rehabilitation care. He has completed International Chiropractic Sport Science Diploma with Federation Internationale de Chiropratique du Sport. He has lectured post-graduate seminars to other health practitioners and published articles in professional journals on shoulder injuries. He was the team chiropractor for the Canadian National Australian Football team. Dr. Fung is in private practice and operates an integrative health clinic in South Etobicoke. Dr. Fung has been honored by the Etobicoke Guardian’s Reader’s Choice Awards as a top chiropractor from 2006-2014.
Dr. James Fung
BSc., DC, ICSSD (Honorary Guest Lecturer)
Jian Guan
PhD, RNHS (Honorary Guest Lecturer)
Jian Guan
She is the president of the Canadian Academy of Natural Health and Canadian Association for Cancer Support.
Jian Guan has published many articles and her research publications focus on immigrants’ health and acculturation, depression, and access to social and health services, cross-cultural comparison of seniors’ physical, mental and sexual health, cultural effects on physician/patient relations, the social and psychological impact of epidemics, and ethical challenge of medicine.
She received the Ontario 10 Volunteer Award and Queen Elizabeth II, Diamond Jubilee Medal, in 2012
Rongwen Li
MD, PhD (Honorary Guest Lecturer)
Rongwen Li
Rongwen Li is a research scientist in the Department of Fundamental Neurobiology at the Toronto Western Hospital. He was postdoctoral fellow at the University of Melbourne, Australia, in 1997, wherein he did extensive research about dopamine receptors in schizophrenia and the development of medications for mental disorders. Rongwen Li also was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Connecticut, USA, in 2000, wherein he studied about GABA receptors and brain diseases (Alzheimer`s disease, and Parkinson`s disease)