The Tucker Center and NIKE announce the launch of the Coaching HER tool designed to help coaches keep girls in sport by addressing the unconscious gender biases and stereotypes that negatively impact girls’ performance, self-perceptions, sport choices, and experiences.
As part of NIKE’s larger commitment to girls and women, Coaching HER provides specific tools to help coaches foster body confidence in the girls they coach, launching in the summer of 2023. The program offers evidence-based information that helps coaches become aware, understand, and support the girls they coach without perpetuating harmful gender stereotypes and bias. The Coaching HER vision is to help more girls get and stay in sport through critical drop-out ages and provides coaches with the necessary education and training needed to address gender identities, stereotypes, and bias. Each module follows the same structure, and after the Foundation Modules are complete, coaches can choose their own journey with the remaining modules. For more information, please visit the CoachingHER.com website.
Jacquelyn Sertic, PhD student in the School of Kinesiology and member of the Human SensorimotorControl Laboratory (HSCL), was awarded the Outstanding Student Paper Award from the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA). Sertic’s paper, entitled “Ankle position sense acuity does not decline in physically active older adults,” reports on a study that examined proprioceptive function in older adults. Sertic will be formally recognized at the annual NASPSPA Conference proceedings in Toronto in early June. She is advised by Dr. Jürgen Konczak, professor of biomechanics and neuromotor control and director of the HSCL.
The School of Kinesiology Graduate Studies Office proudly presents the following lectures during the spring 2023 semester. Please note that the first two lectures are in-person only, and the last lecture is via remote only.
Dr. Lisa Kaler
Dr. Lisa Kaler “Graduate Student Mental Health: Collective Action in the School of Kinesiology”
March 29, 2023 (Wednesday), 3:00pm – 4:00pm This is an in-person only event. Location: University Recreation and Wellness Center, Multipurpose 6 Host: Dr. Sarah Greising
Lisa S Kaler, PhD, is an expert in student mental health and wellbeing. Dr. Kaler integrates her background in student affairs, academic success, and critical research paradigms to advocate for systemic and sustainable support for positive graduate student mental health. She is an expert on undergraduate and graduate student mental health, courses related stress, and suicide in higher education. Dr. Kaler currently lectures in the College of Education and Human Development’s Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development (OLPD) and the Leadership Minor here at the University of Minnesota. Kaler earned her PhD in Higher Education from OLPD in 2021.
Dr. Rachel Allison
Dr. Rachel Allison “Women’s World Cup Fandom: Identities, Expressions, and the Pursuit of Gender Equality”
Dr. Rachel Allison joined the faculty at Mississippi State University in 2014 after receiving her PhD from the Department of Sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a scholar of gender and sport, and has focused primarily on the selling and marketing of women’s professional sport in the United States. She is the author of Kicking Center: Gender and the Selling of Women’s Professional Soccer, published in 2018 with Rutgers University Press. More recently, she received a FIFA Research Scholarship to study the perspectives and experiences of fans attending the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
Dr. Michael Joyner
Dr. Michael Joyner “Exercise & Experiments of Nature”
April 28, 2023 (Friday), 1:30pm – 2:30pm This is an in-person only event. Location: University Recreation and Wellness Center, Multipurpose 6 Host: Dr. Don Dengel
Dr. Michael Joyner has broad-based interests related to integrative physiology in humans, and he also practices clinical medicine as an anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic. His specific areas of expertise include autonomic control of circulation, muscle, and skin blood flow, as well as exercise, oxygen transport, and metabolic regulation in humans. Joyner’s work has been continuously funded by the NIH since the early 1990s. During the COVID-19 pandemic he repurposed his lab and led the U.S. Expanded Access Program for Convalescent Plasma and has an emerging interest in passive immunity and antibody therapy for infectious diseases. In addition to his funded work, Dr. Joyner also has significant expertise in the physiology of human performance, including the original work that led to the sub-2-hour marathon.
Dunja Antunovic, PhD, assistant professor of sport sociology in the School of Kinesiology, was a panelist on an Ithaca College School of Communications women’s sports media panel on March 7, 2023. The panel on women’s sports in the media discussed challenges in coverage, addressed opportunities for improvement, and proposed solutions in the field.
The panel was welcomed by Amy Falkner, Dean of the Roy H. Park School of Communications, was moderated by Arla Davis, Ithaca College senior (and 2022 Tucker Center summer intern), and panelists, along with Dr. Antunovic, included Carol Stiff, founder and president of Stiff Sports Media Consulting and chairperson of the Women’s Sports Network Advisory Board, and Deborah Stroman, Director of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Research Program and Carolina Sport Business Club at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Results of Lewis and Schuver’s study indicated that a high intensity interval training (HIIT) intervention appears feasible based on retention, recruitment, adherence to counseling sessions, follow-up rates, and a consumer satisfaction survey. Participants reported more minutes of vigorous intensity physical activity at six weeks relative to the control group and reported higher levels of self-efficacy for and enjoyment of physical activity, as well as higher outcome expectations and more positive engagement with physical activity.
The study investigated the potential effect of Qigong on brain function of adults with chronic lower back pain (cLBP). Results showed some promising reductions in cLBP, with individual variability, and some participants showed brain function improvements after 12 weeks of Qigong practice.
Huang is advised by Juergen Konzak, PhD, professor of biomechanics and neuromotor control, director of the HSCL, and co-author.
Suryeon Ryu, doctoral student in the School of Kinesiology and member of the Physical Activity Epidemiology Laboratory (PAEL), has published an article, “Chinese breast cancer survivors’ functional fitness, biomarkers, and physical activity determinants and behaviors: A descriptive study,” in the journal Brain Behavior and Immunity Integrative. Ryu’s study aimed to investigate significant predictors for physical activity and cancer biomarkers of Chinese breast cancer survivors, as well as whether differences existed in physical activity adherence and body mass index (BMI). Ryu and colleagues found several meaningful predictors physical activity and cancer biomarkers which would benefit healthier cancer survivorship. Ryu is advised by Zan Gao, PhD, professor of Physical Activity and Health Promotion, director of the School of Kinesiology’s Physical Activity Epidemiology Laboratory (PAEL), and co-author.
Christiana Raymond-Pope, PhD, researcher in the Skeletal Muscle Plasticity and Regeneration Laboratory (SMPRL) led bySarah Greising, PhD, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology, presented at the Gillette Cerebral Palsy Institute Education Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, on February 17, 2023. Raymond-Pope was invited to present a talk at the conference entitled, “Medial gastrocnemius muscle properties of children with cerebral palsy after different tone treatments—a pilot study.” The purpose of this conference was to promote translation of recent research in cerebral palsy and tone management into multidisciplinary clinical practice and shared decision-making conversations, with two areas highlighted: the muscle pathology of cerebral palsy, and the effects of hypertonia and its treatment on muscle function and gross motor function.
Dr. Jiapeng Xu, a member of the Human Sensorimotor Control Lab (HSC) in the School of Kinesiology, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on February 9, 2023. Xu’s dissertation is entitled Vibro-tactile stimulation as a non-invasive treatment method for cervical dystonia. People with cervical dystonia suffer from involuntary spasms in their neck muscles that lead to abnormal head twisting and postures that the affected person cannot control. The clinical trial behind Xu’s work investigated if the superficial stimulation of the skin of the cervical region can alleviate these symptoms and restore normal head posture. The main result of the study is that about 40% of patients meaningfully improved their head posture and 56% reported a reduction in pain. Dr. Xu has accepted a position at Analog Devices, a leading U.S. semiconductor company, and will relocate to Boston.
The School of Kinesiology congratulates assistant professor Rachel Hawe, DPT, PhD, on her appointment as a 2023-25 McKnight Land-Grant Professor. Dr. Hawe was chosen as one of the ten 2023-25 McKnight Land-Grant Professors from a University-wide pool of nominees. Successful recipients of the McKnight Land-Grant Professorship are early in their academic career. They show exceptional promise in their research, illustrating its potential importance in their field and beyond, and its original, innovative, independent nature. Additionally, teaching and mentorship capabilities are highlighted, as well as service and leadership contributions to the wider community.
The goal of the McKnight Land-Grant Professorship Program is to strengthen and advance the careers of the most promising junior faculty members who are at the beginning stages of their professional careers, and who have the potential to make significant contributions to their departments and to their scholarly fields. The designation of “McKnight Land-Grant Professor” is held by recipients for a two-year period and is accompanied by funding for their work at the University.
The overarching goal of Dr. Hawe’s research is to improve arm function in children and adults with neurologic impairments. In her Cooke Hall NeuroRehabilitation Across the Lifespan Laboratory (NeuRAL), she primarily focuses on motor and sensory impairments due to stroke, which can happen at any point across the lifespan, including before birth. After a stroke, most individuals do not fully recover arm function, creating significant challenges in daily life. Through a combination of robotics, gaze tracking, and neuroimaging, her research strives to better understand the specific impairments individuals have in order to develop targeted interventions.
Together with trainees under her advisement, Dr. Hawe is approaching her research from both basic and applied perspectives, leveraging her unique skills and past training. Her complementary background of biomedical engineering and physical therapy strengthen the unique scientific niche she is developing. Her multidisciplinary team combines students from kinesiology, computer science, biomedical engineering, and occupational therapy. Current research in the lab is focusing on characterizing bilateral coordination in neurologic populations and examining how vision is used to guide limb movements. These areas are generally overlooked clinically, despite their importance for accomplishing daily activities. Being able to measure specific impairments impacting an individual’s movement is the first step towards improved therapies and outcomes for individuals with stroke across the lifespan.
The School of Kinesiology is extremely proud of Dr. Hawe’s worthy recognition! With this appointment she becomes one of only four faculty members in the College of Education and Human Development (two in Kinesiology!) to have received this prestigious award since 2013.
Dr. Hawe, discussing data analysis with graduate research assistant Ally RichardsonDr. Hawe explains proper arm positioning in the Kinarm lab apparatus to studentsDr. Hawe in her NeuRAL Lab with Kinarm equipment and student researchersThe NeuRAL Lab: (l. to r.) Ally Richardson, Shelby Ziccardi, Ryan Burgardt, Jagar Hansen, Terry Sullivan, Triet Lu, Dr. Rachel Hawe, Sammy Burmeister
Cagla Ozkul, PhD, will be working as a visiting scholar in the School of Kinesiology’sHuman Sensorimotor Control Laboratory (HSCL) during 2023. Ozkul is an associate professor in the Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at Gazi University, Ankara, Türkiye. She obtained her master’s degree in physiotherapy and rehabilitation (2013) at Hacettepe University, also in Ankara, with her thesis entitled, “The effects of visual illusion and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on neuropathic pain in patients with spinal cord injury.” Ozkul’s doctorate is also in physiotherapy and rehabilitation (2017) from Gazi University with her thesis entitled, “The effect of combined exercise training on neurotrophic and immune factors in patients with multiple sclerosis.” Her main research interests are movement control, exercise training, and rehabilitation technology. The HSCL, the School of Kinesiology, and the University welcome Dr. Ozkul during her visiting professorship.
Kevin King, MA, and Clint Warren, PhD, sport management lecturers in the School of Kinesiology, were nominated for the U of M Men’s Basketball Guest Coach Program. As professors with whom student-athletes have made a connection, King and Warren were nominated by men’s basketball student-athletes through the Lindahl Academic Advising Center. Each nominee is hosted at a game by the team member and their academic advisor.
Eugenia Garza, an undergraduate kinesiology major, has been awarded an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) grant for her project, “Perceiving affordances for volleyball serving in virtual reality.”
Garza’s study seeks to understand “action responses” to evaluate affordance perception in volleyball. Using hand sensors and VR software to track ball trajectory, the study asks where participants choose to transition from underhand to overhand strikes.
Tom Stoffregen, PhD, professor of perceptual-motor control and learning in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory (APAL), was recently interviewed for a podcast from Nautilus International, an organization representing maritime professionals. The podcast (a 30-minute interview) featuring Dr. Stoffregen, talks about why some people are more susceptible than others to sea-sickness.
School of Kinesiology undergraduate student Eugenia Garza will compete at the 2023 FISU 31st World University Games in Lake Placid, NY, January 13-15. She will be representing Team Mexico in figure skating at the largest multi-sport collegiate event in the world (12 sports, 1500 athletes, 600 universities, 50 countries). Garza is a second-year student majoring in the field of kinesiology and a member of the Affordance Perception-Action Lab (APAL), directed by Dr. Tom Stoffregen.
Garza commented, “…Having this event where I get to represent my school as well as my home country is an incredible honor and a total reward. I’m super pumped that this event is a culmination of my academic and athletic achievements and hopefully will serve as a steppingstone for the rest of the season and next.”
All events will be live streamed at https://www.fisu.tv/ and will be available on demand. Fans can follow the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with @LakePlacid2023, @SaveWinterHQ, #lakeplacid2023, #savewinter.
Landy Lu, Ph.D., assistant professor of sport management in the School of Kinesiology, has recently been awarded a Grant-in-Aid from the University’s Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR). Dr. Lu’s project is entitled, “Leveraging Statewide Senior Games for Active Living.” This study was designed to (a) explore and compare leveraging strategies and programs in statewide senior games, and (b) develop a framework for understanding how different stakeholders can better leverage senior games to enhance active living for older adults.
