Gao named Foreign Outstanding Instructor at Hunan University

July 21, 2016

Zan Gao, Ph.D., School of Kinesiology associate professor and director of the Physical Activity Epidemiology Lab (PAEL), has been selected Foreign Outstanding Instructor by Hunan University in Changsha, China.

Hunan University is a top tier research university in China, ranking number 17 in the nation. During his appointment tenure, Gao delivered a graduate course titled “Frontiers in Physical Activity and Health” to approximately 30 graduate students during June and July.

During his stay in China, Gao delivered research talks at other top universities, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Beijing Sports University.

Stoffregen quoted in interview on Philadelphia NPR station WHYY

July 21, 2016

Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., School of Kinesiology professor and director of the Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory (APAL), was interviewed for a story about car sickness for The Pulse, a program on WHYY, a National Public Radio station in Philadelphia.

In response to the interviewer’s question on motion sickness, Stoffregen commented, “We move all the time and we don’t feel sick. The $64,000 question is, what causes it? Why would a conflict between what you expect and what you experience make you feel nauseous? Nobody really has the slightest idea why the symptoms are what they are.”

Read the full interview here.

U of MN “Green Team” featured internationally

July 7, 2016

An article published by the Climate Action Programme in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently featured our “Green Team,” an initiative by the sport management program in the University of Minnesota’s School of Kinesiology. Tiffany Richardson, Ph.D., sport management lecturer and program developer, is quoted in the article about sports sustainability.

In its third year, over 60 “Green Team” students will be at the Major League Baseball’s All-Star events in San Diego this next week, educating the community about good environmental practices and helping divert more than a metric ton of recyclables from the landfills. Previous teams of students supported the All-star game events in Minneapolis and Cincinnati.

Established in 2007 and headquartered in London, UK, Climate Action works in a unique, contractual partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – the world’s foremost body on environmental protection and stewardship.Climate Action establishes and builds partnerships between business, government and public bodies to accelerate international sustainable development and advance the ‘green economy.’

For more information about the Green Team, see this CEHD Connect feature.

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School of Kinesiology receives American Center for Cultural Exchange Network’s 2016 Excellence Award

July 6, 2016

ACCEX award 2016 — l to r: Dr. Li Li Ji; Harvey Sernovitz, director of Office for Cultural Affairs; Dan Konold, executive coordinator at TUS; William Brashares, dean of international education at Arizona State University; Wang Yi, TUS.

The U.S. State Department has presented the School of Kinesiology and its partner, Tianjin University of Sport (TUS) in China, with the American Center for Cultural Exchange Network’s 2016 Excellence Award.

This is the first year of the award, created to recognize members of the American Cultural Center (ACC) for outstanding work in fulfilling the mission of the organization.

The ACC has twelve centers funded by the U.S. State Department, each focused on a particular area of American culture. The School of Kinesiology and partner Tianjin University of Sport is the only ACC focused on sport. The partnership’s goal is to “foster and deepen the appreciation for American culture through sport among Chinese students and people in the Tianjin metropolitan area.” The partnership sponsored educational lectures and visits, on-site programs, and collaboration with other ACC network members. A number of School of Kinesiology faculty and staff as well as the U of M community were involved during 2012-2016 in presenting lectures, hosting visiting scholars and delegations, and providing consultation at Tianjin University and other member universities, funded through a grant from the State Department.

Li Li Ji, Ph.D., director of the School of Kinesiology, accepted the award. He says,

“We are truly honored to receive this inaugural award from the U.S. State Department. It is the result of years of dedicated and creative work done by over a dozen School of Kinesiology faculty and supporting staff, many who traveled to China to deliver the programs. TUS has shown tremendous commitment to support the ACC. We thank the U of M China Center and GPS Alliance for guidance and support and will continue to make the ACC a bridge for Sino-US cultural exchange.”

The award includes a $2500 prize to be used for ACC future programming.

KIN doctoral student receives AASP Grant

July 6, 2016

Doctoral student Lauren Billing has received a grant from the Association for Applied Sport Psychology to support her dissertation work. Her research project is: “The Efficacy of Affective Behavioral Strategies for Increasing Physical Activity: Implications for Harnessing the Dual-Mode Model.”

The primary function of these awards is to provide support to early career professionals or students for their research endeavors. Her award totals $3,579, much of which will go towards incentives and mailing/equipment costs.

Billing is advised by associate professor Beth Lewis.

Kihl to publish book on U of MN athletic department merger

June 30, 2016

KihllL-pref Associate professor and Tucker Center affiliated scholar Lisa Kihl, Ph.D., along with TC-affiliated scholars Drs. Vicki Schull (MSU-Mankato) and Sally Shaw (University of Otago, New Zealand), will publish their book, Gender Politics in US College Athletic Departments: The Case of the University of Minnesota Merger, this summer with Palgrave publishers. The book provides an in-depth analysis of the nuanced gendered political processes within a radical change event, in the context of merging the men’s and women’s athletic departments at the University of Minnesota.

Schull is also a 2014 alumni of the School of Kinesiology’s doctoral program.

I-Ling Yeh awarded Kinesiology’s Doctoral Dissertation Award

June 27, 2016

Kinesiology doctoral candidate I-Ling Yeh has been awarded the School of Kinesiology’s second annual 2016-17 Doctoral Dissertation Award. Ms. Yeh is advised by Jürgen Konczak, Ph.D., and is a member of the Human Sensorimotor Control Lab. The title of her dissertation project is, “Can proprioception be improved and enhance motor function after stroke? Effectiveness of a novel robotic-aided training in adults with chronic stroke.” The award will provide a 50% research assistantship for the next academic year.

The Doctoral Dissertation Award allows accomplished Kinesiology doctoral candidates the opportunity to devote efforts to an outstanding research project under the mentorship of the student’s primary faculty adviser, states Li Li Ji, Ph.D., director of the School.

Leon named Top Doctor of the Year in Higher Education by IAOTP

June 20, 2016

Arthur Leon, M.D., School of Kinesiology professor, has been named 2016-17 “Top Doctor of the Year in Higher Education” by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP).

IAOTP is an international boutique networking organization that identifies the most prestigious top professionals from different industries. These professionals are given an opportunity to collaborate, share ideas, be keynote speakers, and help influence others in their field.

Read the full press release here.

Barr-Anderson quoted in Physician’s Briefing

June 14, 2016

Daheia Barr-Anderson, Ph.D. was quoted in the website, Physician’s Briefing, as part of an article highlighting presentations given at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine. Held from May 31 to June 4, this meeting draws more than 6000 professionals from around the world who are interested in sports medicine and exercise science. At the symposium, Dr. Barr-Anderson discussed how yoga is an effective physical activity to address chronic stress in a variety of populations.

Read the full article here.

Kinesiology doctoral candidate I-Ling Yeh receives grant, award

June 13, 2016

I-Ling Yeh, Kinesiology doctoral candidate in the Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory and advisee of Kinesiology professor Jürgen Konczak, Ph.D., received a travel grant of $500 from the American Occupational Therapy Association to present at the Occupational Therapy Research Summit in Pittsburgh on May 20. She presented early results of her thesis work titled “Can Proprioception be Trained in Chronic Stroke? Two Case Reports.”

Ms. Yeh also has been awarded a Women’s Philanthropic Leadership Circle (WPLC) Graduate Student Award of $2500 to use for her thesis research and preparation. The award will be presented at the WPLC Annual Awards Celebration on June 23. The mission of the WPLC is to “create a welcoming circle of women that combines its resources to support and develop women leaders and philanthropists through the College of Education and Human Development.”

Fulbright visiting scholar Victor Rubio gives address at Springfield College

June 13, 2016

Rubio fulbright-6-2-16 — Dr. Rubio, right, receives a Springfield College memento.

Víctor J. Rubio, Ph.D., CCP, a School of Kinesiology Fulbright visiting scholar working with Kinesiology professor Juergen Konczak, Ph.D., gave a lecture on “Psychological Aspects Involved in Sustaining and Recovering from a Sport Injury” on June 2 at Springfield College, MA. The talk was sponsored by the Fulbright Scholar Program’s Outreach Lecturing Fund, which enables Fulbright visiting scholars who are currently in the United States to travel to other higher education institutions across the country. Dr. Rubio, who is from the University Autonoma Madrid in Spain, addressed faculty members and students in Springfield’s Department of Psychology and the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

Gao selected as a national high-end expert for China

June 9, 2016

Zan Gao, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the Physical Activity Epidemiology Lab (PAEL), has recently been appointed as a high-end foreign expert on Physical Activity Epidemiology by the People’s Republic of China for 2016.

During his appointment tenure, Gao will be based at the Hunan Normal University (Changsha, China) and will stay in China for one month during the summer. As a professor who promotes physical activity and health through innovative emerging technologies, Gao will be part of the first few in his field to be awarded the prestigious honor by China’s State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs. The position was created by the government of China particularly to attract highly accomplished foreign professionals who promote scientific development disciplines, innovation, and cultural exchange.

During his stay, Gao will deliver a series of lectures in physical activity epidemiology and help the university establish the emerging discipline in physical activity epidemiology. He will also offer seminars and workshops to the faculty and students, as well as train the faculty and graduate students in conducting cutting-edge research. Gao is an alumni of Hunan Normal University, where he received his bachelor degree in physical education.

Gao speaks at Harvard School of Public Health

June 9, 2016

Zan Gao, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the Physical Activity Epidemiology Lab (PAEL), gave an invited lecture at Harvard School of Public Health on June 2, 2016. He delivered a 30-minute talk, Merging Technology in Promoting Physical Activity and Health, to a group of faculty from Harvard School of Public Health and a delegation from China Institute of Sports Science.

Allison comments on Baylor football scandal in Fort Worth Star-Telegram

June 6, 2016

Rayla Allison, J.D., sport management senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, was interviewed by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram after the news that Baylor football coach Art Briles had ignored and covered up reports of sexual assaults and discrimination by members of his team for years. Briles was fired and Baylor University President Ken Starr has stepped down.

“Some high-profile cases — many rape cases — have come up lately across the nation where the universities didn’t react appropriately to prevent discrimination,” Allison said. “It’s not just Baylor. It’s not just athletes. And it’s not just male athletes or students who are involved.”

Read the full interview here.

LIHP alumni, faculty publish in “Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology”

June 3, 2016

Justin Geijer, Ph.D., (Ph.D., 2015) an assistant professor at Winona State University, is the lead author of an article recently published in Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. The article, “Reproducibility of brachial vascular changes with alterations in end-tidal carbon dioxide,” examined the reproducibility of using carbon dioxide to alter diameter in the brachial artery. The results of this study suggest that carbon dioxide can alter the diameter of the brachial artery, but it is not reproducible enough to use this method to examine vascular health.

This article was part of Dr. Geijer’s dissertation. His advisor, Donald Dengel, Ph.D., professor and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology (LIHP), is also a co-author on this article as are School alumni Nick Evanoff, Aaron Kelly, Michael Chermin, and Matthew Stoltman.

Thul presents MN-KPAH webinar

June 3, 2016

Chelsey Thul, Ph.D., lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, presented an MN-KPAH (Minnesota Knowledge to Practice in Adolescent Health; PI: Dr. Lyn Bearinger, Nursing) sponsored webinar to an interdisciplinary maternal and child health audience on May 26th. Dr. Thul’s webinar, “Co-Developing Physical Activity Opportunities with East African Adolescent Girls: Listening, Living it, and Lessons Learned,” focused on three community-based, youth engaged research projects aimed at understanding, developing, and sustaining long-term culturally relevant physical activity programming and opportunities with East African adolescent girls. Dr. Thul highlighted the value in listening, living it, and lessons learned throughout her presentation.

MN-KPAH aims to advance the knowledge/skills of practicing MCH professionals by enhancing their capacity to respond to common and emerging health needs of young people, at individual and population levels. MN-KPAH uses continuing education modalities to improve the practice capabilities of the interprofessional MCH workforce setting ranging from primary care to public health.

Stoffregen co-authors article in EBR

June 3, 2016

“Sensitivity to hierarchical relations among affordances in the assembly of asymmetric tools”, by Jeffrey Wagman, Sarah Caputo, and Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., has been accepted for publication in Experimental Brain Research.

The research was conducted in Dr. Wagman’s laboratory at Illinois State University. EBR is a highly-respected interdisciplinary journal with an impact factor of 2.036.

Professor Stoffregen is also the director School of Kinesiology‘s Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory.

HSC research featured on Michigan State’s College of Veterinary Medicine “Vetschool Tails” Blog

June 1, 2016

Research done in the Human Sensorimotor Control Lab directed by Professor Jürgen Konczak, Ph.D. was featured in an article by the College of Veterinary Sciences at Michigan State University as part of their “Vetschool Tails” blog. In a collaboration with Dr. Stephanie Valberg at MSU, Dr. Joshua Aman, a post-doctoral associate in the Department of Neurology at UMN, conducted research on equine shivers, a rare neuromuscular disorder affecting horses. Dr. Aman is an alumni of the School of Kinesiology, and graduated in 2012. To test the muscle recruitment pattern of a variety of horses with and without shivers, the researchers studied horses at the MSU McPhail Equine Performance Center using EMG techniques to measure muscle activity.

Read the full article here.

Ph.D. student Christiana Raymond to present poster at ACSM

May 31, 2016

Recent graduate of the School of Kinesiology master’s program and current doctoral student, Christiana Raymond, will present a poster this Saturday, June 4, at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting in Boston, MA. Raymond’s presentation is titled “A Novel Method for Assessing Leg Compartmental Body Composition Using Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry.” She is the advisee of Kinesiology professor Donald Dengel, Ph.D., director of the Laboratory of Integrative Physiology.

Albers presenting at ACSM

May 31, 2016

Jessica Albers, Kinesiology Ph.D. (2015) and currently assistant professor of Exercise Science/Sports Medicine at Minnesota State University, Mankato, is first author with her former adviser, School of Kinesiology associate professor Beth Lewis, Ph.D., on their presentation “Time and Intensity of Physical Activity During an AfterSchool Jump Rope Program” given at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting in Boston on June 3.

CEHD News Kinesiology

CEHD News Kinesiology