Calhoun interviewed in KARE-11 story on Gopher women’s hockey team

March 28, 2016

Austin Stair Calhoun, Ph.D., Kinesiology alumna (2014) and director of Kinesiology’s eLearning and Digital Strategy, was interviewed for a KARE-11 story on the Gopher women’s hockey team, which won the 2016 NC Women’s Ice Hockey championship last week in a game that was not televised. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton tried to get the game broadcast on CBS, but the organization declined.

Calhoun commented, “It’s a complicated time because while we are seeing participation levels rise for women and girls in sport, we see stagnation and in some cases a downturn in the amount of coverage that women and girls in sport receive.”

Calhoun is also an affiliated scholar with the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport.

For the full story, go to this link.

Weiss to speak at international conference on children, youth, and physical activity

March 25, 2016

Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology, is an invited speaker at a consensus conference on children, youth, and physical activity in Copenhagen, Denmark, on April 4-7.

The aim of the conference is to have expert scholars communicate scientific knowledge about the effect of various types of physical activity on children’s cognitive functioning, psychological well-being, physiological outcomes, and social inclusion.

The conference presentations and discussions will result in consensus statements and recommendations for future research and professional implications that will be launched at an international press conference. Consensus statements and recommendations will be communicated to various stakeholders in white papers in the months following the conference. Weiss’ presentation is on the contribution of youth physical activity to self-perceptions and social relationships.

Lewis receives three-year $900,000 grant from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

March 23, 2016

Beth Lewis, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Kinesiology, has been awarded a three-year $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). The grant, “Exercise Intervention for Preventing Perinatal Depression among Low-Income Women,” will examine the influence of exercise and wellness support on depression among pregnant and postpartum women.

According to MCHB publications, perinatal (the period during and after pregnancy) depression affects approximately 14 to 25 percent of pregnant women and is used to describe a range of conditions including, prenatal depression, postpartum blues, postpartum depression, and postpartum psychosis.

Previously, Lewis was awarded a $1.46 million grant, “Effect of Exercise and Wellness Interventions on Preventing Postpartum Depression,” from the National Institute of Mental Health. Results from this research found that higher levels of physical activity were related to fewer depressive symptoms.

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BBC interviews Kane on Moore’s recent controversial comments regarding women’s tennis

March 22, 2016

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., director of the Tucker Center and professor in the School of Kinesiology, was interviewed in a BBC World Service radio piece about former BNP Paribas Open tournament director Raymond Moore’s recent controversial statements about women’s tennis. Listen to the show here.

Kane comments on Moore’s controversial statements about women’s tennis

March 22, 2016

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., director of the Tucker Center and professor in the School of Kinesiology, was quoted in a New York Times article about former BNP Paribas Open tournament director Raymond Moore’s recent controversial statements about women’s tennis. Read the article here.

Stoffregen appointed adjunct professor at University of Nebraska-Omaha

March 21, 2016

Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., School of Kinesiology, has been appointed adjunct professor in the Department of Biomechanics at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He has been collaborating with Prof. Nicholas Stergiou, who leads the Biomechanics Scientific Team at UNO, and will continue to do so under the new appointment.

Kinesiology alum Fu-Chen Chen awarded tenure at Taiwan university

March 21, 2016

Fu-Chen Chen, Ph.D., School of Kinesiology graduate (2011), has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in the Department of Recreational Sport and Health Promotion at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. Dr. Chen was co-advised by Michael Wade, Ph.D. and Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., professors in the emphasis area of perceptual-motor control and learning.

Barr-Anderson’s yoga study featured on WCCO-TV news

March 14, 2016

Daheia Barr-Anderson, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology, was featured in a WCCO-TV news feature March 11. Barr-Anderson was interviewed about a research study she is conducting to examine the effects of yoga on reducing the symptoms of “strong woman syndrome” — high blood pressure and high levels of stress that can affect women who get little to no exercise and are overweight. “We have a tendency to take care of everyone else but ourselves,” Barr-Anderson says. Yoga may alleviate symptoms such as blood pressure and stress, and, she says, yoga can be modified so that everyone can do it. Barr-Anderson is in the process of recruiting 50 African American women to join the study. Participants will receive 12 weeks of free yoga. Watch the video and read the story at this link.

Magnuson quoted in Star Tribune story on slumping softball participation

March 14, 2016

Connie Magnuson, Ph.D., School of Kinesiology senior lecturer and director of the Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies program, was quoted in the Star Tribune last Friday in a story on the dropping rate of participation in adult slow-pitch softball leagues in Minnesota. A new approach to encourage league membership is the five-person team introduced this spring. Dr. Magnuson comments on generational changes that are affecting sports participation in general. Read the story at the Star Tribune link.

Lindsay Whalen to be inducted into SHAPE America Hall of Fame

March 8, 2016

One of the School of Kinesiology‘s most celebrated alumnae, Lindsay Whalen, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame of SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators. She will be honored at SHAPE’s Hall of Fame Banquet on Friday, April 8, during the 131st National Convention & Expo in Minneapolis.

Whalen, a Kinesiology graduate in Sport Studies (2006) and a Tucker Center intern, was a Gopher basketball standout who went on to play on the U.S. Olympics women’s basketball team. She was a five-time WNBA All-Star and Minnesota Lynx star point guard. In addition to her outstanding athletic achievements, Whalen will also be recognized for her community service with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital and Minnesota Lynx foundations.

KIN alum, graduate student publish in Journal of Teaching, Research and Media in Kinesiology

March 8, 2016

Sarah Swenson, 2015 M.Ed. graduate in Applied Kinesiology, recently published her capstone project under the direction of Zan Gao, Ph.D., in the Journal of Teaching, Research, and Media in Kinesiology. Kinesiology Ph.D. student Zachary Pope was a coauthor on the publication, “Objectively-Measured Physical Activity Levels in Physical Education among Homeschool Children.”

The purpose of the study was to objectively examine, via accelerometry and pedometry, the physical activity levels of homeschool students participating in structured physical education and basketball programs. Potential gender differences in physical activity levels during the two activities were also examined. Results indicated children were significantly more active during the basketball program, with no gender differences noted when comparing physical activity levels during participation in either physical education or basketball. Findings suggest that providing activity programs for homeschool children can increase physical activity levels, but that more concentration needs to be placed on promoting moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

Holst-Wolf and Zhang are finalists in CEHD Three Minute Thesis competition

March 7, 2016

Two Kinesiology doctoral candidates are finalists in CEHD’s new Research Day competition, Three Minute Thesis (3MT), which will be held March 22 from 10-11 a.m. in the McNamara Alumni Center Heritage Gallery.

Jessica Holst-Wolf (biomechanics emphasis) and Tianou Zhang (exercise physiology emphasis) will be competing with six doctoral students from across the college for a first prize of $300. Prizes of $250 will go to the runner-up and people’s choice. The finalists were chosen from a preliminary round competition held last week.

3MT is an annual competition held in over 200 universities worldwide. It’s designed to challenge PhD students to present their research in just three minutes in an engaging form that can be understood by an audience with no background in their discipline. The competition is intended to develop presentation, research and academic communication skills and to help students explain their work effectively to a general audience.

Judges in the CEHD competition are Dr. Keith Mayes, CLA Professor; R.T. Rybak, former Minneapolis mayor and current Executive Director of Generation Next; and Margie Soran, Executive Director of the Soran Foundation.

Dengel publishes book chapter with current student and alumna

March 7, 2016

Donald R. Dengel, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology, is lead author of a book chapter titled “The effects and long-term outlook of cancer therapies on cardiovascular structure and function in childhood cancer survivors.” The chapter appears in the book, Horizons in Cancer Research. Volume 61. Former advisee Kara Marlatt, Ph.D. (2015), and current master’s student and advisee Christiana Raymond, B.S., are also authors on the chapter.

Complete citation: Dengel DR, Marlatt KL, Raymond CJ: The effects and long-term outlook of cancer therapies on cardiovascular structure and function in childhood cancer survivors. In Watanabe HS (ed.), Horizons in Cancer Research. Volume 61. New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc., pp.149-176, 2016.

Weiss, Alumni receive Outstanding Research Writing Award from Research Council of SHAPE

March 3, 2016

Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology, and her colleagues Nicole Bolter (Ph.D., 2010, UMN) and Lindsay Kipp (Ph.D., 2012, UMN) are recipients of the Society for Health and Physical Education Research Council’s Research Writing Award for their article, “Assessing impact of physical activity-based youth development programs: Validation of the Life Skills Transfer Survey.” The article was published in Volume 85 of Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport (RQES), the official journal of the Society for Health and Physical Education (SHAPE). This award is designed to identify outstanding contributions of scholarship from papers published in each volume of RQES. This is the sixth time that Weiss has been recognized with this scholarly writing award.

Weiss (left), Bolter (center), Kipp (right)

The full citation is, Weiss, M. R., Bolter, N. D., & Kipp, L. E. (2014). Assessing impact of physical activity-based youth development programs: Validation of the Life Skills Transfer Survey. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 85, 263-278.
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Dengel’s research cited in NewsOne

February 29, 2016

An article in the online publication News One cites Donald Dengel, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology, for his co-authored study on the benefits of standing desks in the classroom. A teacher in San Rafael, CA, has replaced chairs with balance balls in her kindergarten class as a way of channeling the students’ “wiggle time” and improving concentration in learning the alphabet and how to count. Dr. Dengel was quoted in the article for his research findings that students burned more calories when they stood rather than sat at a desk.

Dr. Beth Lewis publishes psychology & health research

February 25, 2016

Dr. Beth Lewis, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Kinesiology, recently published research on self-efficacy versus perceived enjoyment as predictors of physical activity behavior. One of the co-authors is Beth Lewis’s former doctoral student Amanda Frayeh, assistant professor at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, Sport Studies Department.

The full citation and abstract: Lewis, B.A., Williams, D. M., Frayeh, A., & Marcus, B.H. (2015). Self-efficacy versus perceived enjoyment as predictors of physical activity behavior. Psychology & Health, 1-14. doi:10.1080/08870446.2015.1111372.

LaVoi quoted on collegiate sport and women’s professional success

February 17, 2016

The Dow Jones Business News has published an article, “Student Athletes Report Success After College, but Sports Take Toll on Some Men,” quoting Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D., co-director of the Tucker Center and faculty in the School of Kinesiology. LaVoi comments on how participation in collegiate sport prepares women to succeed professionally.

LIHP alumni, current students, faculty collaborate on publication

February 16, 2016

Justin Geijer, Ph.D., (Ph.D., 2015) an assistant professor at Winona State University, is the lead author of an article published in the journal, Physiological Measurement. The article, “Comparison of brachial dilatory responses to hypercapnia and reactive hyperemia” reported that hypercapnia (a condition of abnormally elevated carbon dioxide levels in the blood) and reactive hyperemia (the temporary increase in organ blood flow) stimulate vasodilation of the brachial artery, but use different pathways. This research was conducted in the School’s Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology (LIHP).

Current MS student Neil Hultgren is a co-author on the article as well as graduate alumni Aaron Kelly and Nicholas Evanoff and undergraduate alumni Michael Chernin and Matthew Stoltman. Donald R. Dengel, Ph.D., kinesiology professor and LIHP director, is also a co-author of this piece.

LaVoi, Tucker Center’s Women Coaches Report Card featured in Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

February 11, 2016

The Tucker Center‘s “Women Coaches Research Series & Report Card,” authored by co-director and School of Kinesiology faculty Dr. Nicole M. LaVoi, is featured in a Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder article, “Colleges show slight gain in women head coaches.” LaVoi is quoted discussing the report and its widespread impact.

Kane comments on Olympic safety concerns raised by Zika virus

February 9, 2016

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., director of the Tucker Center and professor in the School of Kinesiology, was quoted in a New York Times article about the threat posed by the Zika virus in light of the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Read the article here.

CEHD News Kinesiology

CEHD News Kinesiology