Football Hall-of-Famer finishes coursework in RPLS program, fulfilling his father’s life-long dream

December 22, 2014

Bobby Bell is a member of the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame, he won a Rose Bowl title at the U of M (1960) and a Super Bowl Championship as a Kansas City Chief (1969)—and as of last week, he is also a proud alumnus of the School of Kinesiology’s Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies (RPLS) B.S. program at the age of 74.

Bell was motivated to finish his degree to honor his late father, who had always stressed education, despite humble beginnings.

“My father always said sports and education were things where blacks could compete equally with whites — if given the chance,” Bell said.

Connie Magnuson, Ph.D., RPLS program director, remarks on Bell’s accomplishments, which include a directed study where he created a youth football training manual and conducted a youth football camp in Kansas.

“It really is a big deal. He is a wonderful, remarkable man,” Magnuson said. “I have truly enjoyed working with him to complete this lifelong dream. He worked for it and most certainly earned this degree.”

Bell’s story is detailed in several newspapers, including The New York Times. He will walk in the College of Education and Human Development’s graduation ceremony in May 2015.

Ji keynotes 56th World Sport Congress

December 19, 2014

Li Li Ji, Ph.D., professor and director of the School of Kinesiology and Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene and Exercise Science (LPHES), was keynote speaker at the 56th World Sport Congress organized by the ICHPER.SD (International Council of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sports and Dance) held in Bahrain on December 18, 2014.

His lecture, “Contraction mediated redox signaling: Effect of muscle immobilization and PGC-1alpha over expression,” was delivered at the opening ceremony of the meeting, which was attended by more than 250 delegates from all over the world.

Gao receives SHAPE America Young Professional Award

December 19, 2014

GaoZ-pref Assistant professor Zan Gao, Ph.D. has been selected by the SHAPE America (Society of Health and Physical Educators) Recognition Awards Committee to receive the Leroy T. Walker Young Professional Award at the 2015 National Convention in Seattle, Washington.

The LeRoy T. Walker Young Professional Award is given to a minority member of SHAPE America who is 40 years old or younger who has demonstrated superior promise in the areas of service, teaching, scholarship and commitment to the goals of the Alliance focusing specifically on under-represented and/or underserved populations and promotion of social justice and diversity.

Gao is the director of the Physical Activity Epidemiology Lab (PAEL).

Konczak presents study on “shivers” at Neurology Grand Rounds

December 17, 2014

Juergen Dr. Juergen Konczak, Kinesiology professor in biomechanics, and Dr. Stephanie Valberg, professor of veterinary population medicine in the University Equine Center, presented their recent data on uncovering the causes of the equine movement disorder, “shivers,” at the Department of Neurology’s Grand Rounds on December 14. “Shivers” is an equine condition characterized by tremors and flexion of the hind limbs. Up to now, the etiology of the disease was not well understood. After mapping the abnormal patterns of muscle innervation and finding that they are associated with neurodegenrative processes within the cerebellum, Dr. Konczak and Dr. Valberg outlined, for the first time, the possible causes of the disease. Their presentation titled “From horses to humans: gait ataxia in the equine movement disorders ‘shivers'” can be streamed from the Department of Neurology’s video archive.

Sport Management undergrads shine a light at Timberwolves game

December 16, 2014

Doing their part for the environment (and taking a break from finals), 60 sport management undergraduate students passed out free LED bulbs at the Timberwolves game December 10 at Target Center. It’s the second time Dr. Tiffany Richardson, instructor for Introduction to Sport Management, has organized her students for the volunteer activity, which came about through a sponsorship between Excel Energy and the Timberwolves.

“The students had a good time,” said Dr. Richardson. “Plus, it was helpful for them to meet people they wouldn’t ordinarily have the chance to meet.”

Research from APAL published on motion sickness among boxers

December 13, 2014

“Postural precursors of post-boxing motion sickness in a manual aiming task,” by Yi-Chou Chen, Ting-Hsuan Hung, Tzu-Chiang Tseng, and Thomas A. Stoffregen, has been accepted for publication in Ecological Psychology.

Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota, while Dr. Stoffregen is a professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of APAL.

HSPL research to be published

December 4, 2014

A manuscript was accepted for publication in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance by researchers in the Human and Sport Performance Laboratory (HSPL). Patrick Wilson (Ph.D. ’14), a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Nebraska, is the lead author on the paper, while doctoral candidate Greg Rhodes is a co-author. HSPL is directed by senior lecturer Stacy Ingraham, Ph.D., who serves as the paper’s third author.

The citation is:

Wilson, P.B., Rhodes, G., & Ingraham, S.J. (In press.) Self-report versus direct-measurement for assessment of fluid intake during a 70.3 triathlon. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance.

Ingraham cited in Australian medical publication

December 4, 2014

Senior lecturer and director of the Human and Sport Performance Laboratory Stacy Ingraham, Ph.D., was recently cited in an Australian publication, Sports Warm-Up, which is circulated throughout their medical community. Ingraham’s work on stretching is referred to in Paul Monaro’s article, “Tell your patients Stretching isn’t Warming-up.“

Gao receives grant from U of M Obesity Prevention Center

December 4, 2014

GaoZ-pref Dr. Zan Gao, assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Physical Activity Epidemiology Lab (PAEL), recently received a $50,000 research grant University of Minnesota Obesity Prevention Center. The proposal is titled, “Effects of Home-based Exergaming Program on Preschool Children’s Physical Activity and Adiposity”.

The goal of the proposal is to develop a feasibility study to examine the effects of a home-based exergaming intervention on underserved preschool children’s physical activity, adiposity (obesity), cardiovascular fitness, and cognitive functions compared to the usual daily practice (control) in a small scale randomized control trial.

Wiese-Bjornstal delivers invited lecture at international seminar in Spain

December 2, 2014

Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, Ph.D., associate professor of kinesiology and director of the Sports Medicine Psychology Lab, delivered an invited lecture, “The integrated model of psychological response to sport injury,” at the International Seminar on Psychological Factors Involved in Sport Injuries. The seminar was hosted by the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid on November 19-21, 2014.

Two KIN undergraduate students awarded UROP

December 1, 2014

Meg Diedrick and Chris Curry, both undergraduate students in the School of Kinesiology, have each received an Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) award.

Diedrick’s project is, “Sex Differences in Postural Precursors to Motion Sickness,” and will be conducted in the Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory (APAL) under the supervision of professor Tom Stoffregen, Ph.D., who is also the director of APAL.

Curry is an also undergraduate member of APAL. His faculty advisor is professor Michael G. Wade. The title of his project is “Neurological Correlates of Hefting via EEG Analysis.”

Gao guest lectures at LSU

December 1, 2014

Gao-presentation Assistant professor Zan Gao, Ph.D., was recently invited to speak at Louisiana State University’s School of Kinesiology. He delivered a research lecture titled “Promoting physical activity and health through population-based exergaming interventions” to a group of faculty and graduate students on November 21, and then presented a talk titled“The journey to physical activity epidemiology” to a group of international exchange students.

Gao is the director of the Physical Activity Epidemiology Lab (PAEL).

HSPL projects accepted for publications

November 25, 2014

Two manuscripts were accepted for publication by researchers in the Human and Sport Performance Laboratory (HSPL). HSPL is directed by senior lecturer Stacy Ingraham, PhD.

The citations are as follows:

Wilson, P.B., Rhodes, G., & Ingraham, S.J. (2014). Glucose-fructose likely improves gastrointestinal comfort and endurance running performance relative to glucose-only. The Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports.

Fitzgerald, J.S., Ingraham, S.J., Peterson, B. J., & Rhodes, G. (2014). Vitamin D status is associated with adiposity in male ice hockey players. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 28(11)/3200–3205. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000433

Lupinek presents at Sport Marketing Association annual conference

November 25, 2014

Joshua Lupinek, a doctoral candidate in the School of Kinesiology, presented four research projects at the 2014 Sport Marketing Association (SMA) annual conference, which took place October 22-24 in Philadelphia, PA.

Lupinek presented solo work entitled, “A social network analysis perspective of brand community marketing.”

He also presented collaborated research:

“Socialized to extinction by retina displays: What do fans really want to experience in the stadium?” with Dr. Melissa Davies from the University of the Pacific; Tucker Center affiliated research entitled, “Attendance motives among top ranked Men’s/Women’s NCAA ice hockey teams” with Tucker Center Associate Director Dr. Nicole LaVoi and Dr. Stephen Ross; and with School Kinesiology faculty Dr. Tiffany Richardson and School of Kinesiology Director of Undergraduate Studies Dr. Stephen Ross on research entitled, “Soup to nuts: The environmental impact of the MLB all-star game.”

Konczak gives talk at Center for Magnetic Resonance Research

November 19, 2014

Juergen Jürgen Konczak, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology and director of the Human Sensorimotor Control Lab, presented to the interdisciplinary ataxia group on campus at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research.

Ataxia is a neurological disease affecting the cerebellum that leads to a loss of motor coordination. The title of his talk was “Lesion-symptom Mapping of the Human Cerebellum: The Usefulness of Biomechanical and Electrophysiological Measures.”

Physical activity epidemiology group to publish in Journal of Physical Activity and Health

November 17, 2014

Zachary Pope, the first year Ph.D. student in physical activity epidemiology lab, is the lead author of an article to be published in Journal of Physical Activity and Health. Beth Lewis, Ph.D., associate professor, was a co-author and Zan Gao, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of Physical Activity Epidemiology Laboratory (PAEL) was the corresponding author.

The article used the Transtheoretical Model to examine the effects of exergaming on physical activity among children. The findings indicate that progressive children had more improvements on self-efficacy, decisional balance, and physical activity levels when playing exergaming than regressive children over time.

The citation is as below: Pope, Z., Lewis, B., & Gao, Z. (in press). Using the Transtheoretical Model to examine the effects of exergaming on physical activity among children. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2014-0310

Kim presents at NASSS

November 17, 2014

Young Ho Kim, a doctoral student in the School of Kinesiology, gave a presentation at the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) held in Portland, OR, from November 5 to 8. Co-authored with associate professor Dr. Lisa Kihl, the title of the presentation was “South Korean Professional Athletes’ Social Construction of Match Fixing.” The paper critiqued current cultural understandings of the causes of match fixing and argued that in order to further our insights into of why South Korean elite athletes engage in match fixing is by using a theoretical framework that includes social constructivism and understanding social norms.

Inoue accepted for publication in Business and Society Review

November 17, 2014

A manuscript from assistant professor Yuhei Inoue, Ph.D., has been accepted for publication in Business and Society Review.

This paper, “Pro-environmental Behavior in the Workplace: A Review of Empirical Studies and Directions for Future Research,” reports a systematic review of empirical studies that have examined factors affecting one’s decision to perform environmentally friendly behaviors in the workplace.

The full citation is as follows: Inoue, Y., & Alfaro-Barrantes, P. (in press). Pro-environmental behavior in the workplace: A review of empirical studies and directions for future research. Business and Society Review.

Van Iterson to present three abstracts at AHA conference

November 13, 2014

As part of a collaboration with the Mayo Clinic, Erik Van Iterson, a doctoral candidate in the School of Kinesiology, will present three abstracts the annual American Heart Association (AHA) scientific sessions in Chicago November 15-19th. The titles of his presentations are:

Pulmonary Vascular Response to Metaboreflex Stimulation During Submaximal Exercise In Heart Failure.
Effect of Locomotor Muscle Afferent Feedback Inhibition on Circulatory Power During Submaximal Exercise In Heart Failure.
Influence of Locomotor Muscle Afferent Feedback Inhibition on Pulmonary Vascular Conductance During Submaximal Exercise In Heart Failure.

Van Iterson is advised by under the assistant professor Eric Snyder, Ph.D., director of the Clinical Exercise Physiology Laboratory.

APAL research on “sea legs” published

November 13, 2014

“Walking before and during a sea voyage,” by Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory (APAL) scholars Chi-Huih Chang, Eric Haaland, Yi Wang, Fu-Chen Chen, and Thomas A. Stoffregen, together with colleagues Nick Stergiou and Jeff Kaipust, has been accepted for publication in Ecological Psychology.

Drs. Chang and Chen received their Ph.D. in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota, while Haaland is a doctoral candidate in Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota. Yi Wang was a Visiting Scholar in APAL in 2012-2013. Dr. Stoffregen is a professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of APAL.

Dr. Stergiou is Director of the Biomechanics Research Building at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Jeff Kaipust is a technician in Dr. Stergiou’s lab.

CEHD News Kinesiology

CEHD News Kinesiology