Members of the School of Kinesiology’s Sports Medicine Psychology Laboratory (SMPL), presented a collaborative project with the UMN Department of Horticulture at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.
The presentation showcased the analysis and methodological considerations regarding associations between GPS motion data and self-reported psychological reflections among athletes on the UMN Women’s Club Soccer team.
Dr. Jake Sorensen, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Sarah Greising’s laboratory, received an award at the American Physiological Society’s Integrative Physiology of Exercise 2020 conference for his work. The award was one of two sponsored by the Journal of Applied Physiology for oral presentations during the meeting. Jake presented on work provides evidence that volumetric muscle loss injury has a negative impact on the remaining neuromuscular junctions and provides a unique pathology of secondary denervation.
Below are images of neuromuscular junctions (NMJ) that were taken as part of the study provided by Dr. Sorensen.
Madeline Czeck, MS and doctoral student in the School of Kinesiology is the lead author of an article entitled “Relationship of Apolipoproteins With Subclinical Cardiovascular Risk In Youth” that was recently published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
This study examined the association of apolipoproteins with arterial stiffness and carotid artery structure in a total of 338 children and adolescents. The findings of this study reported that greater levels of apolipoproteins are associated with increased arterial stiffness in children and adolescents, both with and without adjusting for percent body fat. In addition, the results of this study suggest that specific apolipoproteins may be useful as biomarkers of cardiovascular risk.
Don Dengel, PhD, a professor of kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology, Nick Evanoff, MS a current School of Kinesiology doctoral student, and Aaron Kelly, PhD, a graduate from the School of Kinesiology were also co-authors on this article.
Donald R. Dengel, PhD, professor of kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology, is a co-investigator on a grant funded by the National Institutes of Health. The 5-year grant is titled “Early Life Stress and Cardiometabolic Health in Adolescence.” This study will determine factors that mediate or partially mediate the association of early life stressors with cardiometabolic function in adolescents adopted as infants or very young children from orphanages into well-resourced homes with youth reared in their natal families of comparable education and incomes. In addition, this study will explore the sex differences in early life stressors and cardiometabolic risk.
School of Kinesiology director and professor Beth Lewis, PhD, was a guest on the WTIP North Shore Community Radio program, The Roadhouse. Lewis spoke with The Roadhouse producer Annie Possis about winter wellness and the challenges of staying fit and safe during the winter season. Some of the topics they covered were winter safety, outdoor versus indoor exercise, and the benefits of staying active.
School of Kinesiology director and professor Beth Lewis, PhD, joined MPR host Angela Davis to talk about why it’s important to get outside, try new hobbies, and stay motivated to move when temperatures drop.
Davis spoke with Lewis about her research in exercise and mental health and the behavioral aspects of physical activity. They focused on the challenges of staying active that are specific to the winter months and COVID-19 pandemic circumstances. Additionally, Lewis fielded questions from listeners who called in to the show.
A team of School of Kinesiology graduate students took third place in the 2020 American Physiology Society’s Integrative Physiology of Exercise conference Quiz Bowl. This “Jeopardy”-like competition tested the participants’ knowledge of the Integrative Physiology of Exercise. The UMN team received $500 for their third place victory.
Team members were Will Juckett, Nick Foreman, and Anton Hesse, all of whom are Kinesiology graduate students in the Exercise Physiology emphasis area. They competed against seven teams from across the country, comprised of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. They finished behind Salisbury University and Texas A&M University in 1st and 2nd, respectively.
Find more information about the competition here.
Meet Courtney Boucher, the three-time recipient (2019, 2020, 2021) of the Pam Borton Endowment for the Promotion of Girls and Women in Sport Leadership. Boucher is a PhD student at the School of Kinesiology, studying Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sport Sociology. She received her masters from the School of Kinesiology in the spring of 2019, studying hiring practices of NCAA Division-I athletic directors. Before her graduate studies, Boucher was the Assistant Hockey Coach at her alma mater, Gustavus Adolphus College, and graduated from Gustavus with a BA in Chemistry and a minor in Political Science where she also played hockey.
Thanks to the support of the Pam Borton Fellowship, Boucher has been able to actively participate in and advance the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport (Tucker Center) research initiatives.
“I’m so grateful to have received the Pam Borton Fellowship and the incredible opportunities that it affords,” Boucher said. “This prestigious award will allow me to gain more practical experience while working in the Tucker Center.”
Boucher’s time spent working in the Tucker Center has shaped her doctoral experience, and helped her refine her research goals.
“The Tucker Center prides itself in doing research that counts,” Boucher said. “We don’t do research for the sake of doing research—we always have the end in mind. Our goal is always to better the lives of girls and women through sport and physical activity. We often get to see and hear about the real-life impact we are making, and this continually motivates me and the rest of the team in our research endeavors.”
Not only has this fellowship experience helped Boucher hone her research skills, it’s also given her an even greater perspective on the work she wants to do, and helped her make connections in her field of study.
“I’ve enjoyed working closely with and learning from Dr. LaVoi while researching issues around women in sport leadership,” Boucher said.
And, being a part of the Tucker Center team allowed her to strengthen and extend her masters thesis findings.
“I utilized some of the data the Tucker Center has collected for the Women in College Coaching Report Card project when I was putting together my master thesis,” Boucher said. “I looked at the hiring patterns of select NCAA Division-I athletic directors to see if they have capitalized on opportunities to hire women coaches of women’s teams. This research is meant to hold those in positions of power accountable for their decisions, and ultimately to point to the need for changes within hiring practices to see the number of women in leadership and coaching positions increase.”
Boucher’s work also helps the Tucker Center achieve more and greater impact on the communities they serve.
Tucker Center director, Dr. Nicole M. LaVoi stated, “Our Borton fellows have advanced the Tucker Center research initiatives in ways I could not have envisioned. We have the privilege of attracting the best and brightest students who are passionate about women in sport leadership and who want to help create social change, and Courtney is no exception. She is innovative and has a unique way of translating data to public facing formats, in addition to providing mentorship and leadership for our summer interns.”
Boucher and her research assistant colleagues, ranging from high school students to PhD candidates, bring a much needed fresh perspective and energy to the work happening in the Tucker Center.
“I’m honored to be given the opportunity to help contribute to the Tucker Center’s incredible and important research mission,” Boucher said. “I want to thank Pam Borton and Lynn Holleran in particular for their support and for being such incredible women leaders in sport who have paved the way for me and countless others.”
If you would like to contribute to the Pam Borton Endowment for the Promotion of Girls and Women in Sport Leadership fund to help students like Courtney, see more information here.
Human interaction, physical activity, and stress relief – three things we could all use a little more of these days. Luckily for University of Minnesota students, the School of Kinesiology’s Physical Activity Program (PAP) can provide all three of those things through their Physical Education (PE) courses.
During the fall semester many students have found themselves with an almost entirely online education experience. This is a big shift from the normal hustle and bustle of campus life, and has come with many challenges. One of those challenges is maintaining good health and wellness. This is where a one-credit PE course could make all the difference.
Why consider a PE course during a pandemic? Benefits include built-in exercise time, an opportunity for safe in-person interaction, and an activity-based curriculum centered around each student’s health and wellbeing. All of the PE courses available through the PAP offer students those opportunities.
“Now more than ever, getting regular physical activity is a challenge,” said Ben Kohler, instructor for PE 1015 Weight Training. “There are so many benefits to taking a PE course right now. A lot of my students are taking my class to have built in exercise time. They don’t have to figure out what to do or find the motivation to do it on their own.”
Kohler, and PE 1045 Rock Climbing instructors Bryan Karban and Ben Phaneuf are all teaching hybrid, partially in-person PE courses this fall.
“There have certainly been challenges to the change in course format,” Karban said. “But, actually, there are some really great silver linings to this new experience. Students get a lot more one-on-one time with me to work on their climbing technique, and we were able to increase the course capacity since we split the in-person portion into two groups to accommodate the hybrid model.”
Phaneuf echoed these silver linings, adding that he’s noticed an increase in the level of excitement of his students.
“The level of excitement for an 8:00 a.m. climbing course has never been this high,” Phaneuf jokes. “For the vast majority of my students, this is their only in-person course this fall. Just being able to participate in some physical activity and interact with other students on campus is a big draw.”
Rock Climbing isn’t the only course that has seen some unexpected silver linings come from a hybrid or remote setting.
Kohler noted that even though his students aren’t getting the “typical” weight room experience, they are writing their own fitness plans to accommodate their personal space and equipment availability.
“Part of my course is having students write their own 8-week exercise program,” Kohler said. “They now have the knowledge to create a plan around what they have access to. Working out at home doesn’t have to be a barrier, it just requires some creative planning.”
Kohler’s class focuses on the fundamental movement skills that he said, “all human beings should know.” And, with this adjusted format, Kohler said it’s actually a much friendlier experience for students who don’t have a lot of experience in a weight room.
“One of my favorite moments in class is when students who have an adverse reaction or no experience with lifting realize that the weight room is not just for hyper-masculine, college-aged men,” Kohler said. “And now, with significantly reduced capacity in our spaces, it’s even easier for students who are just learning to feel safe and free of judgement or lots of eyes.”
Hannah Silva-Breen, who is teaching PE 1012 Running and PE 1014 Conditioning fully online, had similar thoughts about how her students might benefit from this non-traditional format.
“Especially for my conditioning class, students are going to have a lot of autonomy over what type of workouts they want to try,” Silva-Breen said. “They get to fit their physical activity into their own schedules. And, if you’re nervous at all about trying something new, doing it on your own first is a big pro. I hope this limits some of the self-consciousness, and fear of judgement.”
In addition to these unexpected benefits of a PE course during a pandemic, there is also the research-backed evidence that physical activity in general is an excellent stress and anxiety reliever.
“As we move into the dark, cave-like, pandemic winter isolation that is likely coming, this is a great way to stay active, learn basic skills, and get dedicated exercise time, both in your own space as well as the RecWell space,” Kohler said. “We can’t neglect the mental health of our students, and we know that any exercise will improve that. It is really, really smart for students to consider a PE class this spring.”
All instructors agreed with this perspective. Karban noted specifically that “rock climbing in particular has performed above average in its ability to improve people’s mental health, and it has a natural social element that not all physical activity does.”
A PE course in your spring schedule can provide you with both important structured activity and safe human interaction. And, the final benefit?
“There’s basically no homework,” said Kohler. “It’s a one credit course, you show up, do your work during class time and then go home.”
Read more from our instructors about the specific benefits of their courses below.
Silva-Breen is focused on allowing students to “ease into” running via this course. She is prioritizing warming up and cooling down before and after workouts to keep students healthy and injury-free.
“The running course consists of either distance workouts or timed workouts,” Silva-Breen said. “There’s never a required pace, and I’ve built in some run-walk exercises to emphasize that it’s perfectly okay to walk when you need it.”
She said her hope is that students in her class take away the importance of cross training, supplementing their running workouts with work on core strength, running form, etc., which will take the pressure off of joints and alleviate some common running injuries like shin splints. She also plans to talk about the dangers of overtraining and burnout, and how to mix up your running workouts to best benefit your body.
Silva-Breen is also teaching a fully online PE 1014 Conditioning course. For this course, she said students will have “a lot of autonomy over the types of workouts they can do, and will have the ability to fit their workouts into their schedules on their own time.”
Students will learn about cardiovascular systems and anatomy, a wide variety of workout types, injury prevention exercises, and warm up and cool down exercises. In addition to the physical work, Silva-Breen plans to talk to her students about the mental aspects of physical conditioning as well.
“A portion of what we’ll cover in class will be about burn out, overtraining, and compulsive exercising,” said Silva-Breen. “I’ll be emphasizing during the whole class that exercise should be fun. A lot of time people view exercise as just a way to control or change your body, but I won’t be focusing on that all. Instead, I’ll be highlighting the benefits of exercise for mental and physical health, like living longer, stronger bones, stronger heart health, better school performance, etc.”
Silva-Breen has a background in working with eating disorders, and hopes to inspire students to have a healthy relationship with exercise. And finally, she plans to do some “myth busting,” educating students about incorrect perceptions of fitness often spoken of in popular culture.
PE 1015 Weight Training, taught by Ben Kohler, focuses on what Kohler calls the “seven foundational movements.” His course will cover the basic aspects of weight training, including exercise selection and technique, charting workouts, program design, nutritional considerations, and safety.
“This is super valuable education on very basic movements,” Kohler said. “A lot of people come to the gym, and it’s easy for them to get on a treadmill or an elliptical, but when you’re given a free weight what do you do with it? When students leave my class they’ll be able to use these skills to help them do everything from powerlifting to basic lifetime fitness.”
And, Kohler notes, students are essentially receiving personal training services for a fraction of the price they would pay in the fitness market outside.
This course covers the safety, knots, equipment, techniques, and anchor systems used in climbing.
“There are so many benefits to rock climbing,” said Karban. “I think this semester in particular, students should consider the fact that they get a semester-long pass to the rock climbing gym through their course fees, and significantly increased one-on-one time with myself and the other instructors.”
Karban and Phaneuf both discussed the silver lining of smaller in-person sessions, and increased individual instruction on technique.
“I spend a lot of time with each student, refining movement and giving individualized pointers,” Karban said. “I’ve seen big improvements even in just one session for students. You can really accelerate improvement in those small group, in-person sessions.”
Karban did say that the increased one-on-one attention does come at the expense of regular in-person sessions.
“Students will really need to spend some time on their own climbing to make the most of their class experience this year,” Karban said. “We obviously don’t require it, but with fewer in-person sessions than normal, the responsibility of learning is on the students now more than ever.”
In addition to the great instruction time students will get from this course, both Karban and Phaneuf talked about the full body and mind benefits that the sport of rock climbing provides.
“Rock climbing is a full body strength and cardiovascular workout that, for many of us, is more fun than lifting,” Karban jokes.
We hope you find one of these, or our many other PE courses interesting and worth adding to your schedule!
Members of the Skeletal Muscle Plasticity and Regeneration Laboratory (SMPRL), led by Sarah Greising, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology, attended and presented research at the American Physiological Society’s Integrative Physiology of Exercise 2020 conference, held virtually this year November 9-13.
Postdoctoral fellow Dr. Jacob Sorensen was selected to give an oral presentation, entitled “Secondary denervation and poor neuromuscular junction remodeling is a chronic pathophysiologic consequence of volumetric muscle loss.” This work provides evidence that volumetric muscle loss injury has a negative impact on the remaining neuromuscular junctions. Furthermore, denervation combined with a poor neuromuscular junction remodeling likely contributes to the long-term loss of muscle function and regenerative capacity following injury.
Postdoctoral fellow Dr. Christiana Raymond-Pope presented a poster, entitled “Diminished metabolic rate following traumatic orthopaedic injury may predispose chronic disease development.” This work evaluated the impact of traumatic injury on physical activity and whole-body metabolism, and evaluated how restricted activity a model of bedrest affects these physiologic aspects.
Kinesiology Honors Undergraduate Alec Basten completed his thesis presentation requirement in a poster presentation, entitled “Chronic oxidative dysfunction following volumetric muscle loss injury.” This work systematically reviewed prior work on chronic comorbidities of skeletal muscle following volumetric muscle loss injury; and evaluated how injuries impairs the capillarity and oxidative skeletal muscle capacity chronically.
Co-authors of the collective work include SMPRL lab members Kyle Dalske, Daniel Hoffman, as well as research collaborators Dr. Benjamin Corona and Dr. Jarrod Call from Wake Forest University and University of Georgia, respectively.
Learn more about the meeting here.
Director of Physical Activity Epidemiology Laboratory (PAEL), Zan Gao,PhD, has recently published a research article titled “Investigating the Associations among Drug Dependents’ Family Function and Exercise Attitudes: Marital Status Differences” as the corresponding author in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The first-author of this paper is Jianing Liu, a visiting scholar under Dr. Gao’s mentorship. The second author is Daniel J. McDonough, a PhD student in the lab.
This paper examined (1) The demographic characteristics of different marital statuses of drug dependents; (2) differences in exercise attitudes and family function by marital status; and (3) if family function factors correlated with exercise attitudes and if exercise attitude factors correlated with family function. Participants were 1830 drug dependents from the Drug Rehabilitation Bureau in China. Findings of this study were: (1) Exercise attitude and family function of married drug dependents were better than single drug dependents and other marital status addicts; (2) communication was observed as a factor of family function that correlated with exercise attitude; and (3) willingness was related with family function.
Learn more about the article here.
School of Kinesiology professor and director of the Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory, Thomas Stoffregen, PhD, was invited to join a group of experts in summarizing the current state of the field in “cybersickness.”
In an article published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction titled “Identifying Causes of and Solutions for Cybersickness in Immersive Technology: Reformulation of a Research and Development Agenda,” Stoffregen and his peers explore immersive technologies and the common user issue, ‘cybersickness.’ They evaluate the state of research on this problem, identify challenges that must be addressed, and formulate an updated cybersickness research and development agenda.
Beth Lewis, PhD, director of the School of Kinesiology and Exercise & Mental Health Laboratory (EMHL), was recently featured as a guest columnist the Madelia Times-Messenger, Brainerd Dispatch, Pine and Lakes Echo Journal, Isanti-Chisago County Star, Park Rapids Enterprise, International Falls Journal, Kanabec County Times, and the Faribault Daily News.
According to Lewis, “Winter is a great time to change what you have been doing for exercise and recharge your motivation to move.” In her piece,“Talking Winter Wellness During the Pandemic with U of M”, Prof. Lewis gives advice on how to get moving, get outside, and make the most of your space during the winter months.
Katie Bisch, MS a graduate of the School of Kinesiology is the lead author of an article entitled “Positional Body composition of female division I collegiate volleyball players.” that was recently published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.
The study examined body composition in ninety National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I female volleyball athletes by position from five NCAA Division I universities including the University of Minnesota, University of Texas at Austin, Texas, Christian University, University of Kansas, and the University of Nebraska using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). One of the main findings of this study was that body composition varies across positions in volleyball, specifically between the front row and back row positions. Front row players have greater total and regional lean skeletal mass and bone mineral density compared with non-front row players, and greater total fat mass. However, total percent body fat across positions was similar.
Co-authors on the article include: Don Dengel, PhD, a professor of kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology and Tyler Bosch, PhD, a graduate from the School of Kinesiology.
Learn more here.
Friday, November 6 at 1:00 p.m.
Attend this Zoom hosted conversation for free, via this link.
Hear from Adam C. Parr about his path to his current role as the Strength Coach for Minnesota United FC and what it took for him to get to where he is today. He will discuss the different aspects of what it takes for a team to achieve High-Performance at the professional level. Parr will discuss topics including 1.) the planning, design, and execution of the strength training program; 2.) the testing and methodology of the fitness program; and 3.) the data analysis and interpretation of the sport science side of the job. This presentation will highlight the skills and knowledge a modern practitioner must have to ensure their athletes are consistently performing at an elite level.
Speaker bio: Adam C. Parr is the Assistant Strength & Conditioning Specialist for Minnesota United FC, and he is also currently serving as both the interim Head Fitness Coach and the team’s Sport Scientist for the 2020 season. Prior to joining Minnesota United, he was the Head of Strength & Conditioning and Data Analytics for Reno 1868 FC. Along with previously owning his own private fitness company in Beverly Hills for 9 years, he has prior experience at EXOS, Competitive Athlete Training Zone, and former Major League Soccer team, Chivas USA. Adam has a B.S. in Kinesiology, from San Diego State University, and a Master of High Performance Sport, from Australian Catholic University. He is also currently recognized as a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS).
This online event presented by the Sport & Exercise Science MEd program, School of Kinesiology.
Maggie Vlasaty, a 2019 Sports Management Graduate from the School of Kinesiology, was featured in an article earlier this month titled, Women in Sports Wednesday: With Maggie Vlasaty, posted by Sports as a Job. The article covers how she found herself in Minneapolis working in sports and the challenges she has faced along the way.
Former Gopher Sydney Large started a podcast, Support Women in Sports. In this podcast, Sydney and her co-host sit down and talk with women in the sports industry to cover how they belong in the industry and discuss the possibilities for the women who will follow. They have had guests like Bridget Pettis, retired WNBA hall of famer, Anya Packer, retired NWHL player, and many more. Tune in on your preferred podcast outlets to support their growth!
Donald R. Dengel, PhD, professor of kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology (LIHP), is a co-investigator on a grant funded by Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.
The 3-year grant titled “Cardiac and Carotid Structure and Function in Patients with Mucopolysaccharidosis Type VII” will examine the longitudinal effects of recombinant human beta-glucuronidase on cardiac and vascular disease in Mucopolysaccharidosis type VII patients.
School of Kinesiology doctoral student, Erica Roelofs, MS is the lead author of an article entitled “Body composition of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) division I female soccer athletes through competitive seasons” in the International Journal of Sports Medicine.
The study examined body composition of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I female soccer players by position and season using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Overall, goalkeepers were significantly different than forwards, midfielders and defenders. Body fat percentage increased and lean skeletal mass decreased during the winter off-season indicating potential undesired changes in training and or nutrition over the break whereas lean skeletal mass was the highest in summer off-season potentially reflecting the emphasis on resistance training and increased volume of training.
Co-authors on the article include Don Dengel, PhD, professor of kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology, as well as School of Kinesiology graduates, April Bockin, BS and Tyler Bosch, PhD.
Beth Lewis, PhD, director of the School of Kinesiology and Exercise & Mental Health Laboratory (EMHL), is senior author on the paper “Perspectives on the benefits of leadership training for career growth among three mid-career behavioral scientists” in Translational Behavioral Medicine.
The commentary examined participation in the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) from the perspectives of three SBM Leadership Fellows at different career stages and discussed how the SBM Leadership Institute assisted with the transition to new leadership roles.
Learn more here.
