Jürgen Konczak, PhD, professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory (HSCL), received an appointment from the Universita degli Studi di Genova to teach movement neuroscience in their new masters program in rehabilitation science this summer. Most students in the program are professionals who work as physical or occupational therapists in clinics and hospitals across Italy. Due to the pandemic, Konczak teaches remotely from the United States.
Nicole M. LaVoi Ph.D., Tucker Center director and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, was interviewed interviewed for an OutsideOnline.com story, “Running’s Cultural Reckoning Is Long Overdue.” LaVoi comments on ineffective coaching practices still in use.
Maggie Vlasaty, alumna of the School of Kinesiology’s sport management program (’19), was interviewed in a New York Times article, “The Rise of the Climatarian.” The article reviews the growing trend of people who eat according to what they view as least harmful to the environment.
I-Ling Yeh, PhD (’17), assistant professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology and former doctoral student and member of the School of Kinesiology’s Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory (HSC), is the lead author of a new Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation publication, “Effects of a robot‐aided somatosensory training on proprioception and motor function in stroke survivors.” The study, conducted at the HSC lab, examined if the body awareness of people who survived a cortical stroke is still trainable and if such training will also improve their motor function. Yeh and colleagues found that this was indeed the case, which is good news for those who suffered a stroke. This knowledge broadens the scientific basis to design and implement new neurorehabilitation regimes. The project was a collaboration with engineering researchers Lorenzo Masia, PhD (Heidelberg University) and Leonardo Capello, PhD (Scuola Superiore Sant’anna).
Also authoring the article were Anna Vera Cuppone, PhD (Istituto Italiano di Technologia), and Kamakshi Lakshminarayan, MBBS, PhD, MS (UMN), as well as UMN HSC members Jessica Mae Holst-Wolf, PhD, Naveen Elangovan, PhD, and Jürgen Konczak, PhD.
School of Kinesiology assistant professor Sarah Greising, PhD, and her Skeletal Muscle Plasticity and Regeneration Laboratory (SMPRL) were recently awarded a Grant-in-Aid of Research, Artistry, and Scholarship ($42,721) from the U of M’s Office of the Vice President for Research with the School providing a $25,000 match.
The project, “New Directions to Understand the Paradoxical Role of Inflammation following Skeletal Muscle Injury,” will run July 1, 2021 through January 15, 2023 and provides novel capabilities in seeking to take the SMPRL’s research in a new direction. Led by two of the lab’s postdoctoral fellows, Dr. Christiana Raymond-Pope and Dr. Jake Sorensen, the primary goal of the work is to understand the appearance of a transitional extracellular matrix in connection with the inflammatory response to injury. The proposal supports the equipment purchase of a Bio-Plex 200, a flexible and reliable multiplex assay system permitting analysis of up to 100 biomolecules (i.e., protein and nucleic acid ) in a single sample.
In this episode of “Tucker Center Talks” (S3E8), Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D., senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, talks with her #disruptHERS colleagues—Drs. Dunja Antunovic, Katie Lebel, Nancy Lough, Ceyda Mumcu, and Ann Pegoraro—about recent disruptions in women’s sport. The team discusses disruption examples in sponsorship, retail, venture capital, women in sport technology, the benefit for female athletes, NFTs, and Google’s recent announcement to sponsor 25 games of the 25th season of the WNBA…and more.
#disruptHERS s a campaign and movement that highlights disruptions to the normative model of sport, created by and for men, and that privileges men, and why it matters. To sign up for the #disruptHERS “Stat of the Week” that draws attention to people, organizations, and events that disrupt the status quo in sport, click here.
#HERESPROOF is a social media campaign that shows proof that people are interested in women’s sport. Post your data, pictures, tweets of interest in women’s sport.
“Tucker Center Talks” is a co-production of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and WiSP Sports.
Ayanna Rakhu, doctoral student in the School of Kinesiology, is interviewed in a USA Swimming feature article titled, “Taking the Dive: How Past Swimming Experiences Can Shape Future Generations.” In the article, Rakhu speaks from both her own experience as an aquatic professional and her research perspective regarding the barriers Black mothers and children face when learning to swim, including culturally biased curriculum, fear, and historical trauma related to the water. Dr. Daheia Barr-Anderson is Rakhu’s advisor.
Sophie Glassford, MS student in Kinesiology, sport sociology, and Tucker Center director and School of Kinesiology senior lecturer Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, have authored an article, “‘This is Our Family’: LGBTQ Family Narratives in Online NCAA D-I Coaching Biographies,” in the Journal of Homosexuality (5 May 2021). Intercollegiate sport in the US is known to be heteronormative, heterosexist, and often an unwelcoming space for LGBTQ individuals, including coaches. Since Austin Stair Calhoun, PhD, et al.’s 2011 research documenting the scarcity of LGBTQ family narratives in online coaching biographies on athletics Web sites a decade ago, a sociocultural and legal shift has occurred in LGBTQ rights and visibility in the US. LaVoi and Glassford’s research replicates and extends Calhoun by examining current family narratives of a sample of all NCAA Division-I head coaches of women’s teams.
Matt Hempe, graduating senior major in Kinesiology and absolutely fabulous Administrative Intern, was awarded the 2021 CEHD Outstanding Student Employee Award at the CEHD Spring Assembly on April 28. Hempe has been employed as an administrative intern under Executive Office Manager Gao Thao for the past three years while completing his degree. His outstanding accomplishments include but are in no way limited to: assisting department administrator Bob Janoski with a variety of financial documents and processes; moving emeritus professors safely from their offices during COVID; assisting department director Beth Lewis with all that needs doing; and being a jack-of-all-trades and informational resources for anyone approaching his receptionist desk in 111 Cooke Hall. In the past year Hempe has served as Vice-President for the Kinesiology Student Council (KinSC). Learn a little more about Matt here.
In this episode of “Tucker Center Talks” (S3E7) of “Tucker Center Talks,” Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D., senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, talks with her colleague Dr. Cheryl Cooky who is professor of American Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Purdue University. She is the co-author of No Slam Dunk: Gender, Sport and the Unevenness of Social Change, is Past-President of NASSS, current editor of Sociology of Sport Journal, Tucker Center affiliated scholar and one of the most respected critical feminist, gender and sport scholars around the globe.
#disruptHERS s a campaign and movement that highlights disruptions to the normative model of sport, created by and for men, and that privileges men, and why it matters. To sign up for the #disruptHERS “Stat of the Week” that draws attention to people, organizations, and events that disrupt the status quo in sport, click here.
#HEREPROOF is a social media campaign that shows proof that people are interested in women’s sport. Post your data, pictures, tweets of interest in women’s sport.
“Tucker Center Talks” is a co-production of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and WiSP Sports.
Despite the limitations imposed by COVID-19 precautions, this year the School of Kinesiology’s Student Council (KinSC) reinvigorated the annual Kinesiology Research Day with a webinar conference on April 23, 2021. Included were three complete online poster presentations during the webinar with several pre-recorded video poster presentations by Kinesiology students hosted on a YouTube playlist. The webinar was recorded and votes were solicited. The first place award for the live presentations went to Tyler Dregney (“Affective Responses to HIIT Relative to MICT”), with second place to Brian Neff (“The Impact of Color Therapy Glasses on Lower Extremity Strength and Balance Performance in Collegiate Club Alpine Skiers”). The first place award for pre-recorded poster presentations went to Stephanie Grace, second place to Amanda Folk, and third place to Brooke Wagner. Read more…
Tucker Center director and School of Kinesiology senior lecturer Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, was interviewed by in a Minnesota Reformer article, “‘I just want to exist’: Bill seeks to block trans athlete participation,” on a Minnesota bill that would ban trans girls from participating in girls’ sports. LaVoi spoke about inclusivity in youth sports and the potential implications of a ban for trans and for cis athletes.
In this episode of “Tucker Center Talks” [S3E6] of “Tucker Center Talks,” Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D., senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, talks with Dr. Lindsey Darvin, an assistant professor in the Sport Management Department at SUNY Cortland. Lindsey gained her Ph.D. in Sport Management from the University of Florida, an M.S. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in Sport Management, and her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College in Political Science, where she was a two-sport NCAA student-athlete. LaVoi and Darvin talk about Darvin’s research related to women in sport leadership, her new work in e-sport, and their project together and advice to young women scholars.
#disruptHERS s a campaign and movement that highlights disruptions to the normative model of sport, created by and for men, and that privileges men, and why it matters. To sign up for the #disruptHERS “Stat of the Week” that draws attention to people, organizations, and events that disrupt the status quo in sport, click here.
#HEREPROOF is a social media campaign that shows proof that people are interested in women’s sport. Post your data, pictures, tweets of interest in women’s sport.
“Tucker Center Talks” is a co-production of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and WiSP Sports.
In this episode of “Tucker Center Talks” [S3E5] of “Tucker Center Talks,” Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D., senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, talks with Dr. Ceyda Mumcu, an associate professor of sport management at the University of New Haven. Dr. Mumcu is an expert on fan behavior, marketing analytics in sport, and marketing of women’s sports and marketing to women sport fans. She published one of the first sport analytics textbooks which has been sold in 27 countries and across every continent. In a prior life before the academy she played professional basketball for eight years at Turkish Women’s Professional Basketball League. She is the newest member of #disruptHERS.
#disruptHERS s a campaign and movement that highlights disruptions to the normative model of sport, created by and for men, and that privileges men, and why it matters. To sign up for the #disruptHERS “Stat of the Week” that draws attention to people, organizations, and events that disrupt the status quo in sport, click here.
#HEREPROOF is a social media campaign that shows proof that people are interested in women’s sport. Post your data, pictures, tweets of interest in women’s sport.
“Tucker Center Talks” is a co-production of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and WiSP Sports.
Jacob Sorensen, PhD, a School of Kinesiology postdoctoral fellow, published an article “Secondary Denervation is a Chronic Pathophysiologic Sequela of Volumetric Muscle Loss” in the Journal of Applied Physiology. Sorensen is working in the Skeletal Muscle Plasticity and Regeneration Laboratory (SMPRL), directed by assistant professor, Sarah Greising, PhD. This work advances understanding of the pathophysiologic complexity of traumatic injury. Specifically, this identifies secondary denervation in the muscle as a novel aspect of the injury sequela. Co-authors of the article include Daniel Hoffman, MS, Benjamin Corona, MD PhD, and Greising.
The full citation is as follows: Jacob R. Sorensen, Daniel B. Hoffman, Benjamin T. Corona & Sarah M. Greising (2021) Secondary Denervation is a Chronic Pathophysiologic Sequela of Volumetric Muscle Loss, Journal of Applied Physiology, doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00049.2021
Tucker Center director and School of Kinesiology senior lecturer Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, is interviewed in an article in Law360 [paywall], “How College Basketball Can Diversify Its Coaching Ranks.” LaVoi comments on the problem of men in positions of power as decision-makers hiring more men into those exact same positions of power, creating a homogeneity that resists hiring from the wider pool of qualified applicants.
Tucker Center affiliated scholar Cheryl Cooky, Ph.D. (Purdue), and colleagues have published the latest iteration of a 30-year, longitudinal study on the coverage of men’s and women’s sports. “One and Done: The Long Eclipse of Women’s Televised Sports, 1989–2019,” reveals that there has been “little change in the quantitative apportionment of coverage of women’s and men’s sports” with men receiving the vast share of stories in television, print, and social media.
Tucker Center director and School of Kinesiology senior lecturer Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, is quoted video for a KARE-11 piece, “NCAA apologizes to women’s tournament teams for weight room inequities.” LaVoi comments on gender-differentiated inequities in participation opportunities, scholarships, resources, and facilities.
The School of Kinesiology’s Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport has released its annual “2020 Year in Review.” The report highlights the Tucker Center’s accomplishments in a difficult year including holding its annual Distinguished Lecture online to over 500 viewers, continued longitudinal analysis of women coaches in the 7th Annual Women in College Coaching Report Card (WCCRC), engaged participation by the Summer Gender Equity Internship Program team, and a new social media project launched called #disruptHERS. Read the entire report here…
Tucker Center director and School of Kinesiology senior lecturer Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, is quoted in a CNN article, “Women in sports don’t get the media coverage that men do. These 4 Olympians are trying to change that.” The article features Chloe Kim, Sue Bird, Simone Manuel and Alex Morgan, co-founders of the new TOGETHXR organization, described as a media and commerce company aimed at Gen Z and young millennial women.
