Category: Research

2021 Steven M. Horvath Professional Opportunity Award recipient

Congrats to Joshua Gonzalez on receiving the 2021 CNS Steven M. Horvath Professional Opportunity Award from #APSPhysiology. He’ll present his abstract here: http://apsebmeeting.org/eb2021/session.cfm?id=1286

Steven M. Horvath, Ph.D. was a 64-year member of the American Physiological Society, joining in 1943. Dr. Horvath obtained a B.S. in chemistry from Oberlin College, a B.A. in chemistry and physical education, as well as an M.S. in physiology from Miami University of Ohio. In 1939, Dr. Horvath commenced his Ph. D in Biological Sciences at the Harvard Fatigue Laboratory, under the tutelage of Dr. D. Bruce Dill. Dr. Horvath worked on the proposal to establish the Center for Aging Research at University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2001, Dr. Horvath became Professor Emeritus at the University of Buffalo, SUNY. Dr. Horvath took great pride in the achievements of his students, post-docs and colleagues, and during his career he authored over 550 book chapters and peer-reviewed manuscripts.

The Steven M. Horvath Professional Opportunity Award was established by his three children after his passing on March 21, 2007. This award provides funds for junior physiologists to attend and participate fully in the Experimental Biology meeting, and is granted to the top ranked underrepresented minority graduate student or postdoctoral fellow applicants of the Caroline tum Suden/Frances Hellebrandt
Professional Opportunity Awards.

Ford College Community Challenge Awardees

Kelly Kamm (KIP) and Chris Morgan (PHC-Enterprise) are CO-PI’s on a project that has been awarded funding through the Ford College Community Challenge to build sustainable communities from the Ford Motor Company Fund. The grant will help leverage connections with the Michigan Tech Enterprise Program and Western UP Health Department to build a public online Health Resource Hub.

The Hub will be a publicly available, online source that can connect individuals, health care practitioners, caregivers and social service organizations to community resources to improve health and wellbeing in the region. This project serves an unmet need for the five county region served by WUPHD, an exclusively rural population of approximately 67,700. The Hub will also include community resources that support social determinants of health, helping our more vulnerable populations find services to address factors that adversely affect health, such as non-emergent medical transportation services or domestic violence services. Given the remote, rural population this project serves, the mobile platform will increase the reach of the hub for those with limited access to high-speed internet or computers.

As the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company, Ford Fund’s mission is to strengthen communities and help make people’s lives better. Working with dealers and nonprofit partners in more than 50 countries, Ford Fund provides access to opportunities and resources that help people reach their full potential. Since 1949, Ford Fund has invested more than $2 billion in programs that support education, promote safe driving, enrich community life and encourage employee volunteering. For more information, visit www.fordfund.org or join us at @FordFund on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram.

New funding

Kelly Kamm (KIP) is the principal investigator on a project that has been awarded funding from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund  – Health Aging Grant for her project titled “In-Home Vision Screening in Underserved Seniors”. This project is in collaboration with the University of Michigan – Flint.

The Michigan Health Endowment Fund works to improve the health and wellness of Michigan
residents and reduce the cost of healthcare, with a special focus on children and seniors. You can find more information about the Health Fund at mihealthfund.org.

Grad Student Research published

Please join us in congratulating doctoral students Josh Gonzalez, Jessica Bruning, and Isaac Wedig on their recent publications and awards. These accomplishments speak to the hard work our graduate students and faculty are doing during this very challenging semester. 

KIP Research

Joshua Gonzalez, PhD student, had his article published investigating the acute effects of electronic cigarettes in the American Journal of Physiology – Heart and Circulatory Physiology. The publication was part of a Call for Papers on Environmental Inhalants and Cardiovascular Disease. Note that this is a very prestigious journal in the suite of American Physiological Society journals. Great work Josh and Dr. Cooke! See link below for the full article. “Acute Effects of Electronic Cigarettes on Arterial Pressure and Peripheral Sympathetic Activity in Young Non-Smokers” https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/ajpheart.00448.2020

Jessica Bruning, PhD Candidate, had an article Published on the American Physiology Society’s national blog – I Spy Physiology. This spotlight article highlighting Microbiome is aimed at expanding the interest of physiological sciences within the scientific community and general public. Nice work Jessica and Dr. Qinghui Chen with this outreach piece! https://ispyphysiology.com/2020/10/21/spotlight-on-microbiome/

Isaac Wedig, PhD student, had his article published on Exercise is Medicine COVID-19 infographic in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (impact factor = 12). The infographic has gained traction as it 1) was requested for use by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and 2) is being reproduced for use in a new COVID-19 home-based cardiac rehabilitation pamphlet in which 5,000 copies will be circulated to clinicians and patients across the United States. Way to contribute to the pandemic response Isaac! https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2020/11/11/bjsports-2020-103282.full?ijkey=h1cWS7WTWFddcp4&keytype=ref