KIP Newsblog

KIP Department Hosts National Biomechanics Day

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After a hiatus due the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan Tech’s Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology is gearing up for 2024 National Biomechanics Day. National Biomechanics Day is part of a worldwide initiative to increase the influence and impact of biomechanics in our society with a focus on outreach and education in schools.  

Nathan, Kate, Logan, Blake, Wil (students in Dr. Duncan’s Advanced Biomechanics class)

This year’s theme for NBD is celebrating the 21st century’s breakthroughs in science. Our department, led by Dr. Carolyn Duncan’s Advanced Biomechanics class, will be taking students through a series of fun activities related to biomechanics technologies, including motion capture, surface electromyography, and force platforms. These activities will show how we can explore real-life situations (e.g. fall prevention, the NFL combine, and strength training). They will also demonstrate to students how the concepts that they are currently learning in their high school STEM classes, such as biology and physics, applies to the world around them since biomechanics is the study of physics acting on the living organisms. 

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KIP Doctoral Student Elected as GSG Research Chair

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Oluwatosin Oyeniran, a doctoral student in Integrative Physiology, was elected to serve as the Research Chair for the Michigan Tech Graduate Student Government (GSG).

Oluwatosin Oyeniran (PhD student) was elected to the serve as the Research Chair of GSG.

The GSG research chair is responsible for organizing the major GSG research events and activities on campus, which include the Graduate Research Colloquium, 3 Minute Thesis Competition, Merit Awards Program, and Alumni Reunion Poster Session. Oluwatosin’s one-year term as a research chair will start May 1st with the possibility of re-election for an additional one-year term.

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KIP Student-Athlete Selected as CSC Academic All-District Honoree

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Kate Meister, a guard on Michigan Tech’s women’s basketball team, has been named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team for 2023-24. Kate holds a 3.89 GPA currently as a KIP master’s student and has already earned her BS in Human Biology with a minor in Pre-Health Professions. This season she became the 30th player in the women’s basketball program to score 1,000 career points.

The Academic All-District® Women’s Basketball teams that are selected by CSC aim to recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom.

To read more about the honor that Kate has received and her accomplishments, go to Michigan Tech Athletics’ press release.

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Michigan Tech University Recognized as a Silver Level Campus by Exercise is Medicine® On Campus Program

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Michigan Tech is among 145 campuses honored worldwide

Houghton, MI – Michigan Tech University is one of only 145 universities and colleges around the world to be honored by Exercise is Medicine® for its efforts to create a culture of wellness on campus. Students and faculty that deliver the “UP and Moving” Program housed in the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology helped the university to earn a silver level designation for the fourth consecutive year from the Exercise is Medicine® On Campus (EIM-OC) program.

“We are thrilled to recognize these campuses’ commitment to make movement a part of daily campus culture and give students the tools to cultivate physical activity habits that will benefit them throughout their lives,”said interim CEO Katie Feltman.“ These campus programs are nurturing future leaders who will advance a key tenet of Exercise is Medicine®: making physical activity assessment and promotion a standard in health care.” 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that adults engage in at least 150 min of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity each week along with two days of muscle strengthen activities. To facilitate physical activity, the UP and Moving program offers free virtual home-based workouts to keep students, staff, faculty, and community members active. The home-based workouts include both aerobic exercise (i.e., walking) and muscle strengthening exercise (i.e., weightlifting), do not require any specialized equipment, and are easily adapted to fit a wide range of ages and ability levels. The live workouts are also recorded and available to watch anytime on the program’s website.

The UP and Moving Program was created in 2020 by a team of students supervised by Steven Elmer, Associate Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology. During the past year, workouts were led by a diverse group of Michigan Tech students from several countries around the world including the United States, Canada, France, and Nigeria.

Students of UP & Moving, from left to right: Oluwatosin Oyeniran, Kyle Wehmanen, Noelle St. Pierre, Abby Brooks, Nathan Balok

EIM-OC calls upon universities and colleges to promote physical activity as a vital sign of health and encourages students, staff, and faculty to work together to improve the health and well-being of the campus community. EIM-OC launched its recognition program in 2014 to honor campuses for their efforts to create a culture of wellness. Schools earn gold, silver, or bronze status based on their activities. Of the 145 campuses recognized, 83 received Gold, 44 received Silver and 18 received Bronze. All Gold, Silver and Bronze universities and colleges will be highlighted on May 29 at the Exercise is Medicine® recognition ceremony at the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting.

As a silver level campus, the UP and Moving program has helped engage students, staff, and faculty in educational and wellness initiatives and make movement part of the daily campus and community culture. “Our program aims to achieve gold level status by working with local health care providers to establish physical activity as a health vital sign,” explained Elmer. “We are also working to raise awareness and support for U.S. Senate Bill 397 – “Promoting Physical Activity for Americans Act” which would require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to issue physical-activity guidelines for all Americans every 10 years based on the most current scientific and medical knowledge.”

The American College of Sports Medicine co-launched Exercise is Medicine® in 2007 with the American Medical Association. Exercise is Medicine® is committed to the belief that physical activity promotes optimal health, is integral in the prevention and treatment of many medical conditions and should be regularly assessed and included as part of health care. To learn more about Exercise is Medicine® and the UP and Moving program, visit their websites.

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KIP Graduate Students Earn Awards

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Congratulations to three of KIP’s graduate students on their recent research, teaching, and scholarly achievements! Compliments to these students, as well as the faculty that provide the training and mentorship for their success. 

  • Lily Hart (MS student) received the Harry R. Cohodas U.P. Graduate Student Fellowship for Summer 2024.
  • Felix Cottet-Puinel (MS student) is the recipient of the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship from the Graduate School.
  • Kyle Wehmanen (PhD student) is the recipient of the Outstanding Teaching Award from the Graduate School.
  • Kyle Wehmanen received a second year of funding for his Michigan Space Grant Consortium Fellowship.
Lily Hart
Felix Cottet-Puinel
Kyle Wehmanen
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March KIP Seminar

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Please join the KIP department on Friday, March 22, from 3:00-4:00 pm in Fisher 132 for our March seminar.

The guest speaker will be Sarah Konefal from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The title of the presentation is “Drug Overdose and Co-occurring Conditions in Michigan.” For more information about the speaker and her work, please take a look at the flyer below.

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KIP Hosts Student Research Forum

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Presenters from left to right: Lily Hart, Lexi Little, Nathan Balok, Kyle Wehmanen, Xinqian (Sherry) Chen, Derrick Simet, Oluwatosin Oyeniran

The MTU KIP department hosted its annual Student Research Forum on February 16, 2024 as part of its February department seminar series. Students and faculty from the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology, as well as the Central Michigan University Doctorate of Physical Therapy Program attended. Several undergraduate and graduate students presented their research, educational, and outreach related projects.

As part of the thematic style poster session, students first delivered short, 3-minute oral presentations to the audience and then gave more in-depth explanations of their projects to attendees that circulated through the posters. The student presentations were excellent, and students were commended for their work and level of professionalism. Importantly, the questions and feedback that students received will help them move their projects forward and prepare to present their work at regional and national conferences later this Spring.

To help support student travel to conferences, please consider contributing to our student travel fund through our giving opportunities page. 

Audience listening to the students’ 3-minute presentations
Small groups interacting with presenters and their posters
Left to right: Xinqian (Sherry) Chen (KIP PhD candidate) with Dr. Zhiying Shan
“Brain-Derived Extracellular Vesicles from Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rats with High Salt Diet Increase PVN and SON Vasopressin Levels in Sprague Dawley Rats”
Left to right: Derrick Simet (member of Dr. Chen’s lab) with Dr. Qing-Hui Chen
“Inhibiting Local Brain Metabolism of Ethanol in the Central Nucleus of the Amygdala Blunts Sympathoexcitatory Responses Induced by Ethanol in Sprague Dawley Rats”
Left to right: Dr. Steven Elmer with Oluwatosin Oyeniran (KIP PhD student)
“Classroom Techniques for Teaching Skeletal Muscle Contraction”
Left to right: Nathan Balok (KIP MS student)
“Physiology Outreach in the Upper Peninsula,” Dr. Steven Elmer, Kyle Wehmanen (KIP PhD student)
“Metabolic Cost of Human Locomotion on Soft Terrain”
Left to right: Dr. Carolyn Duncan, Alexandra Little (BioSci undergraduate student), Lily Hart (KIP MS student)
“Surface Electromyography to Quantify Deep Tendon Reflexes”
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KIP and CMU-DPT Alum Brett Gervais Nominated as a Copper Shores Superior Educator

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Brett Gervais is an alum of both the MTU KIP department in Exercise Science and the CMU Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) program. He was nominated as a Copper Shores Superior Educator for his role as a football and track and field coach in the Lake Linden-Hubbell school district. He is currently a physical therapist at Aspirus in Calumet. Congratulations to Brett for earning such a great honor and being a positive role model for so many student athletes in our local area.

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