KIP Newsblog

Steve Elmer’s team was featured in both local media and in a Michigan Tech News release for their continued research with wheelchair users.  Steve has a unique group of students involved in this research; they include undergraduate students from the Velovations Enterprise and students from Central Michigan University’s physical therapy doctorate program at Michigan Tech.  The article and news video below highlight’s the research progress featuring one of the many research subjects, Sam Schroth.

Research With Heart: Making Wheelchair Exercise Equipment More Accessible and Adjustable, by Allison Mills

Upper Michigans Source video, RENEW-U exercise machine develeoped at Mighigan Tech, by Aaron Boehm

Christopher Schwartz joins the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology as a lecturer. Before coming to Michigan Tech, Schwartz was a lecturer at University of Iowa. Schwartz earned a PhD in Biological Sciences and Bachelor’s degrees in Exercise Science and Biological Sciences (pre-professional) from Michigan Tech.

He was a postdoctoral research fellow at New York Medical College. He is also a member of the American Physiological Society and has been USA Triathlon Level I Certified Coach.

Read more at Tech Today.

Congratulations to Andrew Chapp for receiving a Predoctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association. Andrew is a Biological Sciences PhD student working in Dr. Qinghui Chen’s electrophisyiology lab.  Andrew will continue to work in Dr. Chen’s lab focusing on a project titled, “Acetate as an Active Metabolite of Ethanol: Neural and Cardiovascular Implications.”

Andrew recently published a portion of his ethanol research in the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology and has given several oral presentations pertaining to the effects of acetate on neuronal excitability.  The project Andrew has proposed is expected to have a positive impact on providing insight into the neuronal mechanisms of an alcohol associated hypertension and stroke. Additionally, this proposed study will provide not only a known cellular mechanism for pharmacological intervention of alcohol induced hypertension, but also broader implications to future studies in the alcohol research community related to acetate on learning/memory, motor control, and addiction/depression.

Several faculty and KIP students attended the 2015 Society for Neuroscience conference in Chicago last week.

Dr. Tejin Yoon and graduate student Andrea Lee were among the group that attended.  Andrea presented on “Muscle Fatigability from Repeated Lengthening Contractions in Young Men and Women”.

Dr. Kevin Trewartha presented a research project aimed at elucidating the role of working memory resources, supported by dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), in motor learning. This research used a sensorimotor adaptation task in which participants learned to adapt to mechanical perturbations imposed by a robotic device. To test whether dlPFC contributes to our ability to learn this novel skill I used a “virtual lesion” method called continuous theta-burst stimulation which temporarily disrupts targeted brain areas prior to performance of the task. The results demonstrated that learning was impaired following dlPFC stimulation, indicating that working memory resources are important during the acquisition of novel motor skills.

The conference brings together scientists and clinicians from all over the world, and from a broad range of disciplines, who are generally interested in the function of the nervous system. As such, the conference was an excellent opportunity to present these findings to the neuroscience community and receive feedback from other experts in the field.

Congratulations to the following undergraduate students for being selected to participate in the Undergraduate Research Internship Program. This program is supported by the Portage Health Foundation and Pavlis Honors College. Briefly, the program consists of a 20-week research internship (October – March) as well as professional development activities centered in academic research and scholarship.

Claire Eischer – Exercise Science (Dr. Yoon’s Lab)
Tessa Sprague – Exercise Science (Dr. Trewartha’s Lab)
Ashley VanSumeren – Exercise Science (Dr. Elmer’s Lab)
Olivia Ingram – Biology (Dr. Trewartha’s Lab)

This a great achievement and we are excited for these students!

Exercise Pharmacology  (EH 4990-01)
This course will bridge between basic sciences and human health.  The course focuses on understanding the 1) fundamental concept of exercise pharmacology and 2) pharmacological treatment of diseases of various systems including cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine, neuronal, hormonal and renal systems.

Credits: 2.0
Semesters Offered: Spring
Pre-Requisite(s): BL2020 and BL2021 

Exercise Pharmacology_EH 4990

Physical Therapy Seminar (EH 4700)
Seminar for students who are interested in physical therapy profession. Course will include self-directed learning and group work. Topics may include evidence based medicine, literature review writing and evaluation, healthcare reimbursement, clincal decision making, health screenings, and other current topics. 

Credits: 1.0 
Lec-Rec-Lab: (0-1-0)
Semesters Offered: Spring – Offered alternate years beginning with the 2014-2015 academic year 
Restrictions: May not be enrolled in one of the following Class(es): Freshman, Sophomore 
Pre-Requisite(s): BL 2020 and BL 2021

Physical Therapy Seminar_EH 4700

Congratulations to the following students for receiving research awards at the 1st Annual Life Science and Technology Institute (LSTI) Research Forum:

Robert Larson (Dr. Qinghui Chen’s Lab) – Graduate Student LSTI Merit Award
Dakota Anderson (Dr. Steven Elmer’s Lab) – Undergraduate Student LSTI Merit Award

KIP laboratories  had students from all levels, undergraduate, MS, DPT, and PhD presenting their research.  We commend all of you for your hard work and dedication.