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Exercise Science Student Scholarship

Exercise science faculty, students present research

Students and faculty from the Department of Exercise Science and Athletics recently attended and delivered lectures at the 2007 Mid-Atlantic Conference of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The ACSM is the premier sports medicine organization in the world. Faculty and student presentations include:

Jamie Bremen (undergraduate student) presented the paper entitled, "Effect of aerobic exercise on percent body fat using LBIA in adults." Faculty mentor Joseph L. Andreacci.

Jennifer Nilsen (undergraduate student) presented the paper entitled, "Effect of an after-school exercise program on percent body fat using LBIA in children," Faculty mentor Joseph L. Andreacci.

Hazel Wightman (undergraduate student) presented the paper entitled, "The epidemiology of golfing injuries." Faculty mentor, Andrea Fradkin .

Kelly Zarski (undergraduate student) presented the paper entitled, "Analysis of EMG responses during submaximal arm ergometry." Faculty mentor Swapan Mookerjee.

Andrea Fradkin, (faculty) presented the paper entitled, "Warm-up: A great performance boost for golfers."

Joseph Hazzard, (faculty) presented the paper entitled, "A comparison of social physique anxiety in female exercise participants and college student-athletes." Co-authors were Allen Larsen and Roxanna Larsen.

Eric S. Rawson, (faculty) presented the papers entitled "Fitness, fatness, and cardiovascular risk" and "Estimation of energy expenditure during resistance training using accelerometry." Student co-authors included undergraduate student alumni Brinley Geiger, Katy Bodenberg, Ted Ferrari and graduate students Talia Walsh and Laura Duceman .

Kelly VanGorden, (faculty) presented the paper entitled, A lasting impact: Reflections from Play It Smart graduates.

BU Exercise Science student alumni Luke Haille, MS, Christine Ledezma, MS, and Mike Weliconich, MS also presented papers at this conference. Exercise science faculty members Tim McConnell and Swapan Mookerjee are past-president and vice-president of the Mid-Atlantic ACSM, respectively.

Exercise Science Student Awarded Kozloff Undergraduate Research Award

Brinley Geiger, senior undergraduate Exercise Science student was recently awarded the Jessica and Steve Kozloff Undergraduate Research Award for her study entitled "A Comparison of Two Methods of Physical Activity Assessment." Geiger's research involves a comparison of two validated methods of physical activity assessment. In this study, self reported physical activity assessed with the Minnesota Leisure Time Activity Questionnaire is being compared to physical activity directly measured with accelerometry. "Accelerometers are fast becoming the new gold standard in physical activity assessment" says Geiger. "These accelerometer/physical activity monitors measure acceleration 30 times per second 24 hours per day." The accelerometer is a small device, approximately one inch square, worn around the waist for seven days. "Both the questionnaire and the accelerometers provide data on the quantity and quality of physical activity, thus, we can assess how much time is spent in low, moderate, and high intensity activities," says Geiger. A preliminary analysis of these data indicate that there is little relationship between reported and measured physical activity. "The findings of this study will have important implications for clinicians and educators who prescribe physical activity for patient and student populations."

BU graduate student Krista Rompolski (left) gives Memorial elementary students Cole Streater and Nick Marolf some pointers on pushups Tuesday afternoon. Rompolski was there as part of the BU Dynamic Development Youth (BUDDY) program organized by Joseph Andreacci, assistant professor of exercise science. The six-week program, ending today, brought BU students to Memorial and Evans elementary school s to work on fitness activities with 4th and 5th grade children. The program is a collaborative initiative between Bloomsburg University and ACTION Health, which is a non-profit organization, aimed an identifying and serving the unmet health needs of Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties. The program is funded, in part, through a grant from the PA Department of Health, to reduce the impact and disparities of diabetes in Columbia County. ACTION Health can be reached at (570) 988-0735.

In November 2006, BU students and faculty participated in the Mid-Atlantic American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Conference in Harrisburg, PA. Students and faculty presented 12 papers at the conference, highlighting the diversity of Exercise Science research conducted at BU. Graduate student co-authors included: Scott Coup, Noelle Fuller, Christina Ledezma, Nate Miller, Crystal Roman, Sara Stahli, Talia Walsh, Michael Welikonich, and Brandy Weller. Undergraduate student co-authors included: Jaclyn Harhart, Tracy Matthews, and Sylwia Zuber. Faculty presenting research at this conference included: Dr. Andrea Fradkin, Dr. Joseph Hazzard, Dr. Tim McConnell, Dr. Swapan Mookerjee, Dr. Eric Rawson, and Dr. Kelly VanGorden. Swapan Mookerjee, Ph.D. is the current Vice-President of Mid-Atlantic ACSM, and Tim McConnell, Ph.D. is a Past-President (1990). The ACSM is the leading sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world and has over 20,000 members.

Research presentations delivered by students (BU faculty co-authors are in bold) include:

Coup, S. McConnell, T. R., and Klinger, T A. Demographics and spiritual and religious coping following a first time cardiac event.

Haile, L. Mookerjee, S., Weller, B. Welikonich, M. Bhambani, Y. Energy expenditure during intermittent isokinetic exercise.

Ledezma, C. M. and McConnell, T. R. Physical and psychosocial impacts of a structured exercise program for adults with mental retardation.

Fuller, N., McConnell, T. R., Santamore, W. Fradkin, A., Homko, C. Risk factor change influences on risk reduction via telemedicne.

Matthews, T. C., Walsh, T. M., Zuber, S. M., Harhart, J. M., Rawson, E. S. Central adaptations to creatine supplementation in young individuals.

Roman, C. L., Miller, N., Weller, B., Rawson, E., Mookerjee, S. Failure to Attain Preset Isokinetic Target Velocities in Trained Athletes.

Stahli, S. I., McConnell, T. R., Santamore, W., VanGorden, K. M., Homko, C. Rural vs. urban and sex influences on cardiovascular risk reduction by telemedicine.

Research presentations presented by BU Exercise Science faculty members (BU faculty co-authors are in bold) include:

Fradkin A. Does warming-up reduce the risk of injury to golfers? A cluster randomized controlled trial.

Hazzard, J. B., Mookerjee, S., and Singh, J. Body satisfaction among weightlifters and power lifters from India.

Palm, B., Cotarlan, V. McConnell, T.R., Scott, T. Butcher, R. and Shirani J. Age, CAD history and ECG predict 6-month outcome of patients in a chest pain unit.

Rawson, E. S. Aging Does not Affect Torque Production During Repeated Bouts of Intermittent Isokinetic Contractions.

Additionally, Dr. Rawson presented an invited lecture entitled "The Risky Business of Dietary Supplements."

Adrian Aron, a former Masters Degree Student in Exercise Science, had his Masters Thesis Published in a peer reviewed Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention 27(1):35-41, 2007. The article, is listed as follows: Adrian Aron, Troy A. Klinger, Timothy R. McConnell. Cardiac rehabilitation outcomes no different after on-pump versus off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery. Aron's thesis advisor was Timothy R. McConnell. Aron is now pursuing his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va.

Student Luke Haile receives research award

Findings from a summer spent researching the exercise abilities of children recently gained recognition for a Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania senior exercise science major

Luke Haile of Bloomsburg was awarded the Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine's Undergraduate Student Investigator Award earlier this month. Haile's research is titled "Influence of testing sequence on a child's ability to achieve maximal anaerobic and aerobic power."

With his mentor, BU exercise science assistant professor Joseph Andreacci, Haile studied how the order of exercise tests affects children's performances. The children were split into two groups and all performed a Wingate anaerobic test and a maximal oxygen consumption treadmill test. The only difference between the two groups was the order in which the tests were performed.

"We found that the kids who performed the Wingate before the maximal oxygen consumption test couldn't achieve the same values during the oxygen consumption test as (when we first tested them), but the kids who performed the maximal oxygen consumption test before the Wingate could achieve the same values," Haile said.

Haile concluded that the testing sequence is important in determining children's performance. He also found that allowing children to rest for 20 minutes between the two tests did not affect the reliability of the results.

Haile's award reflects the quality of his presentation at the MARC-ACSM conference and the significance of his research. The award is given to one undergraduate student each year.

"When an undergraduate at a smaller school goes up against students from bigger schools and wins something like this, it's great for the program and for Luke. I hope it pushes him to go further and continue doing research," Andreacci said.

Conference presentations

At the recent Annual Conference of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (MARC-ACSM) in Harrisburg, PA, thirteen undergraduate and graduate Bloomsburg University Exercise Science students attended and several presented papers.

Ms. Christina Ledzema, graduate student, presented the paper titled "Effect of a Maximal Treadmill Test on Percent Body Fat Using LBIA in Children." Ms. Ledezma's faculty mentor and co-author was Dr. Joseph Andreacci. Mr. Luke Haile, undergraduate student, presented the paper titled "Influence of Testing Sequence on a Child's Ability to Achieve Maximal Anaerobic and Aerobic Power." Mr. Haile's presentation was awarded the MARC-ACSM Undergraduate Student Investigator Award. Mr. Haile's faculty mentor and co-author was Dr. Joseph Andreacci. Mr. Michael Conti, graduate student, presented a paper titled "Creatine Supplementation Does Not Reduce Muscle Damage or Enhance Recovery from Resistance Exercise." Mr. Conti's faculty mentor and co-author was Dr. Eric Rawson. Ms. Annette Stutzman, graduate student, presented a paper entitled "A preliminary investigation of the effect of ankle position on sit and reach test performance." Ms. Stutzman's faculty mentor and co-author was Dr. Swapan Mookerjee.