By any measure, the Colorado State University Department of Health and Exercise Science has excellent students who excel in the classroom and lab. We are proud of the students who received research awards in several competitions this spring.
American College of Sports Medicine – Rocky Mountain Chapter
Kieran Abbotts was named the 2020 undergraduate student grant recipient by the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine. Abbotts will receive a $1,000 grant to help fund his study “Caffeine Augments the Lactate and Interleukin-6 Response to Exercise: Potential Favorable Implications for Those with Cachexia.”
Taylor Ewell was named as one of the 2020 graduate student grant recipients by ACSM. Ewell will receive a $1,000 grant to help fund his study “Use of Hyperoxia to Provide Mechanistic Insight into Limitations to Peak Oxygen Uptake in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes.”
American Kinesiology Association awards
Olivia Stepp (Undergraduate Scholar), Sutton Richmond (Graduate Student Writing), Arianna Odom (Master’s Scholar), and Janée Terwoord (Doctoral Scholar) were recognized as 2020 American Kinesiology Association Scholars by the American Kinesiology Association.
After the local competition, two of the students went on to be recognized on the national level: Stepp received Honorable Mention for the National Undergraduate Scholar Award, and Richmond received the National Graduate Student Writing Award. Richmond was selected from all of the local AKA Graduate Student Writing Award recipients nationwide as the graduate student with the most exceptional ability to conduct and disseminate research in kinesiology.
Programs of Research and Scholarly Excellence summer fellowship
Sarah Morton is the recipient of a 2020 Programs of Research and Scholarly Excellence summer fellowship from the CSU Office of the Vice President for Research. Morton will receive a $7,500 grant to help further her research under Josie Broussard, assistant professor, in the Sleep and Metabolism Lab.
Prestigious post-doc positions
Additionally, the department has four Ph.D. graduates in bioenergetics this spring, all of whom are going on to prestigious post-doctoral positions.
Janee Terwoord will be working in the laboratories of David Gutterman and Andreas Beyer at the Medical College of Wisconsin to study the mechanisms by which coronary microvascular dysfunction contributes to the development of heart disease.
Jimikaye Courtney received a National Institutes of Drug Abuse T-32 post-doc fellowship through the Prevention and Methodology Training program at Pennsylvania State University. She will be working with David Conroy and Michael Russell on using ecological momentary assessment to examine the relationships between physical activity, alcohol use, and the use of other drugs, like cannabis, in adults.
Rob Musci accepted an appointment in Gabrielle Kardon’s lab at the University of Utah to investigate how muscle stem cells are involved in muscle regeneration and reestablishing mitochondria (powerhouses of the cell) after injury.
Sutton Richmond will be working under the direction of Rachael Seidler at the University of Florida. His training will focus on imaging and attaining a better understanding of the human brain glymphatic system through multiple projects funded by NASA and the Office of Naval Research.
Congratulations to our award winners and Ph.D. graduates! Many thanks to the faculty and staff who support and mentor them in their research, teaching, and learning.
The Department of Health and Exercise Science is part of CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.
