Physical Activity

Physical Activity & Health Laboratory

Directed by Dr. John R. Sirard and Dr. Catrine Tudor-Locke, the Physical Activity and Health lab is interested in improving methods of physical assessment and investigating the effects of physical activity and inactivity on health outcomes. With the use of objective activity monitors, the lab continues to conduct research on ways of improving physical activity measurements. By improving physical activity measurements, the lab is able to assess the impact of different amounts of physical activity on health. Generally, the lab conducts research on the: assessment of physical activity and inactivity using activity monitors, effects of exercise and lifestyle behaviors on biomarkers of health, energy cost of aerobic dance and comparisons of different metabolic measurement systems.

Masters Student: Colleen Sands

Education

Originally planning to become a physical therapist as an undergraduate student, Colleen was accepted into several Doctor of Physical Therapy programs. At the same time, Colleen was involved with the Physical Activity and Health lab through the making of her honors program thesis. Through the thesis involvement, Colleen was exposed to research and was offered a spot as a graduate student in the lab. Colleen graduated from UMass with a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology with future plans as a Masters student under Professor, Dr. Catrine Tudor-Locke.

Current Project

Colleen works as a Graduate Research Assistant and as Lab Manager. Her primary interests involve physical activity, walking and running gait, and association with health outcomes. She is currently involved in several studies: 1) The CADENCE-Adults study – an NIH/NIA R01 Funded Study examining the relationship between cadence (steps/minute) and intensity; 2) The Running Entrainment Study – an investigation of the variations between group and individual running on gait parameters; 3) The Cadence Entrainment Study –  investigating the influence of prescribed walking cadence (by rhythmic auditory cueing [RAC] via metronome) on the metabolic cost of walking; and 4) The Music Entrainment Study – investigating the influence of prescribed walking cadence (by RAC via music) on the metabolic cost of walking. She is currently working on several manuscripts in preparation for publication. 
In the CADENCE-Adults study, Colleen noticed how vague the National Public Health guidelines were when stating physical activity exercise intensities, which defined moderate intensity as the ability to talk but not sing. On the other side of the spectrum, metabolic equivalents (MET) measurements require a lab and specific equipment, making it complicated and inaccessible for most people to measure. The lab has found step counts to be an accurate indicator of exercise intensity: 100 steps per minute can be associated with moderate exercise intensity; 130 steps per minute can be associated with vigorous exercise intensity.

"Step counts are good measures to increase physical activity, but people are likely not hitting moderate intensity levels of physical activity for many of those steps"

Future and Careers
After finishing her Masters degree in Kinesiology, Colleen aims to lecture at a university with primary focus on teaching undergraduate and not directing a lab.

"At institutions like UMass, most of the professors aren't able to or don't want to focus on teaching... I plan to move to a smaller R2 or R3 institution to focus on teaching at the university level" 

Colleen also brought up Science Writing, which entails working with companies to interpret scientific research articles into lay articles for a broader audience to understand, appearing in magazines, newspapers, and other mediums. Lay articles are based by research, but are not necessarily accurately interpreted. Scientific writers must be qualified enough to disseminate research articles accurately as they hold considerable influence over the direct actions of the general population.

Doctoral Student: John Chase

Education

Originally from Michigan, John was an undergraduate student at Michigan State and involved himself in the Human Energy Research Lab. After graduating from Michigan State, John took a year off and attended James Madison University. At James Madison, John studied muscle performance through cycling and strength measures comparing sleep-deprived participants with control participants for his Masters thesis. He then joined UMass in the Muscle Biology Laboratory as a Doctoral student and recently transferred to the Physical Activity and Health lab under Dr. John Sirard and Dr. Rebecca Spencer. 

Current Project

 In the Physical Activity and Health lab, John is studying the accuracy of accelerometers on measuring sleep compared to polysomnography machines, the gold standard of sleep measurement. Some accelerometers companies claim that their watches have the ability to measure sleep accurately, but with a polysomnography machine, John will have the ability to either validate or invalidate these claims. Furthermore, heart rate and respiratory measures will be taken in order to better detect changes of time awake and time asleep. 

"If you're lying down in bed trying to fall asleep, accelerometers will typically interpret it as sleep time due to the lack of accelerations, which overestimates your total sleep time"

Future and Careers

Similar to Colleen, John hopes to become a professor with a good balance between lecturing and conducting research. John noticed that as a R1 institution professor, the teaching load is lowered due to the amount of involvement with grant-writing and applying.  

Continuing work with accelerometers, is the route of Industry with focus on designing accelerometers that measure physical activity. Additionally in the route of Industry, Pepsi has a lab designed to create a line of nutritious foods with the same equipment as an R1 institution. 

To learn more about the Physical Activity and Health lab, explore https://blogs.umass.edu/pahl/?_ga=2.213040212.1995130812.1556645031-411195605.1540573329

Behavioral Medicine Laboratory

Directed by Dr. Katie (Becofsky) Potter, and recently established in 2016, the Behavioral Medicine lab conducts research on new holistic approaches to increase levels of physical activity. The lab focuses on stealth health and alternative interventions that promote physical activity and psychosocial outcomes. Its current research focuses on dog ownership and dog walking.

Masters Student: Caitlin Rajala

Education

Caitlin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with an English Major and Dance Minor from Mount Holyoke College. Moving to Scotland, she attended the University of Edinburgh to pursue a Masters of Science in Dance Science and Education. Dance Science and Education involves the application of educational theory to dance and dance to educational theory in the classroom. Hoping to pursue further education within the field of Kinesiology, Caitlin decided to attend UMass and become the first Masters student in the Behavioral Medicine lab. 

Current Project

Chronic illness management and the use of alternative methods to increase physical activity are Caitlin's particular interests. As a masters student, Caitlin's thesis project will likely be analyzing research related to older adults, fall risk, and chronic pain. 

"The more you can attach physical activity to things that are important to people, the more likely people will adhere and benefit from it"

Future
Cailtin is undecided on whether or not she will pursue a PhD at this time. The decision to go forward in her education  is dependent on the requirements of her future career. 

To learn more about the Behavioral Medicine lab, explore https://blogs.umass.edu/kbecofsky/home/

Pediatric Physical Activity Laboratory

Directed by Dr. Sofiya Alhassan, the Pediatric Physical Activity lab conducts studies to examine the effects of community-based physical activity intervention on pediatric obesity and other health related outcomes. The goal of the lab is to conduct community-based physical activity interventions for the prevention of pediatric obesity and related co-morbidities, with a concentration on low socio-economic status, ethnic minority populations. 

To learn more about the Pediatric Physical Activity lab, explore https://www.umass.edu/kinpedlab/home