This eight-week program is designed to help curious and solution-oriented students gain confidence in the lab, develop enthusiasm for graduate school, cultivate a professional network, and earn attractive qualifications. Participants will participate in professional development activities and present their research. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is located in upstate New York, 110 Eighth Street, Troy, NY 12180. 

*African-American, Alaskan Native, Native American, Hispanic American, or Native Pacific Islander

For program information please access:

The deadline for applying is March 1, 2014.

Program dates: May 31, 2014-July 26, 2014

Application deadline: March 21, 2014

Notification Date: April 15, 2014

To be eligible, students must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who is currently enrolled in an undergraduate program. Each student will reside in a campus dormitory (at no cost to the student) and receive $500 per week to cover food and other living expenses. Students will receive a $500 travel stipend to pay for their travel to and from campus and a $500 additional stipend, if students present research at an academic conference.

Information about how to submit an application is available at

We especially welcome applications from students from underrepresented groups, including first generation college students and students from rural areas. Students coming from undergraduate institutions that do not provide access to research experiences are also preferred.

Specific questions should be directed to;

Shelia M. Kennison, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Oklahoma State University

shelia.kennison@okstate.edu
(405) 744-7335

Kyle Cooper, Emily Schmitt, Amanda Davis, Lauren Nowlan, Keri Sheehan, Nolan Wildfire, Erika Lamanna, Tara Ward, Scott Rytter, Ryan Healy and Brian Delsandro all participated as investigators in this scholarship.

Alumni Pete Bellezza ’06 and Brooks Martin ’06 also collaborated on these studies.

Kyle Cooper’s presentation resulted from a Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (S.U.R.E.) mentored by Dr. Paul Miller.

Kyle Cooper was a finalist for the Student Research Award at this conference.

Additionally, alumnus Elizabeth Chmelo ’05, presently a graduate student at Wake Forrest University, presented research from her master’s thesis.

The following presentations were made;

EE Schmitt, PC Miller, KL Cooper, EK Bailey, WR Bixby & EE Hall: “Relationships between treadmill running performance and preference and tolerance of exercise intensity.”

KL Cooper, PC Miller, EE Schmitt, EK Bailey, WR Bixby & EE Hall: “Affective responses to treadmill running with distraction.”

LE Nowlan, AK Davis, KM Sheehan, WR Bixby, EE Hall & PC Miller: “An examination of the dual-mode hypothesis of affective response to exercise.”

AK Davis, LE Nowlan, KM Sheehan, WR Bixby, EE Hall & PC Miller: “An examination of mixed-emotions during and following a graded exercise test.”

PA Bellezza, EE Hall, BT Delsandro, BE Martin, WR Bixby, & PC Miller: “Influence of exercise order on perceived exertion and blood lactate in resistance exercise.”

N Wildfire, TK Tiemann, E Lamanna & PC Miller: “Journey to work as a predictor of obesity.”

B Beedle, SJ Rytter, RC Healy, & TR Ward: “Stretching type and maximal strength in the bench and leg presses.”

Kristin Sanders, Christine Kostura, Rachel Blakeslee, Rachel DeWitt, Lindsay Gonzalez, Kristin McDonough, Brooks Martin, Pete Bellezza, Jackie Delgiorno, and Lauren Rappaport all participated as investigators in this scholarship.

Alumni Elizabeth Chmelo (’05) and Amy Morse (’05) were also collaborators on these studies.

Elizabeth Chmelo received the Student Research Award at this conference for her research investigating the use of mirrored environments for resistance training and the corresponding affective and anxiety responses.

Brooks Martin’s presentation resulted from a Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (S.U.R.E.) mentored by Dr. Eric Hall.

The following presentations were made;

RL Blakeslee, EK Bailey, PC Miller, JM Delgiorno and EE Hall: “The influence of various distraction stimuli on affective responses to cycle ergometry.”

E Chmelo, KN Sanders, PC Miller and EE Hall: “Self- reflection – mirrors and resistance training, do they influence affect and state anxiety responses?”

CM Kostura, PC Miller, EE Hall, LM Gonzalez and EK Bailey: “Effects of various stimuli on exercise performance.”

B Martin, P Bellezza, SE Folger, SP Bailey, PC Miller and EE Hall: “Are the changes in brain activity during exercise due to accumulation or intensity of exercise?”

AS Morse, EE Hall, EK Bailey and PC Miller: “Relationships between preference and tolerance of exercise intensity and exercise performance.”

LE Rappaport, RE Dewitt, KK McDonough, PC Miller and EE Hall: “Resistance training with mirrors: effect on heart rate and rate of perceived exertion.”

The mission of NASPSPA is;
The North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity is a multidisciplinary association of scholars from the behavioral sciences and related professions. The Society functions to:

• Develop and advance the scientific study of human behavior when individuals are engaged in sport and physical activity
• Facilitate the dissemination of information
• Improve the quality of research and teaching in the psychology of sport, motor development, and motor learning and control

These presentations also included collaborations with Texas Tech University, The U.S. Naval Academy, Trestles, Inc., and The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.

The following presentations were made:

PC Miller, EK Bailey, RL Blakeslee and EE Hall: “The influence of various distraction stimuli on affective responses to cycle ergometry.”

EE Hall, BE Martin, SP Bailey, PC Miller and SE Folger: “Changes in EEG activity during exercise: Due to duration or intensity of exercise?”

EK Bailey, PC Miller, CM Kostura and EE Hall: “Effects of various stimuli on exercise performance.”

SP Bailey, KC Pfluger, C Holt, Z La Budde, D Afergan, S Bartlett, R Stripling, PC Miller and EE Hall: “Changes in performance of a virtual reality task subsequent to prolonged exercise in the heat and carbohydrate supplementation.”

WR Bixby, MR Lochbaum and M Parsons: “The Effects of Choice on the Temporal Dynamics of Affective Response Associated with Acute Exercise.”

R James, CL Shen, M Chyu, JM Brismee, M Zumwalt, WR Bixby, RL Paige, G Poklikuha and E Thompson: “Effects of a 6-week Tai Chi Exercise Intervention on Gait Kinematics in Knee Osteoarthritic Individuals.”

C Holt, SP Bailey, KC Pfluger, S Bartlett, R Stripling and EE Hall: “Impact of Carbohydrate Supplementation on Perceptual and Affective Responses to Prolonged Exercise in the Heat.”

ACSM’s Mission Statement reflects this goal: The American College of Sports Medicine promotes and integrates scientific research, education, and practical applications of sports medicine and exercise science to maintain and enhance physical performance, fitness, health and quality of life.

The abstract reads;

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) alters body composition in animal models, but few studies have examined the effects of CLA supplementation on body composition and clinical safety measures in obese humans. In the present study, we performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to examine the changes in body composition and clinical laboratory values following CLA (50:50 ratio of cis-9, trans-11 and trans-10, cis-12 isomers) supplementation for 12 wk in otherwise healthy obese humans. Forty-eight participants (13 males and 35 females) were randomized to receive placebo (8 g safflower oil/d), 3.2 g/d CLA, or 6.4 g/d CLA for 12 wk. Changes in body fat mass and lean body mass were determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Resting energy expenditure was assessed by indirect calorimetry. Clinical laboratory values and adverse event reporting were used to monitor safety. Lean body mass increased by 0.64 kg in the 6.4 g/d CLA group (P<0.05) after 12 wk of intervention. Significant decreases in serum HDL-cholesterol and sodium, hemoglobin, and hematocrit, and significant increases in serum alkaline phosphatase, C-reactive protein, and IL-6, and white blood cells occurred in the 6.4 g/d CLA group, although all values remained within normal limits. The intervention was well tolerated and no severe adverse events were reported, although mild gastrointestinal adverse events were reported in all treatment groups. In conclusion, whereas CLA may increase lean body mass in obese humans, it may also increase markers of inflammation in the short term.

This paper appears in the May edition of the Journal of Nutrition, 137:1188-1193, 2007.

The goal of this symposium was to explore effective teaching/learning strategies in science-based curricula. The central theme was inquiry and problem based learning. These techniques are currently being utilized in many physiology, pharmacology, nursing and medical education programs.

Faculty representing universities from the United States, Canada, The Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Spain, Venezuela, Portugal, Taiwan, Australia, Wales and England participated in this symposium.

Attendance at this meeting was supported by a grant from the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning at ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ.

The paper was titled “The Impact of Journey to Work on Body Mass Index in Metropolitan Areas.” 

The abstract reads;

Physical inactivity has been described as a significant threat to health and contributory to the development of chronic disease risk factors. Interestingly, many individuals do not currently participate in the recommended volume of physical activity identified as being health promoting. Obesity continues to be a health concern with its primary cause stemming from physical inactivity. Previous studies have described the relationship between urban form and utilitarian exercise. Other studies have detailed the relationship between urban form and obesity. However, none have linked together the chain of causation from urban form through utilitarian exercise to obesity. Consequently, the potential role utilitarian exercise may play in promoting health remains to be elucidated. PURPOSE: To examine the links between urban form, utilitarian exercise, and obesity. METHODS: Data was gathered for 174 metropolitan counties from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from 2002, 2003 and 2004 and the 2000 U.S. Census. These data were analyzed using a two stage least squares regression analysis. The first stage estimates utilitarian exercise (measured by the percentage of the work force which walks, bikes, or uses public transport for the journey to work) as a function of urban form. The second stage estimates obesity and overweight (measured by the percentage of the county’s adult population with a Body Mass Index > 25) as a function of the endogenous utilitarian exercise variable from the first stage and a number of control variables. RESULTS: The coefficient on the endogenous variable is negative with z = -2.35 (p = 0.019). The first stage F-score is 17.62 (p < 0.0001) and the second stage F is 15.68 (p < 0.0001). There are no indications of over- or under identification. Other variables have expected signs. CONCLUSIONS: Areas that had higher population density and less urban sprawl experienced greater rates of utilitarian exercise and lower incidence of overweight and obesity. This finding was independent of participation in formal exercise. Public policies that affect urban form, at least those that reduce the cost of walking, biking or using public transport for the journey to work in metropolitan areas, may have compelling public health benefits.