Category: College of Applied Health Sciences

What toddlers eat might shape how they think years later, study suggests

Feb. 02, 2026 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo

By the time children in Pelotas, Brazil, reached their first day of school, some had already been influenced by decisions made years earlier—at the family table

Study co-authors Thayna Flores, left, and Pedro Hallal. (Photo by Ethan Simmons)

A new analysis from the 2015 Pelotas Birth Cohort suggests that dietary patterns at just two years of age are associated with cognitive performance at ages six and seven. The findings add to growing global evidence that early childhood nutrition—particularly exposure to ultraprocessed foods—may play a meaningful role in shaping brain development.

The Pelotas Birth Cohort is one of the most comprehensive long-running population studies in Latin America, following thousands of children from birth. Researchers from the University of Illinois and the Federal University of Pelotas collected detailed information on what children were eating at age two and later assessed their cognitive performance once they reached early school age.

Rather than focusing on individual foods or nutrients, the research team examined overall dietary patterns. Using principal component analysis, a statistical method that identifies common combinations of foods, they identified two dominant patterns among toddlers in the cohort. One, labeled “healthy,” included beans, fruits, vegetables, baby foods and natural fruit juices. The other, labeled “unhealthy,” was characterized by snacks, instant noodles, sweet biscuits, candies, soft drinks, sausages and processed meats.

Children who more closely adhered to the unhealthy dietary pattern at age two scored lower on IQ tests at ages six to seven. The association remained even after accounting for a wide range of social, economic, and family factors that could influence cognitive development.

“The covariates were identified as potential confounding factors based on a literature review and the construction of a directed acyclic graph,” said Thayna Flores, an assistant professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois and one of the study’s authors. “The analyses were adjusted for child’s sex, maternal age, maternal schooling, maternal work, maternal depression, family structure, parental relationship, socioeconomic status, number of people in the household, number of older siblings, preschool, score of stimulation, duration of exclusive breastfeeding and food introduction before 6 months.”

Some factors often raised in debates about child cognition—such as parental IQ—were not included, largely because they were not measured in the cohort. However, Flores noted that the study did incorporate proxies for the home learning environment. “We didn’t measure the parental IQ, but home stimulation and early childhood education were both used in our adjustments,” she said.

Despite established guidelines, consumption of ultraprocessed foods is already common at this age.

Thayna Flores

Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Kinesiology

One of the study’s more surprising findings was what it did not show. The healthy dietary pattern was not associated with higher IQ scores. Rather than undermining the importance of fruits and vegetables, Flores said the result reflects how common these foods already were in the sample.

“The lack of association observed for the healthy dietary pattern can be largely explained by its lower variability,” she said. “Approximately 92% of children habitually consumed four or more of the foods that characterize the healthy pattern.” When nearly everyone is eating similarly, statistical differences become harder to detect, she said.

Where the results became especially concerning was among children who were already biologically vulnerable. The negative association between unhealthy diets and cognitive performance was stronger in children who had early-life deficits in weight, height, or head circumference.

“According to the literature, children with a deficit in height and head circumference from birth to the first year of life were more likely to be classified as having a low IQ,” Flores said. “Other studies suggest that insufficient growth before age two is related to impaired cognitive development.”

This pattern points to what researchers call cumulative disadvantage: when biological vulnerability and environmental exposures—like poor diet quality—interact to produce worse outcomes than either would alone.

The study did not directly test biological mechanisms, but Flores said existing research offers plausible explanations. “Diets of poor nutritional quality, particularly those high in ultraprocessed foods, may interfere with neurodevelopmental processes through mechanisms involving systemic inflammation, oxidative stress and alterations in the gut–brain axis,” she said.

‘We need to consider the rise in ultraprocessed foods,’ said Thayna Flores. (Photo by Ethan Simmons)

The researchers, who also included study co-author HK Professor Pedro Hallal—who came to the University of Illinois after a long stint at Pelotas—also examined whether breastfeeding and the timing of complementary feeding influenced the results. Both were included as confounders, and exploratory analyses looked for interactions.

“We identified that the association between adherence to unhealthy dietary patterns and IQ scores was significantly modified by the presence of early-life deficits,” Flores said. “No evidence of effect modification by sex, birth weight, gestational age, or duration of exclusive breastfeeding was found.”

Although the study is based in southern Brazil, its implications may extend far beyond Pelotas. Ultraprocessed foods are now common in early childhood diets worldwide, including in high-income countries.

“The longitudinal design, high follow-up rates and the large sample size strengthen the study,” Flores said. “While direct comparison should be made with caution, our findings are informative and can generate hypotheses for studies conducted in high-income countries,” such as the United States.

Whether similar effects would be seen in countries with greater food fortification or different health systems remains an open question. Still, Flores believes the core message is broadly relevant. “Considering the worldwide dissemination and higher prevalence of ultraprocessed foods, I think so,” she said when asked whether similar patterns might emerge elsewhere.

For policymakers, the findings carry clear implications. In Brazil, infant and young child feeding guidance is already part of primary health care, but Flores said the study highlights a gap between recommendations and reality.

“Our results reinforce the importance of strengthening counseling during routine child health visits, emphasizing the need to limit the habitual offer of ultraprocessed and unhealthy foods,” she said. “Despite established guidelines, consumption of ultraprocessed foods is already common at this age.”

Flores said public health efforts should focus on promoting healthy foods and reducing the emphasis on unhealth ones, but timing matters. “We need to consider the rise in ultraprocessed foods,” she said. “Stronger actions now can help prevent these foods, especially in early childhood.”

The Pelotas study is not the final word on diet and cognition. Researchers are now collecting more detailed dietary data as cohort members reach adolescence, opening the door to stronger causal analyses and a better understanding of long-term effects. Still, the takeaway is difficult to ignore. Long before report cards and standardized tests, children may already be accumulating advantages—or disadvantages—based on what is offered to them at the age of two. In a world where ultraprocessed foods are cheap, convenient and heavily marketed, the study suggests that early dietary choices may quietly shape how children learn, think and thrive years later.

Editor’s note:

To reach To reach Thayna Flores, email trflores@illinois.edu. To reach Pedro Hallal, email phallal@illinois.edu. You can read the study here.
 

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A message to Speech and Hearing Science, from Department Head Georgia Malandraki

Feb 02, 2026 | AHS Staff

“I welcome perspectives from everyone (…) because the future we create together will be stronger for it.“

Georgia Malandraki, professor and department head of Speech and Hearing Science, has begun her second month as department head. (Ethan Simmons/College of AHS)

Dear Speech and Hearing Science community,

It is with pride and a deep sense of responsibility that I begin my role as Head of the Department of Speech and Hearing Science. Returning to Illinois, where I completed my Ph.D. and where many of our distinguished faculty shaped my early career, feels like coming home. It is both humbling and exciting to now have the opportunity to give back to the community that supported me from the start.

Over the past several months, I have begun to learn the many stories, strengths, and aspirations that make SHS such a vibrant community. Every conversation with faculty, staff, and students has reminded me of something I have known since I was a student here: SHS is a community where excellence and compassion go hand in hand, and where people genuinely care about making an impact. I am grateful to join you as we continue building on that foundation together.

I am thankful to be joining the department at a time of remarkable momentum, built under the leadership of former Head and Professor Pamela Hadley and Dean Cheryl Hanley Maxwell. The shared governance model, the selfless and dedicated service of faculty, the collective passion for impactful research and clinical training, and the strong commitment to inclusion that I have witnessed during this transition are outstanding.

Equally impressive is the work ethic and dedication of our faculty, staff, and students, clear indicators of the remarkable potential ahead. Importantly, the support and enriching environment provided by the College of Applied Health Sciences and the University as a whole foster collaboration, innovation, and sustained excellence, creating the conditions for SHS to grow and continue its legacy as one of the leading departments in the state and the country.

As we look toward the future, I see a department that not only sustains this legacy but continues to grow its reach locally, nationally, and globally. Together, we will focus on our shared goals:

  • Strengthening our position as a global leader in research and clinical training in communication sciences and disorders
  • Empowering students through exceptional and forward-thinking education
  • Expanding our engagement with communities and partners who rely on our expertise
  • Growing the resources and support needed to enhance discovery, education, and service

These are meaningful goals, and I am confident we can achieve them. The talent, commitment, and heart I see within SHS are truly remarkable.

In the coming months, I look forward to hearing your ideas, learning from your experiences, and working with you to shape the next chapter of SHS. I welcome perspectives from everyone—students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends—because the future we create together will be stronger for it.

Thank you for the very warm welcome. I am inspired by this department, energized by its potential, and honored to walk forward with you.

With warmest regards,
Georgia A. Malandraki, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-S, ASHA Fellow
Professor and Head

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How social stress can worsen colitis, and what it reveals about the biology of IBD

Jan. 23, 2026 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo


Study from AHS researchers links stress to gut inflammation via adrenergic oxidative pathways

Jacob Allen, left, with study co-author Elisa Caetano-Silva, said data suggest that stress makes the gut environment more fragile. (Photo by Ethan Simmons)

For decades, patients with inflammatory bowel disease have reported a familiar and frustrating pattern: periods of intense stress are often followed by worsening symptoms or full-blown disease flares. Clinicians have observed the same phenomenon, yet the biological explanation has remained elusive—leaving stress dismissed by some as subjective, anecdotal or “all in the head.”

A new study is helping to change that narrative. Researchers from the University of Illinois have identified a biological pathway by which social stress can worsen colitis, linking psychological experience to measurable damage in the gut itself. Their findings show that stress activates β-adrenergic signaling in the intestine, triggering oxidative stress that weakens the gut lining and intensifies inflammation.

“Clinicians have long noticed that highly stressful events—death in the family, major life events, chronic life stress—often precede worsening symptoms and flares in patients with inflammatory bowel disease,” said one of the study’s authors, Jacob Allen, an associate professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology in the College of Applied Health Sciences. “Our findings uncover potential physiological mechanisms for how stress can translate into changes in the gut that make IBD worse.”

Stress is known to activate the sympathetic nervous system—the body’s “fight-or-flight” response—leading to the release of catecholamines such as adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones prepare the heart, lungs and muscles for rapid action. What has been less clear is how they affect the gastrointestinal tract.

The researchers found that during social stress, these stress hormones rise not just in the bloodstream but locally within gut tissue itself. “What we found is that in response to social stress, these hormones are increased locally in the gut,” Allen said. “These stress signals can directly affect the gut lining … leading to increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), also known as free radicals.”

Reactive oxygen species are chemically reactive molecules that can damage cells if not tightly regulated. In this case, the study identified a specific ROS-producing pathway involving a protein called DUOX2. Excessive ROS weakened the intestinal epithelial barrier—the protective lining that keeps bacteria and toxins from leaking into underlying tissue—making the gut more inflamed and fragile.

“Overall, our data suggest that stress makes the gut environment more inflammatory and more fragile,” Allen said, adding that ROS signaling may be a “proximal trigger for why stress increases IBD flare risk.”

Importantly, the study suggests that stress does more than worsen existing inflammation. It may also prepare—or “prime”—the gut for future disease activity.

“Yes, stress clearly worsens ongoing inflammation,” said Elisa Caetano-Silva, a co-author of the study and a senior research scientist in Allen’s Integrative Microbiota & Physiology lab. “But interestingly, we also found evidence that stress-induced changes in the gut can precede active disease, priming the tissue to respond more strongly to later insults.”

Stress can ‘set the stage’ for a flare by making the gut more vulnerable, even before symptoms appear.

Elisa Caetano-Silva

Senior research scientist

This insight may help explain why patients sometimes experience flares weeks or months after stressful events, even if symptoms were initially absent. Stress, the researchers argue, can quietly reshape epithelial biology and redox signaling, increasing vulnerability long before inflammation becomes clinically obvious.

“In other words,” Caetano-Silva said, “stress can ‘set the stage’ for a flare by making the gut more vulnerable, even before symptoms appear.”

Rather than using physical stressors such as pain or restraint, the researchers focused on social stress—an experimental model that mimics psychological stressors relevant to human experience.

“We chose social stress because it strongly activates adrenergic signaling … which is very relevant to certain types of human psychological stress,” Allen said, including conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Stress is often framed primarily as a cortisol problem, linked to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, or HPA, axis. But in this study, blocking cortisol signaling did not prevent stress-induced worsening of colitis. Blocking β-adrenergic signaling, however, did.

“In this model and in this context, adrenergic signaling appears to be the dominant driver of stress-induced worsening of gut inflammation,” Allen said, while emphasizing that cortisol is not irrelevant in all settings.

One of the most striking findings was that inhibiting oxidative stress itself could blunt the harmful effects of stress. A compound called apocynin, which limits ROS production, significantly reduced stress-related disease severity in mice.

“We were especially excited by how well a ROS-targeting compound worked in limiting stress-induced worsening of IBD,” Allen said. “Whether this translates to humans is a critical next question … but it’s promising.”

The work also raises—but does not answer—questions about existing drugs. Because β-adrenergic signaling was central to disease worsening, could medications like β-blockers play a role in IBD care?

“Potentially … but we need to be careful,” Allen cautioned. “It’s too early to recommend β-blockers for IBD management” without controlled human studies examining safety, timing, and patient subgroups.

Allen and Caetano-Silva were equally clear about what patients should not take away. “I would caution patients not to interpret this as: ‘Just take a beta-blocker and your IBD will improve,’” Allen said. “IBD is complex, and it’s unlikely that one intervention will solve everything.”

Elisa Caetano-Silva is a senior research scientist in Jacob Allen’s Integrative Microbiota & Physiology lab. (Photo by Ethan Simmons)

The study also challenges how medicine talks about stress itself. Too often, stress is framed as a personal failing or a psychological weakness. This research pushes back against that framing.

“It supports the idea that stress isn’t ‘just in your head,’” Allen said. “It can create measurable biological changes that affect gut physiology and immune responses.”

By identifying specific pathways—adrenergic signaling, epithelial oxidative stress and barrier dysfunction—the work reframes stress as a biological factor that can be studied, measured, and potentially treated.

Looking ahead, the researchers envision a more integrated future for IBD care. “I don’t think IBD will ever be treated by one drug,” Allen said. “But the future is more holistic and personalized care—combining immune-targeting therapies, strategies to strengthen gut barrier function, microbiome-targeted interventions and approaches that reduce stress-driven inflammation.”

If that future arrives, patients’ long-standing intuition—that stress matters—may finally be matched by equally strong biological evidence.

Editor’s note:

To reach Jacob Allen, email jmallen5@illinois.edu. To reach Elisa Caetano-Silva, email elisacsa@illinois.edu. You can read the study online.
 

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Happy Birthday, Huff!

Dec. 19, 2025 | Anna Flanagan

AHS celebrates the 100th anniversary of Huff Hall

Huff Hall today, left, and the building in 1924. (Photo illustration by Michelle Hassell).

By Anna Flanagan

Many people still think of the home of the College of Applied Health Sciences as Huff Gym. The building opened in 1925 as the New Gymnasium, giving the University of Illinois men’s basketball team what was then state-of-the-art facilities for home games. Renamed for longtime athletic director and coach George Huff in 1936 after his death, Huff Gym later became Huff Hall to better reflect its significant role in the academic life of the university.

The four hallways on the first floor of the building surround the gym, which is still used for volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics events. But faculty associated with Huff have cemented its scholarly reputation as the site of pioneering research and groundbreaking advancements in health and leisure studies.

The Father of Physical Fitness

The early academics residing in Huff Gym were the faculty of the School of Physical Education. They included Seward Staley, who served as director and dean from 1936 to 1960. Staley was a strong advocate of building physical education programs around a sport-based curriculum and conducted extensive research on physical education and sport throughout his career. He guided the School of Physical Education to prominence as a leader in health-related research.

Staley’s own commitment to research-based practice influenced his faculty recruitment. In 1941, Thomas “T.K.” Cureton, known as the “father of physical fitness,” joined the School of Physical Education. He established the Physical Fitness Research Laboratory in Huff Hall, one of the first of its kind in the nation. He conducted cutting-edge research on what he called the six primary components of physical fitness—endurance, flexibility, agility, strength, power and balance—and revolutionized existing knowledge about weight and fitness, oxygen’s role in athletic performance and the role of exercise in cardiovascular health, among other things.

As Jack Berryman, then the official historian of the American College of Sports Medicine, observed in a 1996 article in Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, Cureton was the only fitness enthusiast of the 1950s (a group that included Charles Atlas and Jack LaLanne) “who produced the research to substantiate his beliefs regarding the positive influence of physical activity on health.” Cureton’s work helped to elevate the reputation of physical education and led to the establishment of research labs in departments across the country.

In addition to the hundreds of journal articles, books and research monographs published during his career, Cureton shared his beliefs widely through numerous lectures around the world, called Cureton Clinics, and frequent appearances in magazine and newspaper articles and on television programs focused on health and fitness. His son, Kirk Cureton, who himself had a long and distinguished career in kinesiology at the University of Georgia, said he wasn’t aware of his father’s reputation in the field of physical fitness science as a child. He participated in the Sports Fitness Experimental School that his father established in 1950 to improve the physical fitness of youth, still running today as the Sports Fitness Program, and recalls going to his father’s lab where Cureton and his graduate students assessed such things as cardiovascular health and muscle endurance.

Kirk Cureton’s knowledge of his father’s stature grew as he did, and he feels it played a positive role as he established his own career.

“My father was known, and it helped me with networking,” he said, adding that TK was “a good model.”

“What I learned from him was persistence and the value of hard work,” Cureton said. “He was devoted to his field. He loved what he did. He thought working at a university was the best thing you could do.”

Poised for the future

Many outstanding scholars walked the halls of Huff as the School of Physical Education evolved into the College of Applied Health Sciences. They established the first driver education teacher training program in the Midwest, created the first K-12 sex education curriculum that was adopted throughout the country, conducted a groundbreaking study on driving and alcohol consumption that resulted in the lowering of the DUI threshold from .15 to .10, conducted a comprehensive anti-smoking education study of youth that resulted in the first academic contribution to the annual Surgeon General’s Report on smoking and health, and put sport psychology on the map as a legitimate academic discipline, among many other contributions.

T.K. Cureton was ‘devoted to his field,’ his son Kirk said. (University of Illinois Archives)

“Our current faculty engages in research that, in a lot of ways, wouldn’t have been possible without Cureton and the other pioneers,” she said. “We still focus on issues related to physical fitness and health, cardiovascular health, for example, which was so important in Cureton’s work. But we have developed a more discipline-focused approach, looking at biomechanics, exercise physiology, brain health or exercise psychology, and so much more.”

Graber noted that while the department has expanded far beyond its early focus on training school health educators, teacher training is still an important part of its mission as evidenced by its Physical Education Teaching Licensure program. Huff Hall is still an important hub for the department, she said, serving as the home of its three professional degree programs—Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Health Administration (MHA) and Master of Science in Health Technology (MS-HT). Many health and kinesiology faculty have their offices and laboratories in Huff, where they are addressing current and emerging health challenges such as the role of technology in successful aging, gut health and chronic disease in underrepresented populations.

“Our research is cutting edge,” Graber said. “It’s innovative. It’s futuristic. We’re in a good position to tackle the problems of the next generation.”

Giants of recreation and leisure

Huff Hall also is the home of the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism, which had its beginnings in the Department of Physical Education for Women. That department, which included recreation in its curriculum, joined the Department of Physical Education for Men to form the School of Physical Education. The School began offering a bachelor of science degree in recreation in 1948, thanks to the efforts of Allen Sapora. The curriculum he developed became a model for programs around the country. Sapora believed strongly in the importance of applied research and was one of the first scholars to integrate research into recreation education and professional practice.

Charles Brightbill joined the Illinois faculty as a professor of recreation in 1951 and, working together with Sapora, built the program into one of the leading park and recreation education programs in the world. Brightbill had a well-established national reputation in the field of recreation by the time he joined the Illinois faculty, having served as the executive secretary of President Harry Truman’s Committee on Religion and Welfare in the Armed Forces, among other positions. In 1957, he became the inaugural head of the Department of Recreation, which was created when the School of Physical Education was reorganized and renamed the College of Physical Education. His advocacy of cooperation between citizens and professionals in the parks and recreation field played a significant role in the formation of the National Recreation and Park Association.

After Brightbill’s death, Sapora served as department head and created the Office of Recreation and Park Resources in partnership with University of Illinois Extension. He hired Joseph Bannon, who had completed his master’s degree in recreation at Illinois, to lead the new initiative. Like Sapora, Bannon firmly believed that practice in the parks and recreation field needed to be informed by scientific research, and that research needed to address real world issues. His own research focused on the development of recreation organizations. Laura Payne, professor of recreation, sport and tourism and Joseph J. Bannon Director of the Office of Recreation and Park Resources, said Bannon’s contributions are still relevant today.

Charles Brightbill, left, and Allen Sapora, right front, were pivotal to the establishment of what is now known as the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism. (University of Illinois Archives)

“He was the expert nationally and internationally in public parks and recreation organizational development, leadership, management and administration,” she said. “His work addressed policy and practice, and how organizations relate to one another.”

Bannon, who became head of what was then the Department of Leisure Studies in 1973, was instrumental in strengthening the interdisciplinary nature of the department’s research, hiring faculty with backgrounds in such fields as psychology and sociology. He was a co-founding editor of the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration and, along with Allen Sapora, a founding Fellow of The Academy of Leisure Sciences, or TALS. Fellowship in TALS is a prestigious honor, one that many RST faculty and PhD graduates have earned since the organization’s founding in 1980. Among them are John “Jack” Kelly and Lynn Barnett, also giants in the field of leisure studies.

Kelly, in fact, played an instrumental role in establishing the field of leisure studies. He believed that knowledge of leisure theory would help practitioners make informed decisions and design more relevant and effective programs. He wrote the first textbook in the field of leisure studies, appropriately entitled Leisure, and encouraged scholars to address the sociological and psychological aspects of leisure.

“Jack Kelly is a legend in our field,” Payne said. “He was ahead of the curve on many societal issues and trends in the 1970s and early ‘80s, anticipating and working on healthy aging, work and leisure, socialization and leisure and family leisure. He really catapulted us forward by making our research more relevant and increasing our visibility to people outside of parks, recreation, sports, tourism and leisure studies.”

Barnett studied the role of play and playfulness in the lives of children and adults for more than 40 years. As a doctoral student in educational psychology, she became convinced that children learned as much or more outside of the classroom as they did within it. Over the years, she found that playfulness is a fairly stable construct that is related to cognitive and socioemotional functioning. Her research showed that playfulness was linked to flexibility in thinking, enjoyment, positivity, and social skill, and that it was often used to cope with anxiety.

“Lynn brought education, human development and play together in a way that hadn’t been done before,” said Monika Stodolska, Brightbill/Sapora Professor and associate head of recreation, sport and tourism. “She inspired generations of scholars, students and practitioners to look at play as being integral to learning, and socioemotional, physical, and cognitive development.”

The commitment remains

Scholars in the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism continue to believe in practice-based research and research-based practice. RST faculty still examine leisure’s role in the healthy development of individuals, families and communities, focusing on such contemporary issues as the role of sport in human and community development, equity in access to parks and green spaces and how social, cultural, environmental and political factors affect tourists and host communities. As RST professor and department head Carla Santos put it, “We keep our ears to the ground, listening and observing and staying connected to what’s going on in recreation, sport and tourism in order to be responsive to needs and priorities. That has been true of this department throughout the nearly 70 years we’ve been in Huff Hall.”

The College of Applied Health Sciences has grown beyond the walls of Huff, now also occupying Freer Hall and the Speech and Hearing Science Building. But one hundred years after its opening, Huff Hall remains the nerve center of AHS, and that’s just fine by Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell, dean of AHS.

“With the addition of the Khan Annex and modernization of instructional spaces, Huff wears its age well and is a comfortable academic home,” she said. “It’s a campus landmark and I’m proud that it’s the heart of AHS. But in the end, what really makes a building special are the people who work within it, our students, faculty and staff. We are blessed in AHS to have exceptional students, creative and dedicated faculty and skilled and supportive staff. I’m proud of all of them.”

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Insights from the 2025 Chittenden Symposium

Oct. 15, 2025 | Ashley Sims

Human-Centered Solutions, Systems-Level Impact

On October 8, faculty, students, and researchers from the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering and Department of Health and Kinesiology gathered at the iHotel for the 2025 Chittenden Symposium: “Lifelong Health by Design – Human-Centered Innovations in Chronic Disease Prevention.” The event united experts across disciplines to explore how engineering precision and health science insight can combine to design systems that foster long-term, equitable health outcomes.

Read more at this link.

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Health study involves adults with Down syndrome ‘every step of the way’

Oct. 15, 2025 | Ethan Simmons

NIH-funded study will develop community resources to support well-being of adults with Down syndrome

Marie Moore Channell and Joey Kane at the National Down Syndrome Society Adult Summit. (Provided)

The transition to adulthood can be a challenging phase for people with Down syndrome, as resources built to support them in their youth and in school begin to dry up.

Marie Moore Channell, associate professor of Speech and Hearing Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is the lead investigator on a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health, which will collect the direct perspectives of young adults with Down syndrome and develop community resources to support their social, mental and physical well-being.

Unlike any previous study on the topic, this one has a steering committee of adults with Down syndrome who’ve helped develop the direction of the study “every step of the way.”

“We realized that the research as a whole is missing that perspective from individuals with Down syndrome themselves,” Channell said. “It’s really a humbling experience as a researcher to take a step back and not say, ‘these are the topics missing in the literature.’ This time, we said, ‘you tell us.’”

Channell and her co-investigators, University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Susan Loveall and Vanderbilt University’s Meghan Burke, have obtained a two-year, $446,096 grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for their study, titled “Developing and implementing community based participatory health research with young adults with Down syndrome.”

The research team will cast a wide net, conducting one-to-one Zoom interviews with adults with Down syndrome across the U.S. to better understand their health concerns, and how to best support them.

The study emerged from a separate survey the professors had sent out to caregivers of individuals with Down syndrome, which sought to identify the gaps in support that occur once they reached young adulthood. Adults with Down syndrome tend to live with a caregiver until age 50.

“Families tell us some version of the same thing, over and over: that the supports they were receiving when they were younger and in the schools, are taken away when they’re older,” Channell said.

They decided the topic warranted further investigation. But first, Channell and her team used their networks to form a steering committee with 12 young adults, all of whom have Down syndrome.

One of those steering committee members is Joey Kane, a 30-year-old from Seattle who met Channell at the National Down Syndrome Society Adult Summit a couple years ago. Channell described some of the participatory research she was interested in doing, and Joey was all ears.

“I like to help make a difference,” Kane said. “It’s giving my voice to be heard, and advocating not just for me, but for everyone else who has a disability.”

While the lead researchers have put the study in motion, the steering committee has met with them at least once a week over video calls, sometimes twice to accommodate members living in different time zones.

The health topics they’ve focused on, Channell said, have ranged from securing employment and community living, to improving physical health and self-advocacy skills.

All those priorities resonate with Kane. He lives in an apartment about a mile away from his parents’ house and has two jobs: he serves dinner at the cafeteria in a local nursing home and works the front desk at the Down Syndrome Center of Puget Sound, where he also helps teach in the center’s adult program.

Kane has enjoyed meeting the rest of the committee and learning about their perspectives on health topics. He credited Channell and the other study organizers for making sure everyone is represented.

“What’s really good about Marie and the people doing the study, is they can tell who hasn’t talked yet,” he said. “It makes me happy that everyone’s participating. If everyone participates, we’re going to have a good study.”

We realized that the research as a whole is missing that perspective from individuals with Down syndrome themselves.

Marie Moore Channell

Associate Professor, Speech and Hearing Science

Input from the steering committee has shaped the study in critical ways. For one, at the suggestion of the committee, the community resources will likely be geared for professionals who support individuals with Down syndrome, such as healthcare providers, case managers and job coaches.

The virtual interviews will be one-one-one video calls, rather than online surveys. Participants will be able to see questions ahead of time and bring pictures to illustrate their ideas.

“It is a technique we learned about in looking at the research, and that’s one the [steering committee] gravitated toward. It’s called ‘photovoice,’ and it’s been used in similar kinds of community participatory research methods,” Channell said.

The resources could take several forms, but what Channell knows for sure is she’ll be “working with this group every step of the way.” 

“I’ve never done this kind of work before, and it’s been a big learning curve, but really refreshing. Because it feels like we can make an impact a lot faster,” Channell said. “I still highly value the other kinds of research I’ve done, but this is something where it’s built into the project to implement into the community by the end.” 

The investigators will put together a “researcher’s toolkit,” compiling the successful practices and challenges of this participatory research. The team is currently hiring some of the steering committee members as co-researchers, who will be trained to help conduct the one-on-one interviews and take part in day-to-day research tasks.

“I’ve learned so much, and I see the value of connecting with the community, building a relationship and working with them before their research study is designed—not imposing your research questions on the community, we’re so used to doing that,” she said.

“It’s really challenging to change that, but I think it’s what we all should be doing more and more of as researchers.”

Editor’s note:

To reach Marie Channell, email channell@illinois.edu
Channell runs the Intellectual DisAbilities Communication Lab at Illinois. Visit their website.
 

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AHS Faculty Q&A: Mariana Mendes Bahia on swallowing disorders and her research agenda

Oct. 14, 2025 | Ethan Simmons

Speech and Hearing Science Assistant Professor Mariana Mendes Bahia, Ph.D. and CCC-SLP, is an expert on swallowing physiology, respiratory-swallowing coordination, and therapeutic strategies to alleviate swallowing disorders, called dysphagia. She joined the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in fall of 2024, and leads the Neuro + Swallowing Research Lab.

Mariana Mendes Bahia. (Photo by Ethan Simmons)
How was your first year at the Department of Speech and Hearing Science here at AHS?

Mariana: My first year was a period of growth and adaptation as I became familiar with the university and the Department of SHS. I have been fortunate to receive consistent support from colleagues and departmental staff, which greatly eased this transitional period and helped me navigate new academic and administrative environments.

This year was also dedicated to establishing my laboratory, the Neuro+Swallowing Research Lab, and laying the foundation for my future research program. Setting up the lab allowed me to plan my next steps, define research priorities, and begin shaping a trajectory that aligns with my long-term academic goals, while learning to adapt to the challenges and opportunities of a new institutional setting.

When did you first become interested in studying swallowing physiology and disorders, and why have you stuck with that topic in your research?

My initial interest in swallowing developed during my specialization in speech-language pathology in neurology, when I had the opportunity to conduct swallowing assessments and provide treatment for individuals with swallowing disorders, known as dysphagia, related to neurological diseases.

I was fascinated by the complexity of the swallowing process—something we do countless times a day without even thinking about it. What intrigued me most was how such an automatic act relies on the intricate coordination of more than 30 muscles (and many other structures), several nerves, and brain structures. The interaction among all the swallowing structures, along with the brain and breathing, felt like solving puzzles, and this challenge sparked my curiosity and passion for learning more about the mechanisms behind swallowing and how to best support patients with these difficulties.

As a clinically trained speech-language pathologist, I have observed the devastating impact of swallowing disorders on individuals and their families. This experience has motivated me to integrate my clinical expertise and research background in the investigation of swallowing physiology, particularly the interaction between brain-swallowing and breathing-swallowing, to advance rehabilitation approaches that enhance swallowing ability, improve patient care and enhance the quality of life for individuals with dysphagia and their families.

Bahia in her office at the Speech and Hearing Science building.
You’ve described dysphagia as an “invisible” disorder. For the folks you’ve worked with, how does dysphagia impact their quality of life?

Swallowing is a critical process for life. We need to eat and drink for adequate nutrition and hydration. However, we also eat and drink for pleasure and comfort. Eating is a highly social activity. Therefore, the impacts of swallowing disorders or dysphagia are not restricted to the physical health domain, such as inadequate food or liquid intake, resulting in malnutrition, dehydration, or unintended weight loss.

Individuals with dysphagia face psychological, emotional, and social impacts, including fear of eating, embarrassment, loss of enjoyment when they cannot eat or drink certain foods, and reduced social participation in cultural events or family gatherings where eating is central. The limited ability to share a meal may weaken family and community bonds.

Which therapeutic interventions can work for those living with dysphagia?

Therapeutic interventions for dysphagia aim to improve swallowing safety—preventing food or liquid from entering the airway—and efficiency: ensuring adequate passage of food from the mouth to the stomach. Importantly, interventions are tailored to individual needs and target specific impairments evident in each person. Interventions may include compensatory strategies, such as head adjustments and dietary modifications, to reduce the risk of airway invasion, as well as rehabilitative exercises to strengthen the swallowing muscles, improve the movement of swallowing structures, and enhance the coordination of the swallowing process. Additionally, rehabilitative exercises can be paired with other therapeutic modalities, such as neuromuscular electrical stimulation and brain stimulation.

Editor’s note:

To reach Mariana Mendes Bahia, email mmbahia@illinois.edu.
 

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WCIA: Otavio Leão explains the Illini Kindergarten Cohort

Oct. 10, 2025 | AHS Staff

New research invites Champaign-Urbana families to help track children’s physical activity

Assistant Professor Otavio Leão on WCIA 3 News.

Health and Kinesiology Assistant Professor Otavio Leão appeared on WCIA 3 News segment “Community Spotlight” to explain a new research project recruiting young participants this fall.

Illini Kindergarten Cohort is a study seeking to estimate the physical activity, sleep and screen-time of kindergarten-age children. Families in the Champaign-Urbana area can complete a 20- to 30-minute survey and enroll their kindergartner, who will wear a basic accelerometer for a week. All participants will be awarded a $40 Amazon gift card.

Leão explained the details to WCIA’s Taylor Mitchell on Thursday, Oct. 9.

Editor’s note:

To learn more about the Illini Kindergarten Cohort and participate, visit their website.
 

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Exercise is Medicine On Campus month kicks off at Illinois

Oct. 09, 2025 | AHS Staff

Join activities hosted by Health and Kinesiology faculty and students

Exercise is Medicine Month on Campus kicked off with an in-person yoga event at Freer Hall lawn. (Provided)

Exercise is Medicine on Campus (EIM-OC) is an annual initiative that calls upon colleges and universities to promote physical activity as a core component of health and wellness. More than 200 campuses in the United States have registered for the program.

This month, Health and Kinesiology faculty and students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign—led by this year’s EIM at Illinois committee chair Emerson Sebastião—have planned out several activities to bring campus together in movement. Representatives from the Illinois Counseling Center, Campus Recreation, McKinley Health Center, Carle Illinois College of Medicine and local health organizations joined this year’s committee.

All month, participants can join the online “Move More Challenge” by posting a video or photo of them exercising, and tagging @illinoishealthkin on Instagram.

Coming up:

Free Pilates

A free, introductory pilates class in front of Freer Hall, led by HK Teaching Assistant Professor Alana Harris. Bring your own mat!

When:
Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 12 p.m. at Freer Hall lawn

Check your vitals

Get your blood pressure and resting heart rate checked for free by HK students and faculty. Students will provide education on physical activity and exercise guidelines.

When:
Wednesday, Oct. 15 from noon to 1 p.m. at Illinois Street Residence Hall
Wednesday, Oct. 22 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Student Dining and Residential Programs building (SDRP)

Fall into Fitness 5K | Run, Walk and Roll

Join a 5K race that starts at Freer Hall and loops through campus. Check-in and registration begins at 7:30 a.m., and the race starts at 8:30 a.m.

When:
Sunday, Oct. 19 at 8:30 a.m. Check-in begins at 7:30 a.m.

Read Chancellor Isbell’s official proclamation for Exercise is Medicine Month on Campus:

Committee Members 2025-2026

  • Chair: Emerson Sebastião, Ph.D., Health and Kinesiology
  • Nicholas Burd, Ph.D., Health and Kinesiology
  • Alana Harris, Ph.D, Health and Kinesiology
  • Diana Morales (Graduate Student Representative)
  • Harrison Guo (Undergraduate Student Representative)
  • Maggie Verklan, the Counseling Center
  • Alexia Hammonds (Graduate Student Representative)
  • Brie Whitted, McKinley Health Center
  • Jared Willard, MD, Christie Clinic
  • Annie Tigranyan (Carle Illinois College of Medicine Student Representative)

Editor’s note:

To reach Emerson Sebastião, email esebast2@illinois.edu.
 

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A legacy of fitness: The influence of T.K. Cureton on Illinois’ health and wellness revolution

Oct. 01, 2025 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo

“It’s never too late to begin getting into shape but it does take daily, sometimes painful, perseverance. After all, you can’t expect in a week’s time to make over a body that took years to wreck.” – Thomas K. Cureton, Jr.

T.K. Cureton is known as the ‘father of physical fitness.’ (Photo courtesy of Illinois Archives)

In the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, there is a legacy of one man’s unwavering dedication to physical fitness. That man is Thomas K. Cureton, Jr., better known as T.K. Cureton, but probably best known as the “father of physical fitness.”

Long before exercise guru Jack LaLanne began hosting his syndicated TV fitness program in the 1950s, Cureton established the Physical Fitness Research Laboratory in 1944 at Illinois. Cureton’s research and commitment to physical education and fitness laid the foundation for the fitness movement that is so widely recognized today. From the athletic fields to university classrooms, the impact of his work extends far beyond the realm of physical education.

Born in Florida, Cureton had a diverse academic and professional journey before arriving at the University of Illinois. Growing up in the South, he initially attended Georgia Tech before transferring to Yale University to finish his undergraduate degree. From there, he found himself coaching swimming and directing research at Springfield College in Massachusetts. But it was his arrival in 1941 at the University of Illinois, after being recruited by Dean Seward Staley, that would shape the future of fitness research and practice.

At the time, physical education as an academic discipline was still in its infancy, and there were few established research foundations. Cureton’s appointment marked the beginning of the transition from physical education to a more comprehensive study of physical fitness. He worked to establish research programs, recognizing the importance of physical fitness for overall health long before it became a popular societal trend. This vision, paired with his extensive background in athletics, allowed him to bridge the gap between the two worlds—combining sports with research-driven methodologies to better understand how fitness impacts human health.

But what exactly sparked Cureton’s passion for fitness and wellness? His son Kirk recalled how his father’s interest in athletics and fitness developed early.

“He was a good athlete at Georgia Tech and Yale, participating in varsity athletics, especially swimming,” Kirk Cureton said. “The influence of people like Yale’s swimming coach, Bob Kiphuth, and other experts in biology and hygiene inspired him.”

Through his exposure to these environments, T.K. Cureton was drawn to physical education and ultimately pursued further education in the field, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physical education, and a Ph.D.degree in educational research, cementing his position as one of the foremost authorities in the field.

Some 20 years after his heroics in the 1936 Olympics, Jesse Owens was tested in T.K. Cureton’s lab.

In the early 1930s, as the concept of physical fitness was still gaining traction, T.K. Cureton was one of the first researchers to publish significant works on the subject. One such milestone came in 1935 when the Research Quarterly journal published a supplement titled “Physical Fitness,” which included a series of articles on the components of physical fitness, including those authored by Cureton himself. “He’s often credited as one of the primary contributors to defining the concept of physical fitness,” Kirk Cureton said. “That idea was radical at the time.”

Before figures such as LaLanne, who later became synonymous with the fitness craze of the 1950s and beyond, Cureton was already working tirelessly to raise awareness of fitness as an integral aspect of health. His contributions were not only academic but practical, as he worked on initiatives that showed how physical activity could improve long-term health outcomes, including cardiac rehabilitation—a field that was revolutionary at the time.

Cureton didn’t just focus on academia. He brought his expertise to the public through clinics and talks, often conducting sessions for professionals such as dentists. As Kirk Cureton recalled, “On weekends, he’d often be away doing clinics, and then come home and talk about it.” His commitment to fitness permeated his life to the point where even vacations became opportunities for exercise. “We’d go on family trips, and my dad would just decide to run behind the car while my mom drove,” Kirk said with a laugh. “Of course, as kids, we were embarrassed, but that’s just how he lived it.”

Growing up with a father deeply invested in physical fitness, Kirk Cureton was naturally exposed to these ideas from an early age, though he admits he didn’t fully appreciate them at the time. It’s clear, though, that his father’s dedication left a lasting impression. “He would talk about it all the time,” he said. “He would give us lectures and discussions about fitness, especially when he came home from conferences or testing. We got an earful.”

“We’d go on family trips, and my dad would just decide to run behind the car while my mom drove. Of course, as kids, we were embarrassed, but that’s just how he lived it.”

Kirk Cureton

Son of legendary Illinois researcher T.K. Cureton

It was in Huff Hall, the hub for the University of Illinois’ physical education and health sciences departments, where much of T.K. Cureton’s academic life took place. Though Huff Hall was nominally home to athletic facilities, it also housed classrooms, labs and faculty offices, reflecting the integral role that academia played in physical education. For Kirk Cureton, Huff Hall was a frequent stop. “Growing up, we’d often drive to Huff Hall to pick him up after classes,” he said. “It was a central part of (T.K.’s) work life.”

Even after his retirement, T.K. Cureton’s legacy lived on, particularly through his influence on graduate students. Many of these students, a who’s who of kinesiology, went on to distinguished careers of their own in the discipline, furthering the work of their mentor.

As Kirk said, “His teaching was crucial to graduate students, especially during the summers when he’d teach two classes every year. That was a lot of work, especially considering he was running a large research program at the time.” This hands-on mentorship continued for many years, ensuring that T.K. Cureton’s impact extended far beyond his time at the university.

Though Kirk Cureton was undoubtedly influenced by his father’s work, he did not initially plan to follow in his footsteps. He went on a different path, studying pre-med and spending time in medical school before returning to Illinois to pursue a master’s degree in the field his father helped pioneer. His eventual return to Illinois marked the beginning of his own academic career, one that would honor the legacy his father established.

Today, the impact of T.K. Cureton’s work is still felt, particularly within the College of Applied Health Sciences. His contributions to the understanding of physical fitness, exercise, health, and wellness laid the foundation for future generations of researchers, educators, and practitioners. His work, often ahead of its time, helped to redefine what fitness meant to society and has left an indelible mark on the world of physical education, now Kinesiology. As the University of Illinois celebrates the centennial of Huff Hall, the memory of T.K. Cureton’s vision continues to shape the future of health and fitness research.

Editor’s note:

To reach Vince Lara-Cinisomo, email vinlara@illinois.edu.
 

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College of Applied Health Sciences
110 Huff Hall
1206 South 4th Street
Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 333-2131