Category: Health and Kinesiology

Clinic helps wheelchair users adjust their ride

Oct. 22, 2022 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo

Helping a person who uses a wheelchair find a chair that fits their lifestyle is as important as helping someone find a pair of shoes that fit or helping someone find the right bike.

That’s the mission of the Illini Wheelchair and Scooter Clinic on the campus of the University of Illinois. The clinic is the creation of Laura Rice, an associate professor of Kinesiology and Community Health within the College of Applied Health Sciences.

The clinic began as a labor of love for Rice.

“Prior to the formal clinic, I was helping students on campus if they needed a new wheelchair, kind of just through DRES (Disability Resources & Educational Services) helping them out, but nothing was really formalized because I just didn’t have time,” said Rice, who is also interim director of the Master of Public Health (MPH) and Master of Health Administration (MHA) programs and associate director of the Center on Health, Aging, and Disability (CHAD).

[When I first moved to Illinois] “I had a 50 percent appointment at DRES, but it was helping out Jeanette Elliott, the physical therapist there,” Rice said. “Then I moved into a tenure track position and I needed to focus my time and effort on research. When I did get promoted, this was a nice opportunity where I had a bit more space to go back to that model. That’s why I started trying to formalize the clinic.”

The idea of a clinic came out of Rice’s previous work in Pittsburgh.

“I did work at a large seating clinic at the University of Pittsburgh. I felt that my interactions in the clinic with end users was really important to fuel my research. And then I also could help support the clients better because I had a strong research background,” she said.

The Illinois clinic has been open for approximately one year, operating out of Freer Hall on the Urbana-Champaign campus. The clinic helps clients select a piece of assistive technology, primarily a wheelchair or a scooter, to help them go about their day-to-day life, whether that’s going to class, going to work, or engaging with friends and family. 

“We really try to provide that support so that they can do the activities that they like and they need to do in everyday life,” Rice said.

The Wheelchair and Scooter Clinic is small, and students in the MHA program help Rice with clinic policies, working with clients and helping with billing.

“We’re not part of a large health care system,” Rice said. “The (client) can contact me, and then I work with them. It’s on campus, especially for students, they don’t have to try to figure out transportation to an off-campus location. The majority of people that I work with are people in need of new devices. I’ll talk to them, we’ll do an evaluation. I work with a wheelchair vendor. An example is like, you go to a doctor, he prescribes you a medication, but he doesn’t actually give you the pills. You go to CVS to get the pills. That vendor is the one who provides the actual device in consultation with me, making those recommendations and the person’s physician, ultimately.”

After the chair arrives, Rice and her assistants help make sure it fits the client and makes sure they have proper training.

For Rice, the clinic is the culmination of marrying her research to her work as a physical therapist.

“I really wanted to be able to step back and kind of really look at like, ‘Why am I doing these things? And how can we improve?’ Because, especially for individuals with disabilities, there’s really a lack of research on different ways to support quality of life and community participation. So that is why I got into research was to have that opportunity to better understand the needs of clients I would like to serve and be able to implement those ideas.”

To contact the Wheelchair and Scooter Clinic, email wheelchair-clinic@mx.uillinois.edu.

Editor’s note:

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

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Message from the Dean

Oct. 23, 2023 | Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell

Hello, everyone.

I hope this message finds you all in good health and high spirits as we embark on a new academic year at the College of Applied Health Sciences. As the dean of our esteemed college, I am thrilled to welcome you to the fall 2023 semester and share some updates.

This edition of the newsletter is a testament to our relentless commitment to excellence, innovation and community engagement. In the past year, our college has made remarkable strides in research, education and outreach. In this newsletter, we celebrate these accomplishments and highlight the incredible individuals who have made them possible.

Our faculty members continue to shine as leaders in their respective fields, producing groundbreaking research that contributes to the advancement of health sciences. Our students, the heart of our community, have continued to excel academically and demonstrate their passion for making a positive impact in the world of healthcare. Moreover, our alumni network continues to grow and thrive, with our graduates making waves in various sectors of the healthcare industry.

I encourage all of you to actively engage with the newsletter by reading and sharing. This publication is a reflection of our shared journey, and your input is invaluable in making it a meaningful resource for our community.

Thank you for your dedication to the College of Applied Health Sciences. Together, we will continue to empower excellence and drive positive change in the field of health sciences.

Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell,

Dean, College of Applied Health Sciences

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Boppart calls investiture a career highlight

Oct. 11, 2024 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo

Marni Boppart, second from right, poses with husband Stephen, left, her daughters, and Chancellor Robert Jones, center. (Photo by Darrell Hoemann)

Marni Boppart’s trajectory to named professorship at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign began as a kid playing in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.

Boppart, a professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology in the College of Applied Health Sciences, was named the Saul J. Morse and Anne B. Morgan Professor at an investiture ceremony on Sept. 6.

But long before her illustrious career studying cellular biomechanics and muscle began, Boppart’s interests were taking roots in the woods.

“I would describe myself as a very active kid growing up,” she said at the investiture. “All our recreational time was spent outdoors playing baseball, basketball, kickball, riding my bike and jumping over ramps and doing crazy things that my mom still doesn’t know about. I grew up in in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, and the woods were our playground. I mention this because it really influenced my decision to pursue my first degree in biology at the University of New Hampshire. This provided the opportunity to continue to explore the great outdoors, hiking, rock climbing, skiing, and even trying my hand at hang gliding—without hurting myself.”

As a biology major, Boppart was required to take a course in immunology and was assigned to write a paper on the effects of exercise on immune function. 

“I thought, ‘Well, this was a really odd topic. What would exercise have anything to do with immune cells in the body? If you recall, the 80’s were defined by the fitness craze,” she said. “I think I still have my ThighMaster and Jane Fonda tapes sitting in a closet somewhere. The idea that exercise could be beneficial for health and prevent disease was still relatively new. What started as a simple class assignment grew into a life-long obsession with wanting to understand how exercise or the process of muscle contraction could benefit not only muscle, but all organ systems and whole body health.”

Boppart spent time in the Air Force as an aerospace physiologist, then decided to pursue a Ph.D. in Applied Anatomy and Physiology at Boston University. Working with two “powerhouse investigators” in the field of exercise science—Roger Fielding at BU and Laurie Goodyear at Harvard Medical School—the trio was able to document some of the first observations of molecular changes occurring in human muscle as a result of exercise.

“Like most researchers, I had more questions than answers at the end of my doctoral program: How does exercise, or the process of contraction stimulate molecular changes in muscle, what do these changes really mean for structure and function, and going back to my original interest, what is released by muscle into the circulation that might influence whole body health?,” she said.

For Boppart, those question led to what is now a 30-year career studying muscle.

Using transgenic mice, Boppart and her lab partners were able to determine that the integrin complex not only controlled molecular signaling in muscle, but also contributed to skeletal muscle remodeling and growth in response to exercise.

“But then everything changed in 2013,” she said.

That year, Boppart said, she and her lab mates were the first to report that exercise can result in the accumulation of perivascular stem cells in muscle.

“We found that these cells secrete beneficial factors that not only influence muscle remodeling and growth, but structures outside of muscle as well, including vessels and the brain. And so we started to wonder … could these stem cells be used to treat a disease or condition?”

Boppart’s interest in healthy aging led to a study of whether stem cells could be used to address age-related disabilities, particularly slowing the progression of muscle loss. While she found that stem cells were not effective in slowing the progression of muscle loss or regrowing muscle after disuse, she did find if she isolated nanoparticles (or extracellular vesicles or exosomes) from the stem cells first and then injected them into the aged mice, they could successfully recover muscle growth, which is the first step in preventing disability. That discovery led to new sources of funding, including funding from NASA and private foundations such as the Allen Institute.

Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell, dean of the College of Applied Health Sciences, praised Boppart and her work.

“Being named to an endowed position is a singular honor for faculty members,” Hanley-Maxwell said. “Those who hold named professorships are at the top of their fields, and that is certainly true of our honoree today. When I think of Marni, I think of unwavering integrity, deep intellectual curiosity, unconditional dedication to her students, and absolute passion for her work. And humility.”

The named professorship is endowed by Saul Morse and Anne Morgan. Morse earned two degrees at the University of Illinois, including a law degree and is an alumnus of AHS’s Disability Resources and Educational Services. He retired in 2023 after a 50-year career in law. Morgan is a clinical psychologist who retired after more than 30 years of practice in health psychology.

“I would like to thank our donors, Saul and Anne, for their generous contributions to the University of Illinois and the College of Applied Health Sciences,” Boppart said. “I am deeply honored and humbled by this recognition. And I am humbled because, as I look around the room, I see many experts in the fields of health, aging, and disability. To know that several of you nominated me for this award is a bit overwhelming. Thank you for this opportunity. I will remember tonight always.”

Boppart thanked her mentors, HK Department Head Kim Graber and Professor Jeff Woods, as well as her collaborators and colleagues.

Turning toward her future plans, Boppart is energized about what’s next.

“We would like to use our funding and this professorship to translate our EV therapy to humans. I’m confident we can do this,” she said. “Not only because clinical trials with stem cell-derived EVs are already occurring in the U.S. in places like the Mayo Clinic, but also because I have an amazing interdisciplinary research team to help make it possible.”

Editor’s note:

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

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KCH changes name to HK

Aug. 16, 2024 |

Beginning August 16, 2024, the name of the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health (KCH) will officially change to the Department of Health and Kinesiology (HK).

The new name better reflects significant changes in our disciplines, research interests and educational mission. Health and Kinesiology allows for a broader, more inclusive representation of a department that focuses on multiple aspects of health and physical activity in a diverse society. It also honors our legacy as leaders in the field of health and kinesiology, while pointing the way forward to a future that is both dynamic and innovative. 

We are excited about the new name and hope you are as well!

For more information, read our news release on the name change, and check out the News-Gazette‘s story on the decision.

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The Martens pledge support to KCH grad students

May 20, 2024 | Ethan Simmons

Giving back to the institution that helped launch their careers makes all the sense to Julie and Rainer Martens

Julie and Rainer Martens pose at a recent reception at the College of Applied Health Sciences. (Photo by Jerry Thompson)

University of Illinois alums Rainer and Julie Martens are retired, but they can hardly stay still. 

From their current home base of Ormond Beach, Florida, the pair have stayed busy building out Pictona, a $16 million pickleball facility in Holly Hill with more than 1,400 members that hosts major U.S. tournaments. 

In their free time, the couple travels to remote locations across the globe together and documents their expeditions. In a recent visit to the Galapagos Islands, Rainer’s photography and Julie’s videography paired nicely. 

“We make a pretty good team,” said Rainer, 81, who taught sports psychology in the Illinois Department of Physical Education for 16 years.  

Through all their travels, the Martens say the University of Illinois has continued to hold a special place in their hearts. Giving back to the institution that helped launch their careers—now the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the College of Applied Health Sciences—made all the sense in the world. 

Together, they’ve created the Rainer and Julie Martens Physical Activity Endowment Fund, a $2 million joint gift that will fund $80,000 in annual scholarships for KCH graduate students in perpetuity. The gift will convey to the department upon the Martens’ passing. 

“Both of us were fortunate that when we finished our degree, we were not burdened by having to pay back loans,” said Julie, 74. “It makes life much easier. Then you can concentrate on what it is that your goal was and not have to worry about paying back a lot of money.” 

The Martens’ message to future recipients: “simply, is ‘do good,’” Rainer said. They want new students to be able to afford the same scholarly path they once took. 

“The difference this will make for some students is profound,” AHS Dean Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell said. “Both Rainer and Julie will live on in the students who are funded through their gift, they will continue to affect the health and wellness of communities and individuals in ways that are yet to be told.” 

Illinois laid a foundation for much of their early career success. Julie arrived at Illinois after completing her master’s at the University of Washington and obtained her doctorate in sports psychology in 1977, with Rainer as her advisor. Rainer obtained his Ph.D. from the U. of I. in 1968 and began his tenure as a research professor in sports psychology. 

Their lives both changed after Rainer founded the publishing company Human Kinetics in 1974 with his first wife, Marilyn, who passed away in 1991. Julie was the first employee of the publisher of books and journals in the physical activity field; Human Kinetics had swelled into a 300-person staff by the time she retired as its executive vice president in 2009.    

“I was fortunate to make lots of connections around the world in our field and the related exercise sciences and kinesiology fields,” Rainer said. “It was those connections that really let us start Human Kinetics, and it’s been the success of Human Kinetics that has given us the wherewithal to make contributions to our universities.”

Their fondest memories in Champaign-Urbana start with the group of students they worked with. The strong cohort of kinesiology scholars was highly motivating for Rainer as a professor, and Julie as a doctoral student. They both made “lifelong friends” and collaborators working long days in the Applied Life Studies Library. 

After each of them completed a day’s work, they’d make an afternoon visit to the Intramural Physical Education Building (IMPE)—the U. of I.’s previous campus recreation facility—where Rainer played handball and Julie played racquetball. 

“It was a great way to end the day, I think, for the both of us,” Julie said. 

A decision to give

No strangers to philanthropy, the Martens have used substantial sums to give back to the Champaign-Urbana community. It was their lead gift that helped build the $12 million Martens Center, a recreation community facility run by the Champaign Park District. 

The difference this will make for some students is profound.

Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell

Dean, College of Applied Health Sciences

By last fall, the couple had made clear that they were set on helping the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health in some way. The College of AHS staff and advancement team made it “pleasant to do so,” Rainer said, including Jean Driscoll, who they called a “terrific representative” of the college and university. 

“They made it very clear that they were totally open to whatever, however we wanted to structure the gift and didn’t ever try to direct us in a particular direction,” Julie said.  The Martens are both lifelong athletes, and Julie—a former tennis player—caught the pickleball bug around 2011. Driscoll and Dean Hanley-Maxwell recently visited them in Florida and got a free pickleball lesson from the couple on one of their own Pictona courts. “They’ve got potential”, Rainer said. 

Julie and Rainer visited campus earlier this month in a reception celebrating their estate gift, where they got to speak with faculty and graduate students whose shoes they were in decades ago. 

“It has been a true pleasure to communicate with Rainer and Julie through the course of this agreement,” said KCH Department Head Kim Graber. “They are kind, intelligent, and captivating individuals, and they have left an indelible footprint on the history of our department.”

In the meantime, the couple is heading to Svalbard, an archipelago of Norway that’s one of the northernmost inhabited areas in the world. They plan to photograph polar bears and other wildlife there in the summer before making another trip to South Africa in September. 

And they recently announced their plan to hand the reins of the Pictona pickleball facility to new leadership by the end of the year. 

“One of the things that we’re really proud of here is having had a career in physical activity and made it part of our personal life as well is that here we get to witness, every day, people enjoying physical activity in the form of pickleball,” Rainer said. 

“We’re looking at the future and trying to find the right personnel to replace us as we look at doing more travel, more photography, and actually getting to play pickleball more.”  
 

Editor’s note:

To reach Ethan Simmons, email ecsimmon@illinois.edu.
 

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HK faculty, students honored

Graber is new president of AKA

HK Department Head and Professor Kim Graber took over in January as president of the American Kinesiology Association. Graber replaces Auburn Professor Jared Russell, while Utah Professor Tim Brusseau takes over as president-elect.

Hallal receives APHA honor

Pedro Hallal

Pedro Hallal, the Alvin and Ruth Sandall professor of kinesiology and director of the Master of Public Health program in the College of Applied Health Sciences, received the 2023 David P. Rall Award for Advocacy in Public Health for his COVID-19 research and public health messaging in the face of political opposition. Hallal developed the EPICOVID-19 project, which tracked the spread of COVID-19 across Brazil and uncovered racial health disparities that were regularly dismissed by then-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Hallal shared Brazil’s COVID-19 health data with the world despite threats to his livelihood and well-being from the Brazilian government.

Kevin Richards wins AERA award

HK Associate Professor Kevin Richards was selected as the recipient of the 2024 Catherine D. Ennis Scholar Award for the AERA SIG 93. This award is designed to recognize an outstanding scholar in the field of learning and instruction in physical education.

VanHoutan chosen for SHAPE honor

Kinesiology major Emma VanHoutan was selected to receive the SHAPE America Major of the Year award. The award is given annually to one outstanding undergraduate student in the field of health, physical education, recreation and/or dance. VanHoutan plans to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in 2024.

Strittmatter selected for AIESEP award

HK doctoral candidate Gabrielle Strittmater was selected as one of 21 doctoral students from around the world, and one of only three from the United States, to attend an international doctoral “summer school.” The summer school will provide time to interact with other doctoral students and faculty members while delving into topics of interest for aspiring researchers. The event will take place during the AIESEP conference this summer in Finland.

Health Technology program undergoes leadership change from Rogers to Mejia

Sept. 10, 2024 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo

Wendy Rogers said she always planned to get the Health Tech program established and build a strong foundation before passing it on

Wendy Rogers, center, says Shannon Mejia, left, is ready to lead the Health Tech program (Photo provided)

Health and Kinesiology Professor Wendy Rogers, the founding director of the Health Technology Education Program in 2017, stepped aside in the summer of 2024 and Shannon Mejía, an associate professor in HK, was named her successor.

Rogers had already had an illustrious academic career, primarily at Georgia Tech, before coming to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2017. Together with her husband, Dan Fisk—also a Ph.D. in the field of experimental psychology, Rogers created the Human Factors & Aging Laboratory in 2003 at Georgia Tech. After Fisk retired in 2013, Rogers relocated the lab to Illinois—where Fisk got his doctorate—four years later.

Rogers’ arrival at Illinois coincided with an Investment for Growth proposal led by the College of Applied Health Sciences and The Grainger College of Engineering aimed at developing the Health Technology Education Program. Health and Kinesiology Professor Jeff Woods, who spearheaded the IFG with Kesh Kesavadas, a professor of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, knew who he wanted to lead the Health Tech program.

“Jeff asked me if I would be willing to lead the educational component and I agreed,” said Rogers, who is the Shahid & Ann Carlson Khan Professor of Applied Health Sciences. 

“We hired Nicole Holtzclaw-Stone in January 2018 and the four of us (Jeff, Kesh, Nicole, and I) spent a lot of time together developing the Health Technology Education Program,” Rogers said.  “We shepherded our Master of Science in Health Technology through department and college educational policy committees, the Graduate College, the Faculty Senate, the Board of Trustees, and finally the Illinois Board of Higher Education. In December 2019, Nicole and I drove to Chicago for the Illinois Board of Higher Education meeting in case there were any questions but there were none and we were officially approved. We welcomed our first cohort in August of 2020,” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rogers said she always planned to get the Health Tech program established and build a strong foundation before passing it on.

“The time was right to transition to a new director, but we want to continue to build on the trajectory we are on,” she said. “The mission is to advance health technology education for learners at all levels through our interdisciplinary undergraduate certificate and minor (joint with Industrial & Enterprise Systems Engineering), our Master of Science in Health Technology (in collaboration with Grainger College of Engineering), and our Health Technology Professional Education Program.”

Mejía praised her predecessor’s vision. 

“She led the development and implementation of an innovative education program that provides cross training in user needs, human factors and user experience methodologies, and engineering principles to develop leaders who can speak the language of both health care and engineering,” Mejía said of Rogers. “To address the critical challenges facing health care today, it is essential to understand user needs and technological capabilities in order to assure that technological solutions truly support the well-being of individuals, families, organizations, and communities. We train students to fulfill this essential role. This program is one of a kind in the nation. And it is my privilege to take the program to its next level.”

Rogers said the move was eased by knowing Mejía was ready to step in.

“Dr. Mejía has been an active member of the Health Technology Education Program since its inception,” Rogers said. “She is the right person at the right time to take the program to the next level. She has a lot of energy and creative ideas. Together, with Dr. Katelyn Talbott as the assistant director, I know the program will continue to be successful and to grow.”

For her part, Talbott said Mejía “has great ideas for growth and increased recognition in the field.”

“As with any change in leadership, new leaders are able to bring their perspectives to the challenges and goals in front of them,” Talbott said. “Shannon will be no different. I look forward to working with Shannon as we work to grow all aspects of the Health Technology program.”

Rogers will continue in her roles as director of the McKechnie Family LIFE Home, program director of CHART: Collaborations in Health, Aging, Research, and Technology and director of Human Factors & Aging Laboratory.  “I have plenty to keep me busy and I look forward to having more time to devote to these activities,” she said.

As a recognition of their continued support of the MS-HT program, Rogers and Fisk have endowed the Wendy A. Rogers Health Technology Travel Award. The award will provide master’s students with the opportunity to travel to conferences to share their own work, to learn from other researchers, and to participate in networking opportunities. Additional donations to the fund are welcome and will help to provide travel support for more students.

Donation instructions for mail or online gifts are on uif.uillinois.edu/how-to-give. For online donations, in the dropdown menu under Gift Designation, click on the “Other” box and enter Fund #777754 or “Wendy A. Rogers Health Technology Travel Award” or write this information on the memo line of your check.

“In August of 2024 we welcome our fifth cohort into the program,” Rogers said of the Health Tech program. “Alumni from our program are already out in the working world making a difference in health technology to improve quality of life for all of us.”

Editor’s note:

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

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SPICE-Healthcare: Dietary assessments for culturally diverse older adults

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March 07, 2024 | Ethan Simmons

SPICE-Healthcare is meant to assist the growing population of older adults from culturally diverse backgrounds who are enrolling in long-term care services

A cross-campus team of researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, led by Kinesiology and Community Health Assistant Professor Mina Raj, has received two grants to test an online platform designed to help dietitians, clinicians and food service personnel make dietary assessments and care plans that are tailored to patients’ medical and cultural needs. 

The web-based platform to Support Personalized and Inclusive Cuisines in Environments for Healthcare (SPICE-Healthcare), is in line to receive nearly $120,000 in grant support to test its usability with community partner ClarkLindsey Village and other healthcare organizations. 

“We will conduct usability testing locally but also with clinicians from other parts of the country,” Raj said. 

Raj focuses her research at the College of Applied Health Sciences on healthcare administration and disparities, particularly on supporting the needs of diverse older adults and family caregivers. Her preliminary studies inform the purpose of SPICE-Healthcare. 

Collaborators include KCH Associate Professor Naiman Khan, an expert in nutrition and health behaviors and outcomes; Margarita Teran-Garcia, assistant dean and program leader of Integrated Health Disparities at Illinois Extension; Ian Brooks, director of Center of Health Informatics; and Lisa Gatzke, who leads the User Interface and User Experience Team at The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). 

“This team has been in conversations for over a year contributing their expertise in nutrition, community outreach, informatics, and design to come up with the platform that aims to improve health service delivery for culturally diverse older adults,” Raj said. “Working together across disciplines has been pivotal to bringing this idea to reality.”
 
To develop and test this electronic-dietary assessment tool (eDA), the team received a $50,000 seed grant from the Personalized Nutrition Initiative, a University of Illinois project led by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, partnered with Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology and College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois.

The Personalized Nutrition Initiative recruits an interdisciplinary group of researchers to investigate ways to optimize human health by making nutrition recommendations based on the individual’s genetics, microbiome and metabolome, along with their dietary history and phenotype. 

Another $68,210 is heading to the project from Illinois Chancellor Robert Jones’ Call to Action Research Program, an annual $2 million commitment that funds research targeting racial inequities and injustices.  

SPICE-Healthcare is meant to assist the growing population of older adults from culturally diverse backgrounds who are enrolling in long-term care services. Many long-term care facilities and hospitals lack inclusive cuisine for different cultural, ethnic and religious identities. 

When food isn’t personalized to these needs and preferences, these older adults face risks of undernourishment, unintentional weight loss, or overburdened family caregivers, investigators say. 

Interviews with institutional leaders at ClarkLindsey and other community organizations suggested that a “point of care” resource to improve culturally tailored nutrition assessments was sorely needed. 

The first phase of the platform, a click-through prototype electronic-dietary assessment, is almost ready for testing, Raj said. 

“We will then continue working with our collaborators at NCSA to refine the tool to be culturally tailored,” she said.

Editor’s note:

To reach Ethan Simmons, email ecsimmon@illinois.edu.
 

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KCH becomes Health and Kinesiology

May 20, 2024 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s College of Applied Health Sciences is proud to announce a significant milestone in its ongoing commitment to advancing health sciences education and research. Effective Aug. 16, the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health will officially change its name to the Department of Health and Kinesiology.

The new name better reflects significant changes in our disciplines, research interests, and educational mission. Health and Kinesiology allows for a broader, more inclusive representation of a department that focuses on multiple aspects of health and physical activity in a diverse society. It also honors our legacy as leaders in the field of health and kinesiology, while pointing the way forward to a future that is both dynamic and innovative. 

The name change was a decision that was made based on goals highlighted in the KCH Strategic Plan and upon the recommendation of the KCH Restructuring Task Force. It was supported by multiple stakeholders and was recently approved by the College of Applied Health Sciences, UIUC Senate, and Board of Trustees.

Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell, dean of the College of Applied Health Sciences, expressed enthusiasm about the department’s name change, saying, “The renaming of our department to Health and Kinesiology aligns with our strategic vision of fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and addressing the multifaceted aspects of health and wellness. This change reflects our commitment to providing innovative education, conducting impactful research, and serving our communities.”

HK Department Head Kim Graber said, “As the department evolves to better reflect the dynamic landscape of health and movement sciences, we believe the change to Health and Kinesiology not only embraces our commitment to comprehensive wellness but also underscores our dedication to advancing research, education and outreach in these vital areas.”

The Department of Health and Kinesiology offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs aimed at preparing students for careers in health promotion, exercise science, public health, rehabilitation, and related fields. With world-class faculty and state-of-the-art facilities, the department equips students with the knowledge, skills, and practical experience needed to excel in diverse healthcare settings.

Editor’s note:

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

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Canton grows program within public health

June 03, 2024 | Darina Lubenov

Black women mention social support as an important consideration for them to be physically active

With roots in Pennsylvania, an upbringing in Connecticut and newly planted ideas in Champaign, freshly minted Ph.D. recipient Imani Canton sees community gardening as a way to improve health equity.

Canton graduated with her doctorate in kinesiology in May, which involved successfully defending her dissertation, entitled “Tending to Our Roots to Increase Our Wellness (TRIOWell): A Community Gardening Intervention.” Canton’s dissertation revolves around a program designed to expand physical and mental health among Black women through community gardening programs, alongside researching health disparities among middle-aged Black women and how to combat them.

“Community gardening addresses multiple dimensions of health,” Canton said. “It is a type of physical activity, which we know can improve physical and mental health, and by working in a community garden, it provides opportunities to improve social health.”

Canton’s story begins at Spelman College, an all-women’s historically Black university in Georgia. But while applying to and completing her undergraduate degree, the college removed all NCAA sports due to the lack of student participation, due to disproportionate health disparities among Black women.

Instead of continuing NCAA sports, the college instead invested in a campus-wide health initiative, “Wellness Revolution,” that included a new gymnasium, as well as policy changes to the physical education curriculum. This eventually kickstarted Canton’s interest in investigating health trends among Black women. 

“That actually had been my first-time hearing that, and then it just kind of clicked to me when people say that racism is pervasive that it is in all types of systems,” Canton said. “Now I see how it’s within a health system, too. Fast forward to University of Illinois. I knew that I wanted to design physical activity programs specifically for African-American women.”

Canton began her stint at Illinois by enrolling in a B.S./Ph.D. in Kinesiology program in the College of Applied Health Sciences. Working with an advisor, Canton narrowed her research concentration to wellness in Black communities.

Her journey to a Ph.D. was not an easy one, though. Canton worked with multiple advisors, looking for the best fit within AHS. 

During her research, Canton found out that Black women prefer walking as their preferred method of exercise. The reasoning—access to equipment—or lack of it—in Black communities. 

“[The] lack of gym access due to racism and historical redlining leaving Black communities disproportionately in areas with less access to a built environment, which includes gyms and also green spaces, like gardens,” Canton said.

Gardening is a lower intensity physical activity compared to traditional forms of exercises such as running and weightlifting, and thus it may encourage those who have health concerns as a barrier to engage in physical activity to want to be physically active, she said.

And, according to Canton, research shows that Black women mention social support as an important consideration for them to be physically active and this is likely due to collectivism being a salient component of Black American culture. 

So, Canton combined the two activities—gardening and social support within the community—which is where the concept of community gardening programs came to life.

“Those who have higher levels of social support, typically, are more likely to participate in physical activity,” Canton said. “And you know, it makes sense because if you see your friend working out or doing some kind of physical activity, or if you have someone to do it with, you might be more encouraged to do it yourself.”

As far as the garden, Canton’s choice was the Randolph Street Community Garden, which is planted, cultivated and loved within the Champaign community. The Randolph Street Community Garden was started by another Illinois Ph.D. student as a small, urban planning project, which evolved into a full-scale garden that now has around 65 beds. 

During her Ph.D. program, Canton applied for a community grant, Building Beyond the Barriers, alongside Dawn Blackman, the Randolph Street Community Garden stewardess, to bridge the gap between academic and community, and continue the programs at the garden. With that funding, the garden can continue to bloom.

After tending to her planted ideas for six years, Canton is ready to let them flourish and grow within Champaign, and now, she is ready to return home to Connecticut, where she will attend the Yale School of Public Health, pursuing an advanced professional Master of Public Health in Applied Biostatistics and Epidemiology. When she completes that program, she will begin her fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland.

Canton made many discoveries about her research and herself during her doctoral studies. But one of the first ones had perhaps the biggest impact on her. She found out that in the late 1800s, Anita J. Turner was the first Black woman physical education instructor and later considered one of the pioneers of that field. That helped Canton find her path.

“You see black women doing this, then you think that OK, ‘I can do this myself, too,’ and just kind of build pride around that,” Canton said. “I wanted us to connect to our roots, roots in the garden and then our cultural roots.”

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