91成人导航 exercises clout with undergraduate research projects

Photo of students at American College of Sports Medicine conference

91成人导航 students with Dr. Courtney Jensen at the 2018 American College of Sports Medicine conference in Minneapolis

For the past four years, the at 91成人导航 has had the highest number of undergraduate student research projects in the world accepted at the prestigious American College of Sports Medicine national conference.

The organization is a global leader with most research presented by doctoral students and professors. It also publishes five highly ranked, peer-reviewed journals.

Presenting at a major national conference and getting published as an undergraduate gives 91成人导航 students an advantage. It also helps them gain entry into highly-rated graduate programs.

鈥淲hat I hope it shows is that 91成人导航 is the place where students get to do real research. It is a great example of personalized learning where professors put students first,鈥 said Courtney Jensen, assistant professor of health and exercise. 鈥淩ight now, we have three people at Duke, one in the physician assistant program and two in physical therapy鈥攖op programs.鈥澨

The extensive research opportunity is one of the reasons Nathaniel Holmgren 鈥20, 鈥22 stayed at 91成人导航 to earn his master鈥檚 degree.

He had nine publications as an undergraduate.

鈥淚 think it's paramount to any students if they have the opportunity to explore something outside of what they thought was their path. That鈥檚 the goal of college in my opinion, to present people with different opportunities while also educating them,鈥 said Holmgren.

鈥淏eing published is what is getting our students a bigger step into the door in the health field,鈥 adds Cameron Williams, 鈥20, 鈥22. 鈥淲hen they look at our resumes, they're saying, 鈥極h, wow. They've done some real-world work already.鈥欌 听

Williams made a notable finding as an undergraduate while evaluating the women鈥檚 water polo team using a biomechanics machine called Proteus.听

91成人导航 was the first university in the world to obtain the machine, which is now used by most major league baseball teams, many hospitals and universities.听

鈥(My research) showed us that it doesn't matter how hard you can throw the ball. It doesn't matter how explosive you are with your release. What matters was how consistent you were with your throwing patterns,鈥 said Williams, who also played on the women鈥檚 water polo team.

鈥淢y assistant coach was getting his master's in sport management and was trying to prove that to score more goals, your shot needs to be harder. It actually disproved that theory.鈥

Expanding undergraduate research was a focus for Jensen when he began teaching at 91成人导航 in 2016.

The first year he took students to the national conference in Denver in 2017 they had 8 research projects accepted. The number grew exponentially the following year when they took 32 research projects.

He now aims for 20 projects annually. A few are conducted by master鈥檚 students, but the majority are undergraduate students.

鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely advantageous for students to apply to graduate school and probably be the only applicant with a publication,鈥 Jensen said.

The projects cover a wide range of topics based on students鈥 interests. Some students have traveled as far as Uganda to conduct research on epidemiology.

A student with a passion for baseball, J.P. Wong, did research on Tommy John surgery, which is a procedure used to repair a ligament inside the elbow. He compiled an extensive database on statistics to examine the impact it had on a pitcher鈥檚 career.听

Wong鈥檚 work was selected to be part of a theme presentation at the American College of Sports Medicine conference with others who had similar areas of research. He was the only student in the group.

鈥淎s an undergraduate student it was him, someone from the Major League Baseball commissioner's office, and then every other project was led by and presented by medical doctors who did (Tommy John) surgery on major league baseball players,鈥 said Jensen. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good company to be in.鈥

While the bulk of their projects are presented at the American College of Sports Medicine conference, Jensen is expanding to nephrology (kidney specialty) and biology conferences to provide students more opportunities in the research world.