Stellar Student Research:
03 | Kinesiology Students’ Research Improves Athletic Performance
Kinesiology students work with faculty on research that often involves bettering athletic performance. In Lee Brown’s Human Performance Laboratory, the focus is on how people adapt to performing exercises at very high speeds, as they need to do in sports. One question involves whether warming up with light or heavy bats affects the speed of a baseball after it’s hit. Another is what kind of exercise improves vertical jumps, as in basketball.
Jared Coburn’s lab does basic research on topics such as how people vary the amount of force their muscles produce during different types of muscle contractions, as well as applied research, such as how to improve muscle strength and power. “We’re also looking at various nutritional interventions and their effects on strength and endurance,” he reports.
A student of Patti Laguna’s has examined gender issues involved in athletic training medical care. She says her students involved in research especially appreciate “the individual attention given to them and my willingness to guide them every step of the way.”
