Catriona Geddes, Chantal LaFlamme, and Sarah Cherof presented the results of their research projects at the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO) annual symposium this week.

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Chantal (left) and Sarah (right) presented sections from a systematic review of the literature on ability to climb stairs and mental well-being. They have been working all year on the systematic review with Dr. Gay and Dr. O’Connor (UGA-Kinesiology). A manuscript from this project was recently submitted for peer-reviewed publication.

Congratulations to all of you on your research successes!

New research has been published by Dr. Erika Rees-Punia, recent PACE Lab graduate, in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (January 2019 issue). Her work assess the reliability and validity of a sedentary time questionnaire in the Cancer Prevention Study-3 cohort. Great work Dr. Rees-Punia!

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Dr. Jennifer Gay has published a new article from her American Heart Association-funded project. Occupational Physical Activity Opposes Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Modern Replication of the Morris 1953 London Busmen Study was published in the latest issue of Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2019. 61(3), 177-182). We found that the people who were most active at work had smaller waist circumferences by nearly 13 centimeters relative to people who were sedentary at work. And their body fat percentage was more than 9 percentage points smaller as well. The article can be found on the publisher’s website.

Congratulations to PACE Lab doctoral student Marilyn Wolff for earning a Paper of the Year Award from the American Journal of Health Promotion! Her work, “Does Organizational and Coworker Support Moderate Diabetes Risk and Job Stress Among Employees?” describes the role of workplace supports on employee health outcomes. Award criteria includes studies that address a topic of timely importance to health promotion and the findings offer a unique contribution to the literature. Terrific work Marilyn!

Dr. Jennifer Gay and PACE Lab member Anita Reina have had abstracts accepted for presentation at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine in Washington, DC. Anita will present on Body Image and Weight Management among Mexican American Adolescents: Differences by Sport Type. Dr. Gay will present work from her AHA-funded study, Physical Activity from Work and Waist Circumference: A Cross-Sectional Modern Replication of the Morris London Busmen Study. We hope to see you there!

Congratulations to PACE Lab team member, Chantal Laflamme, for being awarded a CURO Research Assistantship! The Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities offers competitive assistantships each semester. The assistantship provides a stipend of $1,000 to support student participation on research projects. Chantal works with the PACE Lab on the PAL Program, and she is a co-author on a manuscript in preparation reviewing the health benefits of stair climbing. More information on CURO assistantships and the research symposium can be found at https://curo.uga.edu/.

Dr. Jennifer Gay has been named as one of three Public Service and Outreach Faculty Fellows for 2018-2019. She will be partnering with UGA Marine Extension & Georgia Sea Grant in Brunswick to examine how much physical activity people get when volunteering for marine debris and litter cleanup, and to learn more about how to motivate runners, walkers, and those participating in other recreational activities along the coast to engage in marine debris and litter cleanup when they are in those spaces. More information can be found at the UGA Public Service and Outreach website. Congrats Dr. Gay!

Congratulations to Rhiannon Euhus, a recent PACE Lab graduate, for accepting a position with the Laura and John Arnold Foundation in Washington, DC as a Health Care Analyst starting in August. She will be reviewing policy grant applications and initiatives, and determining whether those proposals advance the organization’s health policy agenda. Congrats Rhiannon!