Dr. Jennifer Gay was the opening speaker at the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation conference on May 8 in Jekyll Island, Georgia. She shared the latest updates on the Blue Gym project focusing on multiple behavior change to leverage outdoor physical activity into an opportunity for litter cleanup. Thankful for the insightful dialogue and collaborative problem solving. Great to spend time with Lea King Badyna from Keep Golden Isles Beautiful and Katy Smith from UGA Marine Extension, both key partners on this effort. Looking forward to going back to share more from this project at a future conference!

On May 9 and 10 6 members of the PACE Lab graduated from the University of Georgia! Congratulations to Meredith Wessel (4 years with the lab!), Madeline Kerestman, Melat Mekonnen, Bansari Shah, Anastasiya Viryaskina, and Campbell Carter. Wishing you all the best as you take this next step!

Celebrating the hard work and perseverance of conceptualizing and collecting data for a clinical trial (more on that project to come)!

It’s Earth Day!

The goal of the Blue Gym project is to mitigate plastic and other debris from entering coastal ecosystems by incorporating litter cleanup into outdoor physical activity and recreation and to promote litter cleanup as a form of health-enhancing physical activity.

Blue Gym Project Status: We currently are seeking funding for a randomized controlled trial to test refined visual communications promoting the combination of physical activity and litter cleanup.

Be sure to check out our partners at UGA Marine Extension and their projects to keep trash from getting into the ocean! Find out how you can participate in a cleanup event along the Georgia coast with our partners at Keep Golden Isles Beautiful!

Two PACE Lab members presented their research at the 2024 CURO Research Symposium on April 8. Micole Sy presented a poster titled, “The Association between Physical Activity and Caffeine Intake”. Alana Gantley presented a poster titled, “The Difference in Caffeine Consumption between Men and Women Compared to Their Physical Activity”. So proud of both of you!

Micole Sy, Anastasiya Viryaskina, and Campbell Carter have received Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO) Research Awards of $1,000 each. The group plans to use these funds to support their mentored research project testing changes in biomarkers in response to acute exercise. Congratulations!