Undergraduates Research Aging, Sexual Consent, Hydration in Award-Winning Projects

Kelly Allen, left, won first place and Andrew O’Neil won second place in the undergraduate research competition. Annelise Zaring is not pictured.

Lisa Jansen, from left, won third place, Nathan D’Amico won first place and Hyun-Gyu (Sean) Suh won second place in the doctoral research competition.

Chris Blaszka won the master’s student research competition.

Kristen Jozkowski was honored as outstanding faculty member.

Stephen Ironside

The research competition awards were among many presented to outstanding students and alumni in the College of Education and Health Professions on April 17.

Aging, sexual consent and hydration were the topics of undergraduates' winning research projects at this year's College of Education and Health Professions Honors Symposium. This year, the college also added a research competition for graduate students.

The undergraduate competition is for students in the college's Honors Program, which sponsors the competition. Awards were presented April 17 at the college's annual Honors and Awards Banquet at the Arkansas Union.

Kelly Allen, a senior studying exercise science, won first place for her project titled "The Effect of an Aging Suit on Young and Middle-Aged Adults' Attitudes Toward Older Adults." Michelle Gray, associate professor of exercise science, is her faculty mentor.

Andrew O'Neil, a senior studying public health, won second place for his project titled "A Qualitative Investigation of Sexual Consent Communication Among Men Who Have Sex With Men." Kristen Jozkowski, associate professor of community health promotion, is his faculty mentor.

Annelise Zaring, a senior studying exercise science, won third place for her project titled "Effect of a Hydration Intervention on Urinary Markers of Hydration Status in Low Drinkers." Matt Ganio, associate professor of exercise science, is her faculty mentor.

The Honors Program also presented an award for outstanding faculty mentor to Jozkowski. Honors students submitted letters of nomination.

Jozkowski was selected based on her effective mentoring of honors students as demonstrated by their successes; her students have presented at national and international conferences as well as received research grants. She's currently mentoring four honors students, and three of the four have received either State Undergraduate Research Fellowship or Honors College funding.

Three doctoral students in exercise science won the graduate student research competition on the doctoral level.

Nathan D'Amico won first place with his project titled "Does Test Order Affect Vestibular/Ocular Motor Screening Scores in High School Athletes." R.J. Elbin, associate professor of exercise science, is his faculty adviser.

Hyun-Gyu (Sean) Suh won second place for his project titled "Women's Mood is More Sensitive to Cellular Dehydration." Stavros Kavouras, professor of exercise science, is his faculty adviser.

Lisa Jansen won third place for her project titled "Osmotic Stimulation of Copeptin Acutely Impairs Glucose Regulation." Kavouras is her faculty adviser.

Chris Blaszka, a master's student in exercise science, won first place in the master's division. His project was titled "Disordered Eating Risk and Body Image Dissatisfaction of Division I Male and Female Cheerleaders." Steve Dittmore, associate professor of recreation and sport management, is his faculty adviser.