UO Dept of Human Physiology | Resources

Resources – Department News

Undergraduate Kara Beasley Recieves Award

Kara Beasley, an undergraduate researcher working in the Lovering Lab, has received the Aaron Novick Award for an Outstanding Clark Honors College Science Thesis entitled: "Image analysis and segmentation in Adobe Photoshop for quantification of intrapulmonary arteriovenous shunting at various levels of acute hypoxic exposure." She also received the Clarence and Lucille Dunbar Scholarship (2008-2009) and Shapiro Scholarship (2009) this academic year.

Dr. Andrew Lovering Receives Science Development Grant

Andrew Lovering received a 4 year Scientist Development Grant from the American Heart Association entitled: Cardiopulmonary responses to exercise and hypoxia in adult survivors of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia. The goals of this grant are to better understand the effects of premature birth on heart and lung function in adulthood.

2009 Stephanie Jackson Anatomy TA of the Year Award

Kate Okrasinski and Poul Stefanson were the 2009 recipients of the Stephanie Jackson Anatomy TA of the Year Award.

HPHY Graduate & Undergraduate Students Recieve Awards

See list of recent and previous HPHY award winners.

Graduate Students Vipul Lugade and Betty Chen Receive Awards

Vipul Lugade: 2009 International Society of Biomechanics (ISB) Matching Dissertation Grant

Betty Chen: 1) Campus Leadership and Involvement Award (UO international students); 2) Donald & Darel Stein Graduate Student Teaching Award (UO Graduate School)

Lovering Lab Participates in Outreach

The Lovering Lab recently participated in two out-reach efforts: a lab tour for Unity School and University Day at the Science Factory.

Dr. Paul van Donkelaar Awarded Rippey Innovative Teaching Award

Paul van Donkelaar along with Josh Snodgrass from Anthropology and have been jointly awarded a Rippey Innovative Teaching Award for two years. The award will support the development of a Freshman Interest Group College Connections course called 'The Physiology of Diversity' that bridges HPHY 101 (Exercise as Medicine) and Anth 270 (Introduction to Biological Anthropology).

Steve Laurie Awarded Clarence & Lucille Dunbar Scholarship

Steve Laurie was awarded the Clarence and Lucille Dunbar Scholarship to Assist Students in the Sciences; the scholarship carries an award of $5000. Steve is currently a doctoral student under Dr. Andrew Lovering in the Cardiopulmonary and Respiratory Physiology Lab.

Dr. Li-Shan Chou Receives Fund for Faculty Excellence Award

The Fund for Faculty Excellence awards honor faculty members performing at elite levels of their areas of research and elevating academic excellence at the UO. The purpose of the awards program is to reward top faculty members with research support and salary supplements in an effort to keep and attract world-class individuals. "The Fund for Faculty Excellence is an important program that enables the university to retain some of the brightest, eager minds in academics today," said Senior Vice President and Provost James Bean. "Recognizing the incredible contributions of these individuals is a great honor and supporting them for their efforts to further research discoveries and prepare our students to contribute to the world is essential."

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Department Featured in College of Arts & Sciences Magazine

"Human physiology has become a program that attracts millions of dollars in grants funding cutting-edge research, and its professors are publishing in the best academic journals while undergraduates are successfully applying to the country's top medical schools."

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Dr. Susan Verscheure Featured on UO Today Television Program

Barbara Altmann will interview Susan Verscheure, recipient of the Ersted Award for Distinguished Teaching, on the Humanities Center's UO Today television program on Wednesday, October 1 at 8:00 p.m. on Channel 23. Professor Verschere talks about her research and her inventive and effective methods of teaching. The program is also aired on Channel 29 on Monday at 12:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.; Tuesday at 11:30 p.m.; and Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. For the fall schedule of UO Today go to: http://uoregon.edu/~humanctr/uotsched.htm

Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein Trains in Environmental Chamber to Prepare for Marathon in Beijing

On August 24th, Dathan will set out to run against the world's best in the Olympic Marathon. To prepare for Beijing's heat and humidity, which is expected to play a large factor in the race, 'Ritz' has been conducting heat-acclimation sessions inside the Department of Human Physiology's climate chamber.

'Ritz Heating Up', Part 1
'Ritz Heating Up', Part 2

Graduate Athletic Training Students and the New Athletic Medicine Facility Featured in IT News

Several Graduate Athletic Training students and GTF dietitian, Jessica Wilson, were featured in the University of Oregon's IT News. This unlikely connection has been made possible by the advancement in sports medicine technologies that are available in the new Athletic Medicine Facility at the UofO.

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Jason Hand Featured in Register Guard for Study on Training and Whole Body Vibration

"The concept of building muscle strength and improving bone density by merely standing, or even sitting, on a vibrating platform sounds too good to be true — and it certainly has its skeptics — but there’s also a roster of scientists and physiologists who agree there’s something to it." Amongst them is Jason Hand, an Athletic Training master's student in the Department of Human Physiology. He studied the impact of using of a vibration platform to enhance the effects of weight training.

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Dr. Susan Verscheure Receives Ersted Award for Distinguished Teaching

Dr. Susan Verscheure has received the 2008 Ersted Award for Distinguished Teaching. The award was presented today by University President Dave Frohnmayer for her "devotion to teaching evidenced by student reviews and the praise of her colleagues". This award is one of the highest teaching awards at the University of Oregon. Her innovative and student-centered teaching style makes her a standout instructor on campus. Congratulations Susan!

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Dr. Chris Minson Awarded NIH Grant

Dr. Chris Minson was awarded a 4 year R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health entitled: Progesterone and Vascular Function in Women. The goal of this project is to better understand how the natural and synthetic forms of progesterone impact blood vessel responsiveness and in the control of blood vessel tone by the sympathetic nervous system in women. Dr. Minson will also examine how these forms of progesterone interact with estrogen, with the goal to improve our understanding of the potential cardiovascular health benefits and risks of hormone therapy in both young and older women.

Lovering Lab Represents Human Physiology Dept at Science Factory’s University Day

Saturday March 1st, members of the Cardiopulmonary and Respiratory Physiology Laboratory, headed up by Andrew Lovering, represented the Human Physiology department at the Science Factory’s University Day. Undergraduates Heather Buxton and Jon Elliott and graduate student Steve Laurie spent the better part of their Saturday with Andrew teaching kids about lung diseases and demonstrating how poor lung function makes it more difficult to exercise. Shown in the pictures are: Heather, Steve and Rowan (Andrew’s daughter) posing on the set up and Jon explaining to a young University Day participant why it is harder to exercise when you increase the work of breathing. Special thanks to Adam Galloway and Medical Graphics for their support.

Dr. John Halliwill Receives Fund for Faculty Excellence Honor

The Fund for Faculty Excellence awards honor faculty members performing at the forefront of their areas of research and raising the level of academic excellence at the UO. The purpose of the awards program is to reward top faculty members with research support and salary supplements in an effort to keep and attract world-class individuals. "The Fund for Faculty Excellence enables the University of Oregon to retain, reward and support our faculty members on the cutting edge of interdisciplinary research and ensure students benefit from outstanding educators and mentors," said Senior Vice President and Provost Linda Brady. "The ability to recognize the contributions of these individuals strengthens our overall academic quality."

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Department Faculty and Students Featured on the National Geographic Channel

Susan Verscheure (faculty), Robert Catena (grad student), Vipul Lugade (grad student) and Debbie Proctor (undergrad. student) from Human Physiology will appear on TV in the episode titled “Secret History of The Bra”, airing on Friday, September 28th on the National Geographic Channel (7pm PST & 10pm PST). The documentary discusses various elements involved with the making of the bra, and includes a segment highlighting research Susan Verscheure completed during her graduate studies in this department. Her research on the biomechanics of breast movement while wearing different types of sports bra indicated that the less popular encapsulated design is the most effective for supporting large breasted women.

Dr. Andrew Lovering Joins the Department

Dr. Andrew Lovering has joined the faculty of the Department of Human Physiology. Dr. Lovering earned a B.S. in Biology from Texas Tech University in 1995. He received his Ph.D. in physiology from Texas Tech University School of Medicine in 2003. He trained as a postdoctoral fellow in the Rankin Laboratory of Pulmonary Medicine (University of Wisconsin – Madison) before joining the Department of Human Physiology at the University of Oregon in 2007.

Dr. Lovering research investigates how the cardiopulmonary and respiratory systems accommodate the demands of exercise and/or hypoxia. Current projects include: 1) understanding pulmonary gas exchange in health and disease during exercise and 2) determining cardiopulmonary interactions in individuals with cardiac defects.

Please join us in making Andy feel welcome!

Department Welcomes New Member of the Office Staff

The department has recently added a new staff member. Kate Jordan is our new Grant Administrator, handling all grant proposals and post award matters. Her background is in accounting in medical fields. Before coming to us, she spent several months working on a Mercy Ship stationed in Liberia. We are very pleased to welcome her to the department. Stop by and say hello!

Dr. Andrew Karduna Awarded NIOSH Grant

Dr. Andrew Karduna was recently awarded an R01 research grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) entitled: “A Biomechanical Study of Work-Related Shoulder Disorders.” The long-term goal of Dr Karduna's research agenda is to identify the important biomechanical mechanisms associated with rotator cuff injuries and subsequently evaluate prevention and treatment strategies that account for these mechanisms. The objective of this grant is to identify the link between rotator cuff function and abnormal kinematics and proprioception.

Doctoral Student Receives Awards

Robert Catena, doctoral candidate in biomechanics, received a Graduate Student Grant-in-Aid award from the American Society of Biomechanics for his study titled “The effects of executive functioning on gait stability following mild traumatic brain injury.” Robert was also one of the recipients of the 2007 Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society Student Conference Award. The title of his podium presentation is “The spatial orientation of attention during obstacle crossing following mild traumatic brain injury.”