University of Calgary
Practising What They Preach?
Practicing What They Preach?
Andrea Lutsch’s USRP project, examines whether students in health related faculties are actually healthier than other faculties on campus.
If you spend any time in the Kinesiology block, you’ll know that half the students are usually dressed in sweats while the other half are in shorts. Third year Kinesiology student Andrea Lutsch noticed this and set about to discover whether students in health related majors are actually healthier than their peers across campus, or if it just looks that way.
Andrea’s research is part of the Markin Undergraduate Student Research Project which provides students with funding – a “studentship” – to pursue research under the guidance of University of Calgary researchers.
Lutsch’s supervisor is Dustin Hittel Ph.D., a leader in the field of genomics, who is part of a multi-university study called AIMMY, which stands for Assessing Inherited Metabolic Syndrome Markers in the Young.
In a nutshell, the researchers are looking for genetic markers that might indicate an individual’s likelihood to develop metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. As Hittel explains, a University campus is the perfect place to conduct this research, “First of all by bringing students in while they’re still healthy, you have a chance to educate them and perhaps help them make better choices in the years ahead, which will help them avoid these diseases. This is also the future of medicine, where health care providers can eventually prescribe interventions based on your unique genetic make-up.”
For her part, Andrea says that if she discovers faculty differences between students on campus, it could help when developing interventions in the future. “I’m very interested in preventative health. I hope that the information I gather during this project can help in planning interventions in a university population to reduce the risk of developing metabolic syndrome.”
Lutsch says that the opportunity to work with a researcher of Hittel’s caliber, in a cutting edge research lab, has been a fantastic opportunity, which has really enriched her undergraduate experience. “I have gained so much practical experience during my USRP. I love that the program is designed specifically for students and is organized so that we can pursue research while completing our undergraduate degree,” says Lutsch. “The program allows us to have hands on experience where we can put into practice many of the things we learn in the classroom. At times it’s difficult to balance the research and school, but I have gained so much from the experience that it is definitely worth the hard work!”
Lutsch will present her findings at the end of term USRP symposium. Students who are interested in being part of the AIMMY study can find more information at http://www.ucalgary.ca/knes/news/aimmy.
Posted: January 18, 2012
Don McSwiney, Director of Communication Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary W: 403.220.7652 | C: 403-852-7652 | E: don.mcswiney@ucalgary.ca