The School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences would like to congratulate Changqi Lui and Shawn O’Connor for receiving the 2017 SDSU Summer Undergraduate Research Award.
Dr. Changqi Liu and Diana Vergara
Dr. Changqi Liu and Diana Vergara, a Foods and Nutrition student, received the 2017 SDSU Summer Undergraduate Research Award. The award funded research on nutrient composition analysis of various insect species throughout their life cycles.
The aim of the study is to assess the potential of utilizing insects as a nutritious and sustainable food or feed source. Three other Foods and Nutrition students, Melissa Perez, Sheryl Ponder, and Yuko Murase, and a visiting scientist, Dr. Priyanka Mathur, are also involved in this project. Research results will be presented in the upcoming 2018 SDSU Student Research Symposium.
Dr. Shawn O’Connor and Paula Baluyut
Dr. Shawn O’Connor and Paula Baluyut also received the 2017 SDSU Summer Undergraduate Research Award. The aim of their research is to use virtual reality and treadmill perturbations to determine how the balance changes with advanced age and whether balance control in older adults is challenged by the loss of biomechanical stability. A potential application of the proposed work is a new means to quantify balance and fall risk during walking in fall-prone populations and also assess recovery during balance training. The walking balance perturbation protocols developed in this project will also help validate wearable balance assessment devices being developed in the lab.
