Exercise, Technology & Cognition Laboratory

03/19/2024

We had two scientific paper presentations in Philadelphia last week. I am so proud of Moosa Ahmed, an undergraduate student who took on the challenge of presenting at the annual meeting for the Society of Behavioral Medicine along with me.

Moosa presented a secondary data analysis showing our CORTEX training was associated with improvements in blood pressure at one-month followup. I presented feasibility and preliminary efficacy data from our TIPSTART pilot trial. It was great to be back home, and to catch up with Dr. Madhura Phansikar who attended our talks. Thanks for the support doc!

10/31/2023

Dr Mullen made the cut for the 2023 annual report!

10/02/2023

Check out Dr Mullen’s Tech-Driven Health Interventions course!

It’s a mixed enrollment course designed for undergrads and graduate students interested in applications of health technology for promoting health behavior. The course also counts towards INFO minor credit.

Topics will include , for health and health , and much more.

Reach out to DrM for more info!

08/31/2023

Honored to be 1 of 6 researchers (& 1 of 2 faculty) recognized in the 2023 Beckman Institute Research Image Contest. My piece, “Spectrum of Thought: Poi Spinner's Cognitive Dance,” melds movement, AI, & the mind-body connection. It's a tribute to the power of exercise, tech, and cognition in brain health.

https://beckman.illinois.edu/about/news/article/2023/08/30/six-researchers-recognized-in-2023-beckman-institute-research-image-contest

07/19/2023

I heard that is pursuing a new mascot & it might be a King 👑 Fisher. I’m not on the committee but I am working on my IL falconry license and I married a Fisher so I figured I would try my hand at a couple renditions.

What do you think?

06/22/2023

It’s with great pleasure that I can announce that Dr Adam Taggart has successfully defended his dissertation study, “MATRICES.” It was an 8-week randomized controlled trial testing the effects of martial arts on cognitive functioning.

Over two dozen people were in attendance (virtually and ihis talk was executed with the kind of precision that we’ve all come to expect from Adam. I’m running out of nicknames, phrases and analogies to describe him. I’ve described him as a waterfall of knowledge and a modern-day Renaissance man. He’s certainly an everythingist, with expertise in art, science, history, language, music and invention. It was a pleasure helping him bring his vision to life, couching his existing knowledge about personal training and martial arts with better understanding of best practices in kinesiology, behavioral science and clinical trial methodologies.

Better photos to come, but I figured I would dig this out from the archives. Before students proceed with their projects in our Exercise, Technology & Cognition Laboratory, I aim to fully immerse myself in the intervention they want to conduct. This meant going deeper into martial arts than I had ever planned, to find solutions that would allow him to test his theories while balancing safety, practical considerations, inclusivity, and much more. Adam was extremely thorough and I never doubted his ability to teach participants and train my staff. He left an enormous mark on our lab and I will always be grateful and proud of his contributions.

Adam is moving from Champaign with his fiancé, but he’s not going far and I look forward to visiting him and other martial artists in Michigan, and in the surrounding area, to hopefully build on what we’ve learned over the last 5 years… to bring martial arts training to new audiences.

Congratulations again sir! Well done!!

Thanks to Dr Janice Phung (committee member) for your guidance and expert input, and to Paul McCarthy for introducing us & supporting us throughout!

06/22/2023

Our SUNRAE study was featured again in the news!

Researchers found people who did 8 weeks of moderate-intensity, remote yoga had less stress and anxiety, and better short-term memories.

05/26/2023

We will all miss Dr Yan Luo who heads back to China on June 1st. He’s made incredible contributions to our lab and we look forward to continued collaborations. Safe travels Yan!

05/18/2023

Our work has been highlighted in Yahoo news!

Three, 50-minute flows per week might be the ultimate antidote to your work stress.

05/16/2023

The ETC Lab had an exceptional 2022-23 academic year. Can you believe this photo only depicts about half of our lab?

I’m going to deeply miss Dr. Yan Luo (Postdoc) and the graduate (Kelly Ryono, Reilly Ruzella, Shantanu Solanki, Kamila Makhambetova, Vaishnavi Krishna)& undergraduate students (Aizik Hatch, Sydney Hartwig) who are moving on.

But I look forward to seeing what they’ll do next!

05/08/2023

I am so proud of my students and their contributions to science this year. I present to you, the inaugural ETC Lab award winners. There were 15 awardees in total who were notified on April 7th 2023. The winners were nominated and met the criteria for the following awards, each created in honor of my academic heroes. We held a formal celebration to mark the occasion on May 4th 2023.

David Burdick, PhD ‘Fighting for Vita, Dulcedo, Spes‘ Award (Taggart)

Carol Dweck, PhD ‘Growth Mindset‘ Award (Ruzella)

Joan Duda, PhD ‘Dancing with Data‘ Award (Hartwig)

Deborah (Deb) Kendzierski, PhD ‘Keeps Good PACE‘ Award (Thomas)

Maureen (“Mo”) Weiss, PhD ‘Kid at Heart‘ Award (Paik)

Robert (“Bru”) Brustad, PhD ‘Free & Holistic Spirit‘ Award (Hatch)

John (Jack) McArdle, PhD Quantification Qualification Award (Luo, Makhambetova)

Diane Whaley, PhD ‘Best Possible Identity‘ Award (Butryn)

Arthur (Art) F. Kramer, PhD ‘12-Moves-Ahead‘ Award (Solanki)

Wendy Borlabi, PhD ‘Embodied Excellence‘ Award (Ahmed, Baltas, Chahine, Diallo)

Sherry Pagoto, PhD ‘Authentic Feminist, Advocate for-Underdogs’ Award (Ryono, not yet pictured)

I am so proud of my students and their contributions to science this year. I present to you, the inaugural ETC Lab award winners. There were 15 awardees in total who were notified on April 7th 2023. The winners were nominated and met the criteria for the following awards, each created in honor of my