There is one principal investigator in this laboratory \u2013 Dr. Meyer – whose focus is on projects relating movement to wellbeing. The lab is compiled of a research scientist and three graduate students. There are also many undergraduate research assistants + volunteers in the lab working on human research projects including both acute exercise and intervention studies. Students in this laboratory work on all aspects of the research from project development to IRB submission to study recruitment, participant visits, data management, analysis, presentation and more.<\/p>\n\n\n
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Principal Investigator<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Jacob Meyer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Meyer is focused on understanding and translating the powerful mental health effects of exercise and movement. Originally from Madison, WI, he completed his B.S. at St. Olaf College before completing his Master\u2019s degree, PhD, and a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He joined the faculty at ISU in the fall of 2017 and currently performs research that looks at (1) how to integrate exercise into the care and treatment of people suffering from mental health conditions and (2) how the time people spend sedentary influences their mood and wellbeing, and what we might be able to do to change sedentary time. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Research Scientist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Jeni Lansing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jeni Lansing earned her Master’s degree in Kinesiology at Iowa State University and successfully defended her dissertation on May 15th, 2020. Her research interests are focused on the use of lifestyle physical activity and reducing sedentary behavior to improve the quality of life and pain symptoms in individuals with chronic pain. She is also interested in understanding perceptions and determinants of increasing physical activity and decreasing sedentary time and how these factors differ between healthy people and individuals with chronic pain. She is the lab’s research scientist.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Graduate Students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Sydney Cindrich<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Sydney Cindrich graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a Master of Arts degree in Kinesiology in May 2020. Sydney’s research interests include the psychological influences that accompany body image, the relationship between physical activity and mental health, and how exercise and physical activity can be used as an aid to help people with epilepsy and other neurological disorders. She is a third-year Ph.D. student and she hopes to find a postdoc research faculty position after graduating.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Seana Perkins<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Seana Perkins graduated with a Bachelor\u2019s of Science in Kinesiology & Health in 2019 and her Master’s degree in 2022, both from Iowa State University. She is interested in learning more about the relationship between physical activity and mental health, and physical activity and health promotion. She is now a first year Ph.D. student in Kinesiology in the WellEx Lab.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Shania Kelly<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Shania Kelly graduated from Loras College with a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology and Psychology in 2021. She is interested in learning more about the relationship of mental health, specifically depression and anxiety, and physical activity. She is also interested in the physical activity promotion and the neurological basis of mental illness. This fall she will begin working toward her first year of her Master’s degree in Kinesiology.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Lab Team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Arunadee Fernando<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Arunadee Fernando is from Ames, Iowa. She is majoring in Biology with a Kinesiology minor. Her goal is to go to medical school. She loves working with people and is interested in doing exercise research to help influence mental health. Arunadee enjoys playing tennis, the piano and violin, as well as volunteering in the community.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Faith McKenzie<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Faith McKenzie is currently a junior in Kinesiology and Health on the Pre-Physical Therapy track with a minor in Psychology. She is from Cottage Grove, Minnesota, and hopes to go back home to go to a PT graduate program. She loves being able to find how our physical activity affects our everyday lives.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Isabell Hobbs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Isabell Hobbs is majoring in Biology and Psychology, specifically the pre-Physician Assistant track. She plans to attend PA school after graduating from Iowa State. Her research interests include exercise and mental health and applying that to practice with exercise prescription in her future career!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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John Gidley<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
John Gidley is a senior studying Kinesiology and Health, pre-health. After ISU, he plans on going into physical therapy where he\u2019ll work with veterans like himself at the VA, possibly research in physiology or neurology. His roles in the lab include proctoring participants and gathering data. His main interests are optimizing human potential and reducing chronic pain through functional fitness.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Julianna Kuzniar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Julianna Kuzniar is studying Kinesiology and Health on the exercise science track, with a minor in Spanish. After graduating from Iowa State, she would like to attend graduate school to pursue her Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology. In particular, she is interested in preventative exercise prescription and cardiac rehabilitation. She is currently involved in the Undergraduate Research Assistantship program in the WellEx lab and is very interested in the ways exercise can be utilized to improve the overall quality of life!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Madison Kauth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Maddie Kauth is a junior studying Kinesiology and Health. She plans to enroll in the accelerated nursing program and work in Cardiac Rehab. She is excited to be in the lab and be a part of its research, specifically working one-on-one with participants and learning more about the effects exercise has on mental health conditions.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Sarah Petersen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Sarah Petersen is studying Kinesiology and Health, specifically the pre-Human Medicine track. She plans to attend medical school and she originally mentored with Dr. Pitchford, which ignited her interest in human subjects research. She is currently assisting with the PACE and RET studies.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Simran Patel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Simran Patel is studying Biology and plans to attend medical school to become a pediatric surgeon. She was excited about research after her involvement in the ISU Weight Lifting Club, which made her want to help out with the RET study!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Past Faculty Members<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Laura Ellingson-Sayen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Ellingson earned her Ph.D. in Exercise Psychology from UW-Madison and was an Assistant Professor in the Kinesiology Department at Iowa State 2014-2019. Her research focuses on investigating the effects of physical activity and sedentary behaviors on the mental health and quality of life of healthy individuals and those with, or at risk for developing chronic health conditions. As an integral part of this, she works to design and test effective ways to implement physical activity behavior change (e.g. decreasing sedentary time) using strategies like wearable technology, motivational interviewing, and habit formation as a potential treatment for mental health and chronic pain disorders.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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