Hey everyone, it’s Katelyn U. here!
I think many can agree that this year has been yet another challenging one as we work our way towards achieving a once again healthy community! As I continue to read up on the evolution and morphology of turtle limb bone structure, I am definitely beginning to get more comfortable with the specifics of the turtle project and am very eager to start my research journey with Dr. Young and Hana Larkins this semester! It’s hard to believe that in the next upcoming months, I will be able to start the bulk of my data collection for Pleurodire and Cryptodire turtle limb bone scaling! In addition, I have also been in the process of searching for different graduate school programs to pursue veterinary medicine as I am on my way to wrapping up my junior year. I am curious to see what this semester has in store for me as I quickly approach my senior year! Greetings all! I have been hard at work on my research since you last heard from me. Micaela, Megan W., and I finished up research last semester and did some work on statistics right before the semester ended in November. With that being said, I was unable to find a statistical difference in jump height between injured and non-injured women at Saint Mary’s. Hopefully new members of the Locomotion Lab will continue working on this project and somewhere along the line find larger sample sizes that lead to some sort of statistical difference.
As of right now, I have around 5 drafts of my comp paper, and about 3 drafts of my poster. I am working on my presentation for Belles Biology Day, which is inching closer and closer as a babble on! It is crazy to think all my hard work as a Bio major is soon coming to a close. As I prep for graduation, I will be applying to chiropractic schools in hopes of starting school in January 2022. With all the hardships the pandemic has brought, I need a mental break before continuing to more school! Hello again! It is hard to believe that it is already March again, but this means us seniors are finally in the month of presenting our senior comprehensive projects! Over our long winter break, I completed a couple more drafts of my paper on limb bone scaling in pleurodiran and cryptodiran turtles, and found some interesting results while analyzing data! Pleurodires have positive allometry in both the humeri and femora for length vs. mass, flexion-extension diameter vs. mass, and perpendicular diameter vs. mass. In other words, Pleurodires have long and thick limb bones for their weight, which could help scientists learn about methods by which pleurodires navigate their environment, and how this consequently affects morphology. I am excited to polish up my paper and poster over the course of the next couple weeks leading up to the presentation of my research!
I also have some other exciting news. In December, I was accepted into the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Duke University, and have decided to pursue my education there beginning in August! I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and could not have done it without the ongoing support of my professors, the athletic department, teammates, and friends at Saint Mary’s College. In the meantime, I am studying to earn my certification of strength and conditioning so that I can begin pursuing my dream of working with athletes post PT school! Hello everyone! A lot of progress has been made in my research since my last update. After analyzing the videos, I did not find a statistical difference in left knee flexion between students who have had a knee injury compared to those who have not had a history of knee injury. Although my results didn't indicate a statistical difference between injured and non-injured students, I did find a pattern of reduction of knee flexion paired with knee injury. I came to the conclusion that these results were due to my small and uneven sample size of injured and non-injured subjects. This research can be expanded by younger Locomotion Lab members by increasing the sample size of ACL injured subjects, as well as sampling college-age men to see how differences between men and women impact knee flexion. I am currently completing the finishing touches and edits to my paper and poster, which I will soon submit to my committee members. Belles Biology Day is less than a month away, which makes me very excited and nervous at the same time! It is incredible to see my hard work come to an end here at Saint Mary's.
Despite all of these challenges I have faced along the way, the Locomotion Lab has taught me that science is not perfect and it won't always go the way you want it to. I encourage the underclassmen Locomotion Lab members to always be optimistic. Although research at times can be frustrating and seem like nothing is going right, you will eventually get through it. Your hard work will be worth it in the end. After I graduate in May, I plan on attending graduate school. I have already been accepted into University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health and Indiana University's School of Public Health. I am waiting to hear back from a few more schools before I make my final decision. |
AuthorsAlok Agwick Archives
February 2024
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