Katie Pinson, an exercise and sport science kinesiology major in her junior year at Temple, won the undergraduate student investigator award at the annual meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in November. We talked with her about her research, and the excitement of trying something you never thought you’d do.
You’ve been working in the Department of Kinesiology’s Integrative Muscle Physiology Lab (directed by Assistant Professor Matt Hudson) since last summer. What research did you present at the ACSM conference?
I started working with Dr. Hudson over the summer, which is where I did the bulk of the research that I just presented. I’ve been working with a cell culture model— we’re looking for proteins RNAs or genes that might contribute to muscle atrophy. Muscle atrophy is basically when skeletal muscle gets smaller and weaker. It’s a major concern during a variety of conditions including cancer, HIV/AIDS, renal failure, disuse, and aging. We induced atrophy in the cells grown in our lab, and then we measured what happened with proteins, RNAs, and genes. We found that two small RNA molecules are involved within the atrophy process. We think that if we can change the levels of these two small RNAs in muscle we can prevent or treat muscle atrophy. That’s a more complicated process and we haven’t gotten there yet, but that’s the next step. What do you find exciting about lab research? I’m surprised I enjoy it so much. It was crazy for me to learn that there’s a laboratory component to exercise physiology! I’m constantly learning in the lab—a lot of it is looking at what other people have done and building on their ideas. That’s really exciting for me, because I presented on work that I did myself. I had a lot of help, but I did the research. I’ve never done anything like that.
How have your experiences at Temple changed the way you see yourself?
The conference was a huge stepping stone for me because I’d never presented my own work publicly before. I think that alone has improved my interpersonal and presentation skills. I used to be really nervous about public speaking. I’m working on networking and learning the importance of relationships. I was always one of those students who have to be really interested in something in order to do well at it. Working in the lab was the first time someone else recognized that I was good at something of this nature. I’d always viewed myself as an average student, and this has boosted my confidence. I’m more optimistic about possibilities I hadn’t really considered before.
How have professors and faculty at Temple helped you?
Dr. Hudson has been a mentor. He was crucial in the conference process. He helped me apply and submit my abstract, and helped me regularly with my presentation. He’s really helped me think about the next steps I want to take. He’s taught me about professional expectations, and academically he’s always up for talking about what we’re doing in the lab. I’ve had a really good experience at the College of Public Health—I’ve really, really liked all of the professors that I’ve met at the college.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
This is something that I’m thinking about right now. I’m looking to continue the learning process—I’m really passionate about learning, and presenting my work at the conference was really cool. I think having done research in muscle atrophy will be important in a future career working with people because if I understand things like this, I can help with the big picture. I can look at problems and have an idea of what might be happening underneath. When I came into school, I wanted to do physical therapy—that was my end goal. I always thought that I was going to work with people in a clinical setting. I’ve strayed from that—I’m now more open to looking at other things, like working in a lab. That was never something I thought that I would do. So my view of the future has changed, and I’m more open to trying different things. I’m more open about my options.