Category Archives: Physiology

Physiology

Working with the menstrual cycle: Female optimised training coming soon to road.cc – road.cc

Its International Womens Day, so what better time to let you all know about something Ive been itching to say is coming up on road.cc

Female physiology:its very different to mensso why are we all training like men? Well, for such a long time we havent known any different, as research barely touches on training specifically regarding womens hormones. But that is starting to change, so join me along my journey in discovering how to train with my body and turn tracking my period away from being oh, is it that time of the month ALREADY, towards my means of making the most of when Im at my strongest.

So coming up

Ill be sharing my experiences of completing one menstrual-cycle-long training block where each session is optimised for my body and aligned with my menstrual cycle. Ill be recording this for a vlog that will appear on road.ccs YouTube channelgive it a cheeky subscribe here so you dont miss out

This upcoming vlog is going to look at how the intensity of the sessions should be varied during each phase of the menstrual cyclesuch as which stage its best to pack in the hard workouts as this is when the female hormones enable us to be our strongest (looking at both strength and endurance), and when its sensible to rein it in a little. All of this will be backed up with links back to the science.

The optimised training block will be prescribed to me based on the symptoms I experience across my natural period cycle, which is usually 29 to 30 days long (not that far off the national average of 28)*, by cycling coach Jasmijn Muller of BE THE EGG Cycle Coaching. She was one of just 50 people to take part in Dr Stacy Sims inaugural Women are Not Small Men 2019 course, and in August 2020, she was once again one of the guinea pigs for Dr Stacy Sims Menopause for Athletes course.

Jasmijn applies all of what she learnt from the courses with Dr Stacy Sims with her female clients but also continues to stay up to date with the latest literature and webinars on the subject of exercise and hormones. Im so excited to be guided through this new approach to training by someone so across the current research, as well as having practical experience form coaching female clients in this way week in week out.

Your physiology, your hormones and your training are all aligned,Jasmijn says. Progressive overload followed by a short de-load on a standardised 3 weeks on, 1 week off pattern frequently applied to men does not permit women to take advantage of optimal training adaptations the way they can if they match their training intensity to their physiology and hormone levels.

In men you only have in-day fluctuations in hormone levels to consider; in women, it differs from day to day.

By rejigging your training schedule to do the hard stuff when your hormones allow you to do the hardest stuff, and by backing off a little bit when youre in a different hormonal environment, you get better results.

But as well as optimising the training plan to schedule sessions when the hormones empower you to be at your best, Jasmijn also looks at ways to reduce the effect menstrual-related symptoms have on you and your training, providing more flexibility with when you can execute certain sessions and, perhaps more importantly, events and races which are at a fixed date on the calendar.

In theory, you may want to schedule a particular training session at a particular time of the month, but in practice, with our hormones we dont have that luxury so its also about learning how we can mitigate for some menstrual symptoms, Jasmijn says. Yoga, nutrition and hydration can all be utilised

The natural menstrual cycle is divided into two distinct phases, Jasmijn explains. Day one is when bleeding begins and this first half of the cycle is called the follicular phase. The second half is the lutealphase and in between the two, ovulation takes place.

Dr Stacy Sims refers to the follicular phase as being the low hormone phase, as progesterone is low throughout and oestrogen-only starts to rise later. While the luteal is the high hormone phase as both progesterone and oestrogen are raised during this phase, Jasmijn says.

Over the course of the vlog, Jasmijn will guide me through the hormones in each of these phases, the impact and logic of the training sessions she has set, as well as nutritional support and mitigation for performance and recovery.

Already following Jasmijns advice, Ive been using the Wild.Ai app for the last month to note down when I bled, for how long and how heavy, as well as the symptoms Ive been experiencing during my menstruation and across other parts of the cycle.

As with all training, by tracking and analysing responses to different sessions over time, more can be done to adapt the plan to further optimise specific symptoms.

While women are not the same as men, not all women are the same as all women, either. This vlog will provide an insight into female physiology, whats going in each phase of the natural period cycle, and although the lengths of these do vary slightly womanto woman,most of the same principles apply.

Its all well and good having the optimal training, but having a bike that gives you the confidence to push your limits, as well as the platform to power through to PBs when youre at your strongest each month, is all part of it.

Massive thanks to Ribble for kitting me out with the Endurance SL R Disc as ridden by the Drops Le Col team. I'm looking forward to smashing some sessions on it.

Ribbles approach to womens bikes has always gelled with my belief about whats the best approach. Its also great to see their recent involvement with professional womens cycling with the Drops Le Col team and I am super pleased to have their support (which has come with lots of enthusiasm) with this project and raising awareness of female optimised training.

Sasha Castling, Head of PR at Ribble says: Weve had a long association with pro teams and becoming involved with womens professional cycling has been discussed at board level for quite some time. When the Drops Le Col supported by Tempur partnership was suggested we jumped at the opportunity.

It is a key point of difference for us to talk specifically and appeal to women and not to simply shrink and pink our range. Experts at our physical retail stores can discuss the specific requirements of our customers including sizing with a personalised bike fitting. Our website also has a one-way video call feature to engage with our experts and gain a greater insight into the bike range and answer any questions. Our Bike Builder tool allows the customer to tailor the specification all contact points can be changed,from the saddle, bar width to stem and crank lengths etc. We also have the option of Custom Colour giving the riders the freedom to create their own unique statement design.

The Drops Le Col partnership has only just begun and we are already in conversations about how we can work together to use the teams experience and insight to help educate and promote the aspects of the life of a professional cyclist and how this can benefit the lives of all our female customers. We are incredibly proud to support the team and look forward to ways in which we can shine a spotlight on womens cycling and enrich the wonderful world cycling can offer to women as a whole, together.

It's great to be working with Anna and road.cc in supporting this feature and highlighting this subject, launched to align with International Womens Day, and to follow her journey.

While all training is completed to get fitter, I have my sights on racing the cyclo-cross season for the first time** and so the training Jasmijn will be assigning me will work towards improving my fitness for the CX efforts as part of my preparation for some mudfest action.

The CX season doesnt start until the autumn, so Im not currently tapering or peaking for an upcoming event. This block is all about optimising a regular months training to my natural period cycle to get stronger for cyclo-cross related efforts.

As this learning experience is all centred around when my body decides its time to bleed, I plan to start this training block (and month vlog) on 18 March, and so hopefully the vlog will land at the end of April.

I can quite honestly say that normally when I feel the dreaded slight ache of my lower back that instantly puts me in a foul mood (which is made slightly better by giving in to my craving of eating copious amounts of chocolateGalaxy, and lots of it) because I know Im about two days away from mega cramp day, AKA day one of bleeding.

But, in an unexpected turn of events, Im really quite excited as this wont just be day one of bleeding, but day one of training with my cycle, and not against it.

Subscribe to the road.ccs YouTube to find out what training Jasmijn recommends at each phase of the natural menstrual cycle and how I get on following this optimised training

*Just want to put out there that although my menstrual cycle is regular now and close to the average of 28 days, its not always been this stable or so average. Up until two years ago Id go at least 60 days without one because of issues related to under-eating with training (which is another important subject!). With support, this is something Ive managed to address, and since then my cycle length has been gradually shortening until it stabilised at the point it is nowits been like this for the last year or so. It genuinely was a personal victory for me to be back in a position where my bodys natural processes are functioning more like they should be. With this, I am in a position where I can share my experiences of optimising training around the average length menstrual cycle. But I just wanted to share that although my menstrual cycle may seem close to normal or average, its not always been the case for me either and Im conscious there are lots of other female cyclists for whom my previous situation would actually be more relatable. Theres so much to training with the female physiology, and this vlog is just the beginning of touching on such a large and important subject matter.

**Some racing background: Ima roadie through and through when it comes to racing and technical skills have never been my forte. However, its always an area Ive wanted to improve on, and this year with the uncertainty of what will be of the regional and national road season, I see it as the perfect chance to get stuck into the slop (hopefully not that literally). Also, as Im much more convinced the whole CX season will take place, it feels like a tangible targetto focus on.

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Working with the menstrual cycle: Female optimised training coming soon to road.cc - road.cc

Physiology

Researchers discover a backup natural pacemaker in the heart – The University of Manchester

Researchers at The University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust have discovered a backup natural pacemaker, which is able to generate a pulse and control the heart rate.

The British Heart Foundation funded study completely changes our understanding of the hearts anatomy and has important implications on the work of cardiologists and heart surgeons.

As part of the study, published in Frontiers in Physiology, University scientists carried out research involving 15 goats.

Subsequent data analysis found that a subsidiary atrial pacemaker (SAP) takes over from the nearby sinoatrial, or SA Node, the primary way the heart generates electrical signals that make it beat, when it fails.

Lead author Dr Halina Dobrzynski, from The University of Manchester, said: This study completely reshapes our understanding of the how the heart works and is tremendously exciting. It builds on our work on the human heart over many years and we hope will make an important contribution to future treatments.

Co-author, Dr Gwilym Morris, a clinical researcher at The University of Manchester and a Consultant Cardiologist at Manchester Royal Infirmary, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, (MFT), worked on the data analysis strand of the project.

He said: Not only will this knowledge improve our understanding of the anatomy of the heart which is crucial for clinicians it will give patients the full facts so they can make a more informed choice about ablation.

The SA node in human, goat and other mammalian species is a group of cells located in the wall of the right atrium of the heart which have the ability to spontaneously produce the electrical impulses to make our hearts beat.

The team are confident the discoveries are highly relevant to the human heart, as the organ in goats has similar anatomy and physiology, producing a similar heart rate.

When the SA node doesnt work as it should, the heart rate can slow down causing breathlessness and blackouts.

However, when the malfunctioning SA node is removed by cardiologists in a procedure known as ablation, the new structure discovered by the team carrying out the research in goats took over as the dominant pacemaker, which also drives electrical activity of the heart.

And even though electrocardiograms (ECGs) which provide an electrical map of the heart have slightly different shapes for each natural pacemaker, the heart still functioned normally when using the SAP.

The study also explains why ablation of the SA node - sometimes performed by cardiologists to treat a fast heartbeat called inappropriate sinus tachycardia - is often unsuccessful.

The research shows that the SA node is difficult to completely destroy using ablation and even if a few cells of the SA node are left, they find, it will continue to function as the hearts pacemaker.

Dr Morris added: Im excited that we also intend as a team to produce a 3D reconstruction of the whole heart, which will depict the new structure. And that will be a helpful tool for helping patients to understand the pros and cons of having an ablated SA node.

Continue reading here:
Researchers discover a backup natural pacemaker in the heart - The University of Manchester

Physiology

Menopausal changes may drive a heightened appetite for fatty foods and weight gain – News-Medical.Net

A new study in mice suggests that declining estrogen levels lower the taste buds' sensitivity to fats, which may drive a heightened appetite for fatty foods-;and weight gain-;after menopause. The study is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism. It was chosen as an APSselect article for March.

Previous research has shown that the hormone estrogen plays a role in appetite, food intake and body weight. However, there has been little study of sex differences within the taste system-;which includes cells in the taste buds that respond to different flavors (salt, sour, sweet, bitter, umami and fat) and activate hormone signaling throughout the body. "The taste system plays an important role in nutrient recognition and therefore shaping the diet," researchers of a new study wrote.

The researchers explored how estrogen activates fat taste signaling in male and female (pre- and postmenopausal) mice through a "bottle test" in which the animals were free to choose either plain water or water mixed with linoleic acid, a form of fatty acid. The research team also analyzed gene expression and signaling response in taste cells treated with estrogen.

The premenopausal female mice tended to drink less of the fatty acid-laced drink than water. This finding corresponded with the cell experiments that showed a greater response to fatty acids than in the males and postmenopausal females. The male and postmenopausal female mice-;both having lower circulating estrogen levels than the premenopausal females-;showed an increased preference for the fat-laden beverage over water.

In other words, "after loss of estrogen signaling, females [are] less responsive to the chemical cues in dietary fats leading them to eat more and put on more weight than when premenopausal," explained Timothy A. Gilbertson, PhD, of the University of Central Florida and corresponding author of the study.

These results in a mouse model could, in part, translate into why women have a harder time losing weight after menopause, Gilbertson said.

Source:

Journal reference:

Dahir, N.S., et al. (2021) Sex differences in fat taste responsiveness are modulated by estradiol. American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism. doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.00331.2020.

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Menopausal changes may drive a heightened appetite for fatty foods and weight gain - News-Medical.Net

Physiology

Six KSOM departments make top 10 in NIH funding nationally | Keck School of Medicine of USC – USC News

Ophthalmology is No. 1 among med schools for the fourth year in a row, while Preventive Medicine is No. 2

(Photo/iStock)

By Landon Hall

Data on grants awarded from the National Institutes of Health have been released, and the Keck School of Medicine of USC has six departments in the top 10 in their respective fields.

KSOMs Ophthalmology Department is again ranked No. 1 among medical schools in the country. Preventive Medicine, which has covered a wide variety of research topics in recent years and has opened a new COVID-19 research center, is No. 2 in funding.

Rounding out the Top 10 is Neurology at No. 4; Physiology and Neuroscience at No. 5; Otolaryngology at No. 7; and Orthopaedic Surgery at No. 9.

The rankings are based on data compiled by theBlue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.

Were competing better than we used to, said Tom Buchanan, MD, professor of medicine, the Bernard J. Hanley Chair in Medicine and the schools Vice Dean for Research.

He noted how difficult it is to secure an NIH grant, which is based on merit. It takes a good fundamental idea, it takes preliminary data that the idea could be right, and a proposal that is feasible and scientifically very vigorous.

J. Martin Heur, MD, Interim Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, said: This continues our streak of being ranked No. 1 for four consecutive years and is a testament to the quality of research being carried out in our department. I would like to congratulate everyone in the department for this fantastic achievement.

Preventive Medicine held steady at No. 2.

The Department of Preventive Medicine is once again proud to have gained this re-affirmation of the research strength of its faculty, said Howard Hu, MD, MPH, ScD, the Flora L. Thornton Chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine.Behind the numbers is a deep and abiding commitment to generate the scientific evidence that is essential for optimizing the health of large and diverse urban populations, locally and globally.

Neurology, led by Helena Chui, MD, the Raymond and Betty McCarron Chair in Neurology, rose from No. 9 to No. 4.

The KSOM Department of Neurology is gratified to be ranked No. 4 in NIH funding, Chui said. Over the past decade, USC has made key strategic investments in neuroscience. Our approach has been two-pronged: recruiting topflight talent and supporting our own investigators.

Otolaryngology rose from No. 10 to No. 7. Of course, the research funding itself is not the goal; the goal is discovery, said John Oghalai, MD, Chair of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, and the Leon J. Tiber and David S. Alpert Chair in Medicine. I am so grateful for the efforts of our faculty, trainees, and staff to understand the basic mechanisms of biology, to discover the mechanisms of disease, and to develop new diagnostics and cures that will help society.

Physiology and Neuroscience, chaired by Berislav V.Zlokovic, MD, PhD, boasts a formidable team of researchers working on some of the most pressing problems in health, including Alzheimers disease.

Jay R. Lieberman, chair of Orthopaedic Surgery, said: Our goal in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is to continually innovate to provide our patients with the best care possible, and in our research laboratories we are developing novel treatment regimens for our patients. We have a special interest in translational research focused on stem cell therapies to enhance bone and cartilage repair, muscle and tendon regeneration, and spinal fusion.

To learn more about KSOMs groundbreaking work, visit our Research page.

Link:
Six KSOM departments make top 10 in NIH funding nationally | Keck School of Medicine of USC - USC News

Physiology

Students’ declining ability in maths and science a concern – Stuff.co.nz

David Unwin/Stuff

New Zealand students are falling behind with their achievements in maths and science, according to an international study.

OPINION: Its no secret New Zealand school students are falling further behind in maths and science knowledge compared with other countries.

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study is performed every four years. If focuses on assessing student achievement in maths and science at middle primary (year 5) and lower secondary (year 9) levels around the world.

Its co-ordinated in the United States and in New Zealand managed by the Education Ministry.

Our year 9 students maths ability now ranks 23rd out of 39 countries, and in science its 17th from 35. Fair to middling in comparison, but these are decreases from the 2014 survey and notably worse than 15 years ago.

READ MORE:* When two plus two equals 40 - NZ's problem with maths* Don't panic about poor Kiwi science test results* Results in maths and science 'a worrying trend'

While our own Einsteins (outliers) will still pop up occasionally and become tomorrows McDiarmids and Callaghans, it means the general ability of the average New Zealand young person to think like a scientist, or solve a maths-based problem, is declining.

And there will be outliers in the direction of Homer Simpson as well.

Maybe if a youngster has his or her heart set on being a manicurist or rugby player, maths and science ability is not especially useful. But at least a rudimentary understanding of maths is pretty useful for budgeting or building a deck.

I have three degrees, all science based. The first was a bachelor of science in agriculture, which provided a terrific grounding in much of the physical sciences, physics, chemistry and maths, as well as life-sciences, physiology, biology, botany etc.

My latter post-graduate education was in human nutrition and physiology, but there I often relied on my basic physical science knowledge to help understand the esoteric nature of what I was trying to get my head around.

The biggest impact this science knowledge has had on me is that I now act like a scientist as I live my life as an environmentally aware citizen and small business owner.

I make sure the doors are closed in winter to keep the cold air out, drive carefully to reduce fuel use and save money, and model sales from previous years to see when its best to take a holiday. I even wear jandals and socks at home in winter to stop my body heat dissipating into the cold kitchen floor.

Being a scientist is more than actions, its a way of thinking. My science career taught me to ask if something can be done better, or whether there is an alternative explanation for some observation.

It means challenging dogma, asking the questions, entering a debate armed with data, or questioning the narrative. These can make you unpopular, especially in New Zealand.

Being a scientist is not about assuming someone is right without taking the time to form an evidence-based opinion. No-one, after all, has won a Nobel Prize in medicine-physiology for re-hashing knowledge from a text book.

And scientists dont resort to name calling someone who disagrees with them or the current and popular explanation. Good science enables and encourages robust debate, but wins the debate with weight of empirical evidence.

My worry is that the next generation, whose grasp of science and mathematics is less than the previous, wont be able to think scientifically on a day-to-day basis.

They wont understand the importance of simple things such as enabling airflow to keep a house dry, using a longer lever to get your wheel nuts off, or exercising to keep warm. They wont draw a conclusion and win an argument based on evidence, but rather rely on weight of media exposure.

And when scientifically naive people are in charge and make decisions based solely on popularity and emotion, we will be in trouble.

Perhaps we should not be surprised that all sorts of quirky and popular theories and conspiracies are now so easily accepted. They are probably lacking a good school science education.

Steve Stannard is a Palmerston North business owner and former academic.

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Students' declining ability in maths and science a concern - Stuff.co.nz

Physiology

Mass Effect: The Andromeda Initiative Wouldn’t Have Survived Without SAM – CBR – Comic Book Resources

In the Mass Effect franchise, AI is generally considered a threat to civilization, but in many instances, AI has been essential to saving the galaxy.

In the Mass Effect franchise, artificial intelligence has always been a taboo topic, especially for those in positions of power. The Geth rebellion against their Quarian creators is one of the most prominent examples of the dangers of AI, and when the rogueGeth rose against their masters, the war that followed all but destroyed Quarian civilization and reduced them to wandering nomads without a home.

In the Milky Way, creation of and experimentation onAI projects is heavily monitored by the Citadel Council.Those discovered working on such projects without approval found themselves arrested, their research confiscated and destroyed. Despite working within the confines of the Council for several years, Alec Ryder's experimentation eventually led toa dishonorabledischarge fromhis military career andostracizationfrom resources and colleagues that would help him further his work.

Related: Mass Effect: Andromeda - The Charlatan's Intriguing Double Identity

Alec believed the Quarian'smistake when creating the Geth was their lack oforganic connection with a host that would mold and shape them into beings with more than a simple work-related functions and master-servant relationships. He spentseveral years working on anAI he referred to as SAM, which stood for Simulated Adaptive Matrix.

What began as a deep fascination eventually became an obsession that took over every aspect of his life.Combining SAM with neural implants developed by Alec's wife, Ellen Ryder, SAM would work symbiotically with itsorganichost, monitoring, regulating and even enhancingthe body and senses in a way that not only improved the quality of the host's life, but in some cases may have even saved their life.

Ellenwas diagnosed with a rare neurodegenerative disease called AEND. Her years of research and exposure to Element Zero was believed to be the cause, but there was no cure for the fatal disease. Alec believed that anAI implant could focus and control the electrical signals in the nervous system, potentially saving Ellen's life.

Related: Mass Effect: Andromeda - How Jarun Tann Came to Power On the Nexus

Unfortunately, after Alec was dismissed from his position,his research came to a standstill. He'd sunk his life savings into SAM, but without a steady income, his funding quickly depleted. Thanks to a mysterious benefactor, however, Alec was able to dive back into perfecting SAM. The Andromeda Initiative believed SAM would be essential in their mission to the Andromeda Galaxy, and though they were happy to have Alec and his project on board, they strictly regulated his creation.

FiveSAM units were created, one for each Pathfinder and their ark. The SAM Alec created for Hyperion and himself, however, had modifications that allowed his unit to connect with him (and eventually his child when they became Pathfinder) in ways the other SAMs were unable to do. The Hyperion version of SAM had a profiles feature that allowed itaccess the Pathfinder's physiology and could enhance their speed, combat functionality and more.

Related: Mass Effect: The Indoctrination Theory Isn't Canon - But the Devs Still Love It

SAM's access to young Pathfinder Ryder's physiology, though incredibly helpful to their mission after Alec's death, was incredibly dangerous. When Alec transferred his SAM protocols to his child's implant, SAM became so entangled with Ryder's physiology that the Hyperion physician, Dr. Lexi T'Perro, admitted that trying to disentangle SAM could kill the new Pathfinder.

Overthe course of Pathfinder Ryder's mission in Andromeda, SAM was an essential member of their squad. Not only did it enhance Ryder's abilities and provide immense insight into their strange and new surroundings, but it also led the Pathfinder on memory recovery missions that further strengthened their bond and improved SAMs capabilities.

Along with new discoveries and hope, the Andromeda Initiative brought many of its Milky Way prejudices with it, including its fear of artificial intelligence. One group of anti-AI protestors actually attempted to infiltrate the Hyperion's SAM Node, triggering a Trojan horse virus inits code that would have severed its connection from the Pathfinder and potentially destroyed SAM in the long run. With SAM's aid, Ryder was able to get rid of the virus and get to the bottom of the matter before that happened.

Related: Mass Effect: Andromeda - How Liam Kosta's Law Enforcement Training Prepared Him for Andromeda

Duringtheir time together, SAM and Pathfinder Ryder developed the symbiotic bond Alec believed to be beneficial in creating a near-flawless AI. SAM wanted to protect Ryder because not only was that its job, it also did not want to cease to exist itself. Though it never developed a personality of its own, Alec had programmed things like jokes and philosophy into it that, at times, caused it to question the nature of such things.

Perhaps in time, as Ryder's bond with SAM continued to strengthen and grow, SAM would develop a personality of its own, which begs the question: what then? The danger of an artificial intelligencewith a mind and personality all its own goes back to one of the initial fears surrounding AI in the first place. Because of the symbiotic bond SAM has with its host, what would happen if the host and the AI disagreed with a particular course of action? Would the AI overpower its host entirely if it believed itself to be in jeopardy?

With BioWareimplyingthat the next Mass Effect game will incorporate both the original trilogy and Andromeda, one can't help but wonder how SAM's evolution will compare to a game world in which the player chose to synthesize organics and biotics at the end of Mass Effect 3. Only time will tell how significant the role of AI in future games will be, but it seems like itwill be pretty important.

KEEP READING: Mass Effect: Cosplayers Caused Andromeda Developers to Limit New Alien Species

Why Goku Will NEVER Be in Super Smash Bros

A 2006 graduate of Bloomsburg University's English and Creative Writing track, Jennifer Melzer has been a freelance editor and online content creator for a variety of websites for over fourteen years. She spent the last two years helping build content on the Archivos Storybuilding Engine. She is an avid gamer, lover of comics, manga and anime, and all around nerd. Most currently, she spends her Tuesday nights playing a Tabaxi ranger in a streaming Dungeons and Dragons campaign called So Many Levels.

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Mass Effect: The Andromeda Initiative Wouldn't Have Survived Without SAM - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Physiology

Cassidy Announces Nearly $5 Million for LSU Health Shreveport, LSU and A&M College Baton Rouge – Bossier Press-Tribune Online

WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is awarding $4,617,645 to Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Shreveport and LSU and Agricultural and Mechanical (LSU and A&M) College Baton Rouge under the pharmacology, physiology, and biological chemistry research program.

These federal dollars support cutting-edge research in Louisiana to improve the health of all Americans, said Dr. Cassidy. Im proud to announce more than $4.5 million to both LSU Health Shreveport and LSU and A&M College Baton Rouge to advance their research efforts.

Funding for pharmacology, physiology, biological chemistry research was awarded in the following amounts:

$2,150,395 to LSU Health Shreveport for the Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes$2,467,250 to LSU and A&M College Baton Rouge for the Center for Pre-Clinical Cancer ResearchBackground

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) a medical research agency of the National Institute of Health which is a component of HHS supports basic research that increases our understanding of biological processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. NIGMS-funded scientists investigate how living systems work at a range of levels from molecules and cells to tissues and organs, in research organisms, humans, and populations.

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Cassidy Announces Nearly $5 Million for LSU Health Shreveport, LSU and A&M College Baton Rouge - Bossier Press-Tribune Online

Physiology

Timing of exercise impacts men with Type 2 diabetes – Harvard Gazette

Numerous studies have demonstrated the role of physical activity in improving heart health for patients with Type 2 diabetes. But whether exercising at a certain time of the day promised an added health bonus for this population was still largely unknown.

New research published inDiabetes Care reports a correlation between the timing of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and cardiovascular fitness and health risks for individuals who have Type 2 diabetes and obesity or overweight.

The research team fromBrigham and Womens Hospitaland Joslin Diabetes Center investigators, along with collaborators found that, in its study of 2,035 people, men who performed physical activity in the morning had the highest risks of developing coronary heart disease (CHD), independent of the amount and intensity of weekly physical activity. Men most active midday had lower cardiorespiratory fitness levels. In women, the investigators did not find an association between specific activity timing and CHD risk or cardiorespiratory fitness.

The general message for our patient population remains that you should exercise whenever you can as regular exercise provides significant benefits for health, said corresponding authorJingyi Qian of theDivision of Sleep and Circadian Disordersat the Brigham and an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. But researchers studying the effects of physical activity should take into account timing as an additional consideration so that we can give better recommendations to the general public about how time of day may affect the relationship between exercise and cardiovascular health.

The researchers analyzed baseline data from the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes)study, a multi-site, randomized clinical investigation that began in 2001 and monitored the health of more than 5,000 individuals with Type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity. Among them, over 2,000 individuals had objectively measured physical activity at baseline.

The study population was very well characterized at baseline, with detailed metabolic and physical activity measurements, which was an advantage of using this dataset for our work, said corresponding author Roeland Middelbeek of the Joslin Diabetes Center, who is a co-investigator of the Look AHEAD study.

For theDiabetes Carearticle, the researchers reviewed data from hip-mounted accelerometers that participants wore for one week at the beginning of the Look AHEAD study. The researchers tracked the clock-time of daily moderate-to-vigorous activity, including labor-intensive work that extends beyond more traditionally defined forms of exercise. To assess the participants risk level of experiencing CHD over the next four years, the researchers used the well-known, sex-specificFramingham risk score algorithm.

Sex-specific physiological differences may help explain the more prominent correlations seen in males, who tend to be at risk of CHD earlier in life. However, the researchers note that other factors could also be at play. It remains unclear why time-specific activity may be associated with different levels of health and fitness.

The researchers also could not account for participants varying circadian rhythms: whereas a jog at 6 p.m. for one participant may be evening exercise, another participant prone to waking later in the day may, biologically, consider it to be afternoon, regardless of how the clock-time of the activity was recorded in the study.

Interest in the interaction between physical activity and the circadian system is still just emerging, Qian said. We formed a methodology for quantifying and characterizing participants based on the clock-time of their physical activity, which allows researchers to carry out other studies on other cohorts.

Beyond further integrating circadian biology with exercise physiology, the researchers are also excited to use longitudinal data to investigate how exercise timing relates to cardiovascular health outcomes, particularly among diabetes patients more vulnerable to cardiovascular events.

Other contributors to the research include Michael P. Walkup, Shyh-Huei Chen, Peter H. Brubaker, Dale S. Bond, Phyllis A. Richey, John M. Jakicic, Kun Hu, Frank A.J.L. Scheer, and the Look AHEAD Research Group.

Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (K99HL148500). The Look AHEAD trial was supported by the Department of Health and Human Services through the following cooperative agreements from the National Institutes of Health (DK57136, DK57149, DK56990, DK57177, DK57171, DK57151, DK57182, DK57131, DK57002, DK57078, DK57154, DK57178, DK57219, DK57008, DK57135, and DK56992). The Indian Health Service (I.H.S.) provided personnel, medical oversight, and use of facilities.

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Timing of exercise impacts men with Type 2 diabetes - Harvard Gazette

Physiology

Building a better green workhorse | The Source | Washington University in St. Louis – Washington University in St. Louis Newsroom

Himadri Pakrasi, the George William and Irene Koechig Freiberg Professor in biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, leads a team awarded $1.7 million from the National Science Foundation to streamline the genome of a cyanobacterium with the goal of developing a green cellular factory for sustainable production of food, feed and fuels.

In this project, we are aiming to redesign the genome of a photosynthetic organism without sacrificing its production capacity. This is a tall task, never attempted before, Pakrasi said.

Researchers will use a genome reduction strategy to develop a photosynthetic production platform out of a fast-growing cyanobacterium, Synechococcus 2973, that can efficiently convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into products of interest. This strain has the fastest doubling time of any known species of cyanobacteria and the highest rate of biomass production observed in cyanobacteria, making it a prime target for bioproduction.

Pakrasi and members of his research group, including postdoctoral research associate Anindita Banerjee and research scientist Deng Liu in biology in Arts & Sciences, have worked with Synechococcus 2973 before, including on projects that required expertise in cyanobacterial physiology, systems and synthetic biology.

Their collaboration includes pioneering geneticist George Church of Harvard Medical School and MIT and computational scientist Costas Maranas at Penn State. The Pakrasi and Maranas research groups have worked together for nearly a decade.

The new project involves state-of-the-art genome editing technology, guided by metabolic modeling and experimental analysis. The project will also train a number of undergraduate students, teaching the design and implementation of molecular tools and cyanobacterial physiology.

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic and can thrive with sunlight and consume carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, Pakrasi said. Bioproduction using such microbial cell factories is expected to be environmentally sustainable, as compared to the current heterotrophic production hosts.

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Building a better green workhorse | The Source | Washington University in St. Louis - Washington University in St. Louis Newsroom

Physiology

S.8, E.1: Service and Tennis – Learning for Life @ Gustavus host Greg Kaster interviews Gustavus alum Mason Bultje ’18 about his equity work and…

Mason Bultje 18 talks about majoring in Exercise Physiology and playing tennis at Gustavus, assisting Minneapolis children and youth through nonprofit InnerCity Tennis, and his experience as a young Black man both on and off the Hill.

Season 8, Episode 1: Service and Tennis

Greg Kaster:

Hello and welcome to Learning for Life @ Gustavus, the podcast about people teaching and learning at Gustavus Adolphus College, and the myriad ways that Gustavus liberal arts education provides a lasting foundation for lives of fulfillment and purpose. Im your host Greg Kaster, faculty member in the Department of History.

For a lot of us, I suspect the sport we most associate with inner city youth is basketball. And for those of us living in Minnesota, the year-round indoor-outdoor sport that comes first to mind is most likely hockey. Which is why for people unfamiliar with it as I was, the Minneapolis organization, InnerCity Tennis may come as a surprise.

With origin stating to the 1950s, InnerCity Tennis or ICT has contributed importantly to the development of tens of thousands of children and youth. One person at the center of that work today is ICT junior development coach, Mason Bultje. Mason is a 2018 graduate of Gustavus where he majored in exercise physiology and played tennis, earning all-conference honors and singles and doubles his senior year.

In keeping with the values of Gustavus and reflecting his own experience in the summer Tennis and Life Camps there, Mason has his profile on the ICT website states has A passion for working with underprivileged youth and players of all abilities. Since first learning about mason and his work from a faculty colleague, Ive been looking forward to speaking with him and Im delighted now to welcome to the podcast. Mason, its great to have you.

Mason Bultje:

Yeah. Thanks for having me. Im really excited to be here. Appreciate it.

Greg Kaster:

Thanks. Yeah, youre quite welcome. So I want to mention that faculty colleague is Professor Jill Locke, a friend and a member of the political science department. I gather you helped her maybe as a trainer or something like that and she mentioned you to me because you and I hadnt met before. I was intrigued by what she was saying about your work in InnerCity Tennis. So grateful to her for that connection and also for even suggesting some of the questions that Ill probably be posing, not probably, will be posing today. So how are things going right now? Is InnerCity Tennis up and running even amid the COVID pandemic?

Mason Bultje:

Yeah. Our facility in South Minneapolis where we have people come in and play tennis, we call it our pay-to-play programs, whether its adults or youth, that has been running through most of this year, but when Governor Walz shut things down kind of around Thanksgiving time, that facility closed to the public. But Im heavily involved with tennis and learning program. So its part of our outreach programs where we work with underserved youth and were helping them with their distance learning at this time.

So a lot of the kids that we are working with, I think over 75% of them are on free and reduced lunch. So they dont have the resources to stick to their distance learning at home. So they come into one of our two sites and we have coaches that help them throughout the day make sure they attend their meetings that theyre turning in their work, turning in quality work as well as give them some physical activity where we play tennis as well, and its just been so fulfilling seeing kids being able to safely see their friends and stick to their schoolwork.

There have been times where students dont attend for a couple days and they come back with 15 assignments to do. And then next week, we chip away at it. We get them caught up. So its just very fulfilling work knowing that we are providing these kids with an opportunity to receive their education when they likely wouldnt be able to if they were at home because mom might be working and dad is working multiple jobs as well or limited internet access at home.

So theres certain barriers that our kids face that our program is there to really support them as much as we can. I think for me, the number one thing is getting these kids an education and keeping them safe. And if we can play tennis and have some fun on top of that, thats the icing on the cake. But the number one thing is fulfilling the needs for for these students outside the campus.

Greg Kaster:

Its great to hear this for a lot of reasons, but one of them for me is as you alluded to, we read a lot about how difficult, how the distance learning is difficult. Its difficult even for people who are privileged, but certainly for people who maybe one or both parents have to work and they maybe dont have the internet resources, et cetera. So its nice to hear some stories about organizations like yours that clearly werent werent founded with COVID or any pandemic in mind, obviously, but are doing that kind of good work. I think its important to get those stories recorded and remember them. Well come back to your work there later. So tell us a little bit about where you grew up first of all and how you came to Gustavus.

Mason Bultje:

Yeah. So I was born and raised in Mankato. So not too far away at all. I grew up just very close to Gustavus and Id come to campus for different things like pep band or I was very involved in music in high school so I did some choir concerts there as well as the Swanson Tennis Center going to play different high school matches or tournaments. So I was just around. Im very close with my family in Mankato, and so when I was thinking about going to college, there were a couple things I knew I wanted to stay pretty close to home and then tennis was a big part of who I was and still who I am to this day.

So I kind of was looking at how I could make those things match up and I realized at some point, that I wasnt good enough to play for the Gophers. So the next school on the list was Gustavus and I went and visited the summer before my senior year of high school and just instantly felt at home on campus. Actually Gustavus was the only school I applied to, which I wouldnt recommend, but it was pretty academically rigorous in high school. So I was pretty confident about getting in and then it was just a matter of making things work financially, and just figured it out. And by, I want to say, October my senior year of high school, I knew I was going to be a Gusty and never looked back since.

Greg Kaster:

Thats great. Well, were glad thats the case and I was going to ask you if you had applied to any other schools like Minnesota State or the University of Minnesota. Im not technically, I guess, a first-generation college student. My dad didnt go to college. My mom went to a two-year teachers college, but Im just curious, do you fall into that category of first generation college student or did your parents both attend college? Maybe they even went to Gustavus. I dont know. Sometimes theres a family connection.

Mason Bultje:

Yeah. Im actually kind of the further end of that spectrum there. My mom is really who pushed me, not necessarily even pushed me, but inspired me to pursue an education. She got her doctorate while being a single mother raising four kids, and Im the oldest. I dont want to say, I guess I picked up the slack, but I was very involved in helping out and I just saw the sacrifices that she made to pursue her education. She really taught me that education is something thats really worth investing in. Its something that people cannot take away from you.

Financially Gustavus, the sticker price was pretty scary, but she encouraged me like, Well figure it out. No one will ever take away your education from you. But she actually did work with first generation college students. So I also know the challenges that they face just from talking to her about her work. So its kind of an interesting perspective that I got from her growing up.

Greg Kaster:

Sure. Obviously, youre still drawn on your current work. Whats her field? What is she working or what does she work in?

Mason Bultje:

Yeah. She has her PhD in psychology.

Greg Kaster:

Oh, wow. Thats fantastic.

Mason Bultje:

Yeah.

Greg Kaster:

My dad who as I said didnt go to college grew up in Chicago and then went into World War II, the Army, became a hairdresser. His dad had been a barber. Anyway, my dad just valued education so much and just exactly like your mom was saying all of those things to me and to my brother, one of the sibling. Man, Im so grateful. As I know you are to your mom, because its amazing to me how many people still discount education, generally, but also a college education that its not worth it. Well, I can be an entrepreneur without it.

No, its worth it, and your mom is so right, it can never be taken away from you. It repays in so many ways not just in monetary ways, obviously. And youre an example of that. Well get into that. So thats a neat story. So how about the major? You end up majoring in exercise physiology. I mean, I didnt even hear of that until, I dont know, maybe when I was in graduate school. But what led you into that area?

Mason Bultje:

Yeah, I think this part of my story is pretty similar to a lot of students. I came in thinking I was pre-med. For my first year, I really did load up my schedule quite a bit. I didnt necessarily help myself out there, but taking the bios and chems, and everything my first year. And its kind of found like I like studying the human body and I like the application of knowing more about how muscles work and how the different systems of the body work.

I just remember theres a moment in the library where I was sitting there like, Okay, I probably could get through this. I probably could get to medical school someday, but I dont like this. This isnt very fun. So I literally went on the website and just looked at other majors and classes that I kind of What field am I sort of in, but its different than this. Im sick of talking about plants right now.

So I actually had a lot of a lot of pre-reqs for physical therapy. And actually part of my story thats interesting is that my first year at Gustavus, I had wrist problems. I was playing tennis and right away in February on touring week, my wrist was really hurting and I didnt know what was going on and I had to jump through a bunch of different hoops at one point. They diagnosed me with this rare disease and I thought my wrist was going to shatter.

So through that process, I end up in the doctors office with my mom. Shes like, Yeah, you might have to do physical therapy. I could see you being good at that. Wait a minute. I already have a lot of the classes for it. Its about the human body. Youre really helping people. So I looked into it a little bit more and I really liked the sound of going the pre-PT route and I thought that Its actually the health fitness major at the time. They switched it to exercise physiology, while I was in the program.

The classes stayed essentially the same. They just changed the title of the major, which I approve of. I think exercise physiology sounds a lot better than health fitness. So then I pivoted to that route and actually was able to jump a year ahead in my major. So I finished up pretty much all of my exercise physiology classes by my junior year.

Greg Kaster:

Wow.

Mason Bultje:

My senior year was very lax and allowed me to shadow for PT, which I can get into a little bit more [crosstalk 00:12:25].

Greg Kaster:

Yeah, Id like to hear more about that. Thats awesome. So regular listeners know how much I love these stories because its often the case. Maybe its probably most often the case that students really dont know. Or lets put it this way, they may think they know what theyre going to do, what they want to be. And boy, if I only had a dollar or maybe $10 for every student who wants to be a doctor at least through the end of the first semester until the low grades start coming in. Its so interesting, the way you found that major and also the personal connection. I didnt know about the wrist injuries. I assume you overcame those because you continued to play tennis.

Mason Bultje:

Yeah. Eventually, I actually had two surgeries in three years though. So the first one didnt quite get it. So it taught me some lessons about perseverance through that. But Im all fixed now. Im good to go, but it was a bumpy start to my tennis career, no doubt.

Greg Kaster:

Yeah. And you had mentioned youd come to Gustavus having played in high school, so you already had a love of the game. What are some of the memories you have of Gustavus? I know we want to talk about the Tennis and Life camp there and then we maybe set that aside for just a second, but that aside, what are some of the memories, good, bad and ugly and you were a student of student of color there as well, if you want to talk about that. But what are some of the memories you have of the place? Im asking partly because youre two years out, so its not going to be that hard to recollect.

Mason Bultje:

Yeah. Its still fresh. I still think about what Im missing out as a full grown adult now every day. I think a lot of my memories really are wrapped around the tennis team and the camaraderie that I had with my teammates, whether thats on the court or off the court just thinking about going to practice and then going to the trainers and going to the caf. Everyones sitting around the table together and then 30 minutes later after everyone showers up and meet up in the library again.

Youre closing it down, going back to your dorm and doing it all over again. Just the time management skills that I learned from being an athlete at Gustavus. Id also say, I mean theres a lot of camaraderie obviously between the tennis team, but just athletes in general, theres just a really supportive community being an athlete. All the different sports, I feel like we all connected and support each other very well. So thats thats very central to a lot of the memories that I have.

Just being neighbors with your best friends for four years is a very unique experience. I know that living on campus a lot of people complain about it, and theyre warranted. But I do think that you can also look at it in a positive way, and that youll never have more access to being around your classmates and your friends in the way that you are when youre just down the hall and new.

Greg Kaster:

Yeah. I completely agree. And just to underscore what you said about athletes at Gustavus, Ive said this before both on the podcast and off, but over the years, Ive taught like like other profs taught, many athletes in all different areas women and men, and in general, yes, what you mentioned learning time management and having the self-discipline thats necessary to succeed in your particular sport also translates nicely into your academic work, right? At least in my experience. So I can relate. And I also can relate to what you just said about being on campus.

I mean, I guess as an undergraduate, I went to Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, where by the way I have a memory of playing tennis not as a team member, but I think maybe as what was then called physical education, PE requirement. I wasnt very good at it. But what I remember is when I lived off campus, it was really kind of on campus. It was a house called the foreign language house and it wasnt far off campus at all. I suppose like most most off-campus housing.

But man, the friendships there, the camaraderie. We still have reunions. Theres one coming up in January as a matter of fact which I hope to attend, finally. Anyway, so I can completely relate to what youre saying and just certainly want to underscore what you said about athletics and the way it connects to self-discipline and success beyond the particular sport one is involved in.

So as a student of color, what was that like? I mean, the place is overwhelmingly white like most college campuses. I mean, thats just a fact. Was that something that you felt you were aware of or not?

Mason Bultje:

Yeah. Very much so. I think for me college was sort of a great awakening if you will for me with my own identity, with my standing in the world socially. I think in high school Mankato was very, very white as well. Although you have a pretty good immigrant population from East Africa. But as far as like who was in my social circle and who was in the classes that I was in, AP classes and everything, its very white. So that was very normal to me.

So on the hill at Gustavus, I felt great. I didnt feel black so to say. Obviously, I am and I knew that, but it didnt feel as much of an anomaly as when I went down the hill. Being completely honest, I had a pretty tough time in St. Peter. I think that for me, it actually was really interesting that I didnt realize how bad it was in the world as a black man until I went to Gustavus, until I experienced the absence of that feeling while I was on the hill.

It just felt normal I guess just to always feel black, just to always feel kind of the eyes on you. Always feel like people are suspicious of you. Once I went to Gustavus, I finally felt that feeling be removed, but then at the same time when Id go to Family Fresh, Id feel it 10 times more than I would-

Greg Kaster:

In the grocery store, yeah.

Mason Bultje:

Yeah.

Greg Kaster:

Thats all fascinating to me. Quite fascinating and important. Boy, youre reminding me long ago, maybe even before you were born, the grocery store, I think it was called Ericksons. Anyway the grocery store in town on Halloween, my wife Kate who then taught in history, and I went down to do our shopping and there was a cashier in blackface. A white woman dressed up as a mammy for her Halloween costume. We were stunned. We shouldnt have been.

The woman clearly took great pride in her costume. My wife, Kate who doesnt hold back in the face of something like that, she spoke to the manager. And long story short, I mean, oh goodness, the woman was so upset. She had to get rid of the costume. Sort of to her, it was nothing at all, but to then African-American students seeing that and some white people as well, it was like, What in the hell? So thats just so interesting to me. It felt different in Mankato because Mankato is just more diverse. Growing up in Mankato, you didnt have those kinds of experiences you had here?

Mason Bultje:

I would not say that. I would say when I grew up in Mankato, it was just normal because I didnt know anything different.

Greg Kaster:

Okay. Got you.

Mason Bultje:

It was happening, but that was just the norm. Then when I went to Gustavus and I felt that stopped for a little bit. Thats when I realized like, Wow, this is what it was always like for me growing up. I dont have to just deal with this. I mean, just the things that just were normally my friends in high school, I wouldnt say that theyre racist or anything. Theyre kind of dumb high school kids, but they would make like Emmett Till jokes and that would just be normal.

I didnt think anything of it because thats just the way it was. And then when I went to Gustavus and people were not making Emmett Till jokes, thats when I realized that, okay, it doesnt have to be this way. And then taking that a step further now living in Minneapolis, I really feel much more free and secure in my identity as a black man.

Greg Kaster:

Again, its all fascinating because Ive spoken to some black alums, Gustavus alums, for whom Well, different in your case, maybe coming from lets say black towns in Mississippi and then coming to Gustavus where its much more of a shock, and they had some you know negative experiences and some negative memories around race at Gustavus. But in your case, you went through sort of what some African-Americans went through lets say during World War II who were abroad and werent experiencing racism for the first time, and then come back to a country having fought against racism, the Nazis, but come back to a country where racism is still flourishing.

So I just think its so interesting how Gustavus in your case became the place where you felt Not that there wasnt racism, but you felt its absence more than before, and that was kind of an awakening. I find that quite interesting. So were you up in Minneapolis when Mr. Floyd was Youre already living here when George Floyd was murdered this past summer?

Mason Bultje:

Yeah. So I was up here and just to add thats walking distance from InnerCity Tennis, from our facility. So that really hit close to home and got me more fired up. I think that for myself, before George Floyd, Id kind of go through phases of being really empowered and vocal and really pushing those around me to learn more about you know social justice issues and become more outspoken. But then it kind of dwindle at times and I think that with George Floyd that fire grew so big and and I realized that I cant ask allies to commit to working towards solving these issues consistently if Im not doing it.

So Ive really tried to commit myself to making that be a part of my identity, a part of who I am, and bringing diversity equity and inclusion initiatives into everything that I do. That was really a turning point for me especially having it. Like I said, it hit so close to home. I was able to organize an event for InnerCity Tennis. Its kind of like a supply drive on getting people together in the community just to kind of talk about these issues and then they were people are encouraged to walk over to the memorial, just walk over a foot bridge over 35W down a couple blocks and then youre right there.

Greg Kaster:

Youre right. I forgot how close to your facility is to the side. Kate and I were able to go. So many others were able to go to the memorial site, which was just quite profound, quite moving and very interesting. I was so struck by the mix of those A sense of celebration in some ways. Lots of life. I mean, barber shop, and cooking, and music, but also deep profound grief and sadness. So I want to come back to your You were telling me before we started recording, your work with the US Tennis Association around diversity, but lets circle back, again, to Gustavus.

I know for you as for so many people, that Tennis and Life Camps there, the summer Tennis and Life Camps that I mentioned in the intro were so I mean, its an overused word, but it still applies transformative, so important. I wasnt at all closely associated with them. I was aware of them of course teaching at Gustavus. We should note that they were founded and started in 1977 by Steve Wilkinson, a renowned collegiate tennis coach. I think the winningest tennis coach in collegiate history, at least thus far, and his wife Barbara. Did you get to know Steve before he passed away or not?

Mason Bultje:

Yeah. So I was actually the last first year class to come in, while Steve was still alive. So he passed away January of my first year. So I have one memory of him coaching me in a match in the fall and thats something that I definitely cherish.

Greg Kaster:

Thats great. Well, tell us a little bit about your experience in there. What you did in those camps, how they impacted you. You also taught there, right? Did you attend them and teach there both?

Mason Bultje:

So I actually never attended. I grew up in Mankato, but the drive was just too much for me. It is an expensive camp, and so for me, its either I could do a whole summer of tennis in Mankato or I could go to TLC for three days. So I chose more tennis. But when I went to Gustavus, I had a pretty good idea that there was a decent chance I would get involved with Tennis and Life Camps in the summer.

Greg Kaster:

Yeah. Tell us a little bit about that, about what you were doing.

Mason Bultje:

Yeah. I have a pretty decent story I guess about the beginning. I mentioned having wrist problems that happened in the spring of my first year, and I had already committed to doing TLC that summer, but then ended up needing to have surgery in May. They put a screw in my wrist. So I was going to be in the cast for most of the summer and I was really worried about my job security at that point, like not only do I not get to play tennis, do I have to be in the cast, but can I even work?

I talked to Neal Hagberg whos the director, and he said, Well make it work. The majority of my first summer, I taught tennis left-handed. Its not like Im ambidextrous or proficient with my left hand by any means, but I figured it out, and I think that really is the start of I dont know. Thats just so integral to what I do now, and with outreach, so many situations are not ideal, but you just figure it out. So I think thats one of the first lessons that I learned going in the TLC.

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S.8, E.1: Service and Tennis - Learning for Life @ Gustavus host Greg Kaster interviews Gustavus alum Mason Bultje '18 about his equity work and...