ECU Kinesiology

BS Exercise Physiology student Mateo Olmo-Ramirez (middle) had the opportunity to represent East Carolina University at the McDonald Conference For Leaders of Character (MCLC) at the United States Military Academy at West Point. The MCLC bring together nearly 70 undergraduate student leaders from across the United States and the globe.

Want to lead, coach or teach? Serving as a Lifetime Physical Activity Fitness instructor can help you get there.

Learn more about being an LPAF Instructor ➡️ https://hhp.ecu.edu/kine/mskine/

grads Darius, Kaleb, Mary, Kendall, Morgan, and Kaitlyn reflected on what it means to serve as Lifetime Physical Activity Fitness (LPAF) instructors while completing their coursework.

The common theme: gaining valuable hands-on experience, strengthening their skillsets, and making an impact on the students and classmates around them.

Postdoctoral scholar Dr. Ericka Biagioni, under mentorship from Dr. Linda May, has been busy with research having a direct and positive impact on pregnant women:

Continuous Glucose Monitoring technology will help Biagioni lead a study measuring 24-hour blood glucose patterns in pregnant women in response to performing different types of supervised exercise throughout pregnancy. This could determine the relationship between maternal blood glucose and infant body fat at the whole-body and cellular levels, and will be the first study to characterize maternal glucose in response to different types of prenatal exercise. Biagioni was awarded an American Diabetes Association Postdoctoral Fellowship to investigate this research. If interested in participating, email Biagioni or May.

Also, Biagioni was awarded a Novice Research Grant from The Ge**er Foundation to study essential nutrients and the use of nutrition education during pregnancy to improve the health of mothers and babies. Participants will be compensated for their time. If 16 weeks of gestation or less and interested in participating, complete the screening questionnaire ⤵️
https://redcap.ecu.edu/surveys/?s=M47TTDEEFWFKHPP4

Physical activity can do more than improve fitness—it can help prevent and manage chronic disease.

Our Human Performance Lab studies conditions like obesity, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes to understand how movement can improve health.

Explore the services and schedule an appointment ➡️ https://hhp.ecu.edu/hpl/

Movement is powerful medicine. 🏃
Explore our services and schedule an appointment ➡️ https://hhp.ecu.edu/hpl/

Excellence in Leadership. 🏆

HHP students Chloe Cannon (Public Health) and Darshan Patel (Exercise Physiology) were recent recipients of the Truist Excellence in Student Leadership Award. 🎉

This award, sponsored annually by the Truist Leadership Center, recognizes students who have demonstrated exemplary leadership on campus, made a positive impact in a North Carolina community, or helped address a significant issue facing the state.

Workforce ready. 💼

Ms. Julie Kulas (Health Education and Promotion), Ms. Rose Haddock (Health Education and Promotion), Ms. Julie Cox (Kinesiology), and Ms. Anna Gold (Kinesiology) recently led a training session for KINE and HEP majors who plan to complete internships during the summer and fall 2026 semesters. This training focused on professional expectations and strategies for a productive internship experience.

Why is the East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute so unique at and in the state? Well, in the same building ...

"We can collect a biospecimen on one floor and take the elevator to another floor to perform experiments on those samples. We also have an exercise testing room that allows us to collect and analyze these samples during acute bouts of exercise."

The full story on this research gem ⤵️
https://hhp.ecu.edu/hhp-news/2026/05/11/unique-research-opportunities-with-ecdoi/

Congratulations to Kinesiology Outstanding Grads! 🎓 🎉