The College of Health and University of Utah Athletics are partnering for the third year in a row to hold the Athlete Health & Performance Symposium. The two-day event will bring together students, faculty, staff, coaches, and professionals from local teams and beyond to encourage collaboration and develop highly trained personnel who will support student-athlete health, wellness, and performance.
On Friday April 11, the symposium kicks off with a day of poster presentations from student researchers and keynotes from three well-known sports professionals:
- Dan Cushman, MD – Utah Health, professor in the University of Utah Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and director of non-operative sports medicine research.
- Sarah Kessler, Ph.D., CSCS, head coach of athletic performance for the Indiana Fever and former performance data analyst for the Indiana Pacers.
- Shawn Heuglin, Ph.D., RD, CSSD, senior sport dietitian with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
Better yet, students get into the symposium at no charge. All are welcome to submit a poster abstract to present at the Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House.
Peter Fino, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Health & Kinesiology and Stephan Bodkin, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, help organize and lead the event.
“Many of our undergraduates come in thinking they want to do something with sports, and this symposium really showcases all the different opportunities to work within human performance and athletics,” Fino said. “Sports and nutrition, biomechanics, athletic training, strength and condition, there are many career opportunities that exist in this space.”
The symposium sprang from a collaboration with Anna Cruse, the director of Applied Health & Performance Science for Utah Athletics. After she joined the department in 2021, she started an internship for undergraduate students to work alongside her team in athletics. Together, they collect data and use it to improve health and performance for student-athletes at Utah.
“The Applied Health and Performance Science department at Utah is unique—some schools across the country have sports scientists embedded within individual teams, but there are not very many with departments like ours, though that number is growing” Cruse said. “We started the symposium to showcase what our interns are doing and the opportunities that exist for students who want to work in sports.”
Around the time that the Applied Health and Performance Science department began, Fino and fellow faculty in the Department of Health & Kinesiology started revamping their undergraduate curriculum to create a Movement Science emphasis area. It focuses on quantitative skills, biomechanics, motor neuroscience, and hands-on experiences with new technologies that are common in research, clinical, and applied sports science settings. The curriculum reaches one of the largest concentrations of students at the University, with department enrollment at almost 1,500 students.
Bodkin already worked closely with athletics thanks to his expertise in return-to-play protocols. He’s also the point person for working with athletics on research proposals and helps determine if the proposals will benefit the teams and student-athletes in question.
“In regard to our mission of advancing undergraduate research opportunities, I think that’s the coolest part of the symposium,” he said. Our students can present any work they’re conducting, and it doesn’t have to be abstract based, as typically required at conference structured events. It provides them with an opportunity to advance their educational experience and further exposure to research opportunities.”
The symposium has been so successful that the team has added a second day. April 12 is only open to industry professionals and features another heavy-hitting lineup of keynote speakers. Day two will move to the Legacy Hall at the Jon M. and Karen Huntsman Basketball Facility and feature the following:
- Nick Galli, Ph.D., CMPC, ACMHC – Utah Athletics & US Speedskating
- Shane Domer, M.Ed., CSCS – US Speedskating
- John C. Lin, Ph.D. – Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy, University of Utah
- Amy Lenz, Ph.D. – University of Utah, Mechanical Engineering
- Ali Spencer – Snowbird Sports Education Foundation, Burke Mountain Academy
- Michelle Anumba, PT, DPT, ATC, CES – Utah Jazz/Salt Lake City Stars
- Garrett Blakey, CSCS – Salt Lake City Stars
- Genevieve Albouy, PhD - University of Utah, Health & Kinesiology
- Sam Sears, MS, RD – Utah Hockey Club
“We’re trying to come together to solve problems as practitioners within our high-performance community,” Cruse said. “None of us are competitors, so it gives us all a unique opportunity to bring forth questions we have and showcase all the innovative work taking place in Salt Lake.”
Professionals can register for only $35 a day, and continuing education credits are available. The symposium is generously sponsored by Dairy West, Beehive Meals, Rapid Reboot, Momentous, and Hyperice.
“The conversation around student success is really pertinent right now,” Fino said. “This symposium showcases all the work we’ve done together over the last few years to give more students more opportunities. The COH shares a building with athletics, and we have a successful history of collaboration across research and clinical spaces. It’s been great to integrate education more and better serve our students and student-athletes.”