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By Sarah Mulnick ’17

It’s an old, familiar cycle: you know that exercise is good for you, and after you finally start a new regimen, you fizzle out and fall back into old habits. And then the next regimen comes along, and then the next, and the cycle continues.  

消消犯 student researcher and Lumen Scholar Nicole Doolen ’17 seeks to change that by looking at exercise in an entirely different light. If participants in an exercise regimen work out based on how good they’re feeling throughout the workout rather than on how hard they’re pushing or how fast their heart is pounding, can that increase fitness levels and transform the cycle into long-lasting exercise habits? Her study during the last two years has shown that it can. 

Doolen has pursued this eye-opening research as a recipient of the Lumen Prize, which provides selected students with a $15,000 scholarship to support and celebrates their academic and creative achievements. Lumen Scholars work closely with faculty mentors to pursue and complete their projects.

The research findings have been reassuring to the exercise science major, who considers exercise a significant part of her life. “I run because it’s fun,” she said, laughing when she added: “I know that most people don’t think that’s true, but exercise is a huge part of my life.”

Doolen participated in gymnastics for 11 years and soccer for even longer than that, and said that exercise shaped her life. She wants to share that passion with others, she added, because she’s seen the benefits that it has had on her life.

Unfortunately, despite the obvious and documented benefits of exercise, it isn’t as popular as it should be. With widespread obesity a common problem in the United States, physical exercise is a solution that often gets overlooked.

“Exercise science can study how good exercise is for people, but if no one is exercising, that’s a problem,” Doolen said. “We can share the research and the benefits, but it doesn’t make a difference if people aren’t working out.”

Her research has sought to change that. Traditionally, exercise prescriptions urge participants to maintain certain levels of intensity—moderate, hard or varying at different intervals. The challenge is creating an prescription that helps a person make exercise a habit they maintain, rather than an activity they perform just for a set period of time.

Doolen decided to focus on implementing an effect-based exercise prescription, which encourages working out so that the participant feels “good,” and then working to maintain that level throughout the regimen. The hope for Doolen and her mentor, Associate Professor of Exercise Science Wally Bixby, was that participants would attain a similar level of fitness as traditional prescriptions, but maintain the habit even after the six-week period was completed.

The Honors Fellow worked with her research mentor to design a study with two groups: one assigned traditional prescriptions, the other effect-based. After six weeks, Doolen tested the participants’ fitness levels, and has followed up after one, three and six months to determine whether habits were formed as a result of the prescriptions.

A month after the study concluded, more participants had dropped the traditional regimen, and fewer had finished that series than the group whose prescription focused on working out to feel good.

“Effect-based prescriptions may be an effective tool in getting people to continue exercise,” Doolen said, noting that the fitness levels from the two groups had been comparable.

That challenges a prevailing notion in exercise science that working out to hit a certain intensity level is the only way to make long-term changes. Doolen’s research suggests positive consequences for the longevity of exercise habits, as the participants in her study who were given an effect-based prescription were less likely to stop exercising both during and after the trial.

Doolen’s efforts as a Lumen scholar have included coursework, study abroad, research both on campus and abroad as well as during the regular academic year and summers, internships locally and abroad, program development and creative productions and performances. Doolen has already presented at several conferences, including the South East American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the National ACSM conference and at Elon. She is currently working on transforming her study into a journal manuscript, hopefully to be published in the spring.

Bixby, an associate professor of exercise science at Elon, has worked with Doolen since her freshman year, when she approached him about potentially doing research together.

None of the acclaim Doolen has received is surprising to Bixby. “She’s dedicated and she works hard,” he said. “She does what she says she’s going to do, and she seems to enjoy doing that.”

Doolen said she sees that same passion for knowledge in her mentor. “The biggest thing he’s shown me is the importance of being passionate about what you’re 消消犯 or researching,” she said, adding that he has led by example in his passion for 消消犯, research and his own commitment to exercise. “It shows through as a professor and in our research. It’s something he does because he cares.”

That impassioned attitude towards scholarship and hobbies is what drew Doolen to Elon, where she knew that she could try new things. While here, she’s been involved with Alpha Phi Omega, a service fraternity, worked at the challenge course, and pursued her studies through the Honors Fellows.

Her work as an Honors Fellow presented Doolen with the opportunity to publish a philosophy article her sophomore year. The article, about the sexual ethics inherent in purity balls, used a virtue ethics-based framework to understand whether those balls help develop the participants’ personal ethics. It was published in the Stance Undergraduate Philosophy Journal.

“It was something I never expected to do,” Doolen admitted. She was nervous for the class, she added, because as she told her parents, she “doesn’t do philosophy. But it ended up being probably one of my favorite classes at Elon.”

Doolen, a native of Oregon, is currently applying to physical therapy schools all over the country, and hopes to eventually end up back on the West Coast.

The award recognizes the dedication of a sports complex to environmental sustainability, and the team that maintains it. The certification is open to all sports centers across the country. Elon was one of the first five complexes to receive confirmation of the certification, with 15 other centers across the country currently going through the process. 

To receive the certification, programs must pass with a score of higher than 80 percent in 10 different areas: assessing storm water management, fertilization, pesticides/IPM program, recycling, composting, mowing, energy conservation, shop buildings and storage areas, irrigation and water quality testing, and educational outreach.

The Elon submission process was led by Elon Sports Turf Manager Scott Stevens, who said that receiving the certification was a reassurance that the team was doing the right thing. “Being environmentally responsible is really important for us and the administration,” he said. “We really want to make sure that we’re maintaining the fields for the next generation to come in and take care of it and play on them.”

The certification comes as part of a larger Elon movement to increase sustainability and environmental friendly programs on campus. Recently, Elon became one of eight higher education institutions to receive the APPA 2016 Sustainability Award, which recognized the school’s efforts in energy reduction; water conservation; campus composting programs for yard and food waste; and the Elon BioBus system. 

“This award helps give us some recognition that we are doing the right things and that we’re making things as safe as possible,” Stevens said. 

This summer, the U.S. Secretary of Education honored Elon as a green ribbon school for its programs promoting environmental sustainability. The university this fall was named a “cool school” by the Sierra Club, and 

消消犯 hosted the second annual Undergraduate Public Health Research Collaboration on Friday, Sept. 23. At the event, 23 消消犯 students shared their research to an audience of fellow students adn faculty from Elon, Davidson College and Furman University, along with local public health officials and the Elon Alamance Health Partners.

The fair was part of a concerted effort by the three schools to showcase the diversity of topics within the field of public health. The collaborative event shows how 消消犯s can explore public health research and pursue interests in the field at institutions that may not have a dedicated school of public health.

“Public health is such a big field,” said Cynthia Fair, professor of human service studies at Elon. “There are a lot of things that fit under that umbrella.”

There’s a tendency to move away from the liberal arts and into preprofessional fields, according to Gabie Smith, dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences. To Fair, the presentations from the students revealed just how vibrant the field is, and the opportunities that it offers.

The research presentations showcased the variety of topics within in the field of public health, from students researching water births to students who studied how infectious diseases spread.

Among those 消消犯s offering oral presentations on their research to the attendees on Friday morning was Michelle Rave ’17. Her research focuses on dengue fever, and how mathematical models can represent both its spread and the success of the potential cures that have been attempted.

​The oral presentations were followed by two poster sessions, and a keynote speech by Bhibha Das, assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at East Carolina University, who spoke about what it means to bring research into practice while engaging the local community.

For the students, this event provided an opportunity to put a spolight on their research as well as to network with other 消消犯s and faculty who may offer a different insight into their line of inquiry. Many of the students presenting have made tentative plans for their future, from applying to medical school to planning work closely with high school students as a guidance counselor. 

“One of the key ideas in public health is intersectionality,” said Nicky Kratzer ’17, an Elon senior whose research into the role of new student orientation programs has recently revealed significant results. “Everything impacts everything else in public health. By having this conference where we can learn about other people’s research, it’s helpful to see the factors that may impact your own research in ways we never thought of before.

“We learn about possible collaborations, and learn about the passions that our peers have, too.” 

Elon followed Furman University in hosting this year’s event, with Davidson College to host the event next year. 

After raising more than $11,000 from the inaugural race last year, the race coordinators hope to exceed $13,000 this year –– a goal that Cindy Bennett, assistant professor of physician assistant studies, believes is possible.

“We are on track to hit that goal and go beyond it,” said Bennett. The race expects to attracted more sponsors and expects more than 350 participants this year, an increase of more than 100. First-year graduate student and race director Anna Parr worked with Bennett to coordinate the race. 

The increase in participation and support follows efforts to boost the grow this year. Coordinators learned from last year, and have improved the course, logistics, and opportunities to donate to the Open Door Clinic. “We want substantial money to give to the clinic,” Bennett said. 

​EPASS works with the clinic to place students there in the first year of studies, where they gain valuable clinical experience.

“Open Door Clinic is a wonderful and meaningful resource to Alamance County,” said Graham Brown, EPASS president and a graduate student at Elon. “I’ve seen firsthand the majorly positive impact that the clinic provides to our community.”

The executive director of Open Door Clinic, Tracy Salisbury, added that the clinic depends on donations from the community to serve its patients. This is the first year the clinic has offered dental services to the uninsured in Alamance County.

​The Great Cape Escape features superhero costumes, a fun run full of zombies and challenges for children under nine years old, along with a costume contest with prizes donated from sponsors like The Oak House, Zenitry and Red Bowl. 

The race begins at 9am on Sept. 24. Participants can sign up for the 5K or 10K race, or the fun run at . Online sign-ups will continue up until the time of the race, and participants can sign up in person the day before. The race course starts at the Gerald Francis Center at 762 East Haggard Ave., and will take participants across Elon’s campus.