By Sofie Schachter
Sophie Sanchez arrived on the UW–Madison campus with a plan of majoring in biology.
“I didn’t even know kinesiology existed at that point,” admits Sanchez.
But that all changed during her sophomore year, when as part of a biology class project, Sanchez was introduced to the Schrage Lab. Led by Department of Kinesiology Professor Bill Schrage, this lab centers its efforts on studying blood flow and how it relates to health and disease.
It’s in this setting that Sanchez is getting real-world research experience as an undergraduate helping to study the similarities and differences in how men and women regulate blood flow in the brain. She is also branching out and working with a postdoctoral student in the lab to study immunology.
“We look at how immune cells respond in healthy females and males when we make them mad with different stimuli,” says Sanchez. “I think a lot of people would be surprised by the kind of research projects students can get involved with.”
While not all undergraduates on campus are involved with such projects, a nationally ranked research institution like UW–Madison offers a range of opportunities to students that often aren’t available at other colleges and universities.
And within UW–Madison, the highly ranked School of Education in particular houses multiple world-renowned labs and centers in fields across the arts, health, and education. Perhaps most notably, the School houses the Wisconsin Center for Education Research — which provides a research home for approximately 140 grant-funded projects and staff, and is one of the oldest and most productive education research centers in the world.
Similarly, faculty and staff with the School of Education’s Department of Kinesiology are leading vital research projects in fields across kinesiology and occupational therapy. In many of these labs, undergraduate students are gaining valuable experiences and blossoming as researchers.
Sanchez says that the connections she’s made with professors, and the experience she’s received from her research experience, will benefit her future plans to attend medical school. She says that her perspective on what research is has also changed through this involvement.
“I used to think it was just sitting in a lab all day and just pipetting for hours, and that’s not what it is at all,” Sanchez says. She adds that there is much more interaction with participants and fellow researchers than she expected.
When asked what she would want other undergraduate or future undergraduate students to know, she added: “I would say to just put yourself out there and look at research labs. … There’s so many different kinds of research. It’s not necessarily lab based.”
Jenna Sanders, another kinesiology student, is also passionate about the research opportunities that the School of Education offers.
Sanders, a junior, works to better support individuals with dementia and their caregivers in Kinesiology Department Assistant Professor Beth Field’s lab. Specifically, she is exploring the use of exercise e-health interventions for caregivers of older adults to increase the caregiver’s well-being through helping to conduct a literature review. She is also researching the intricacies of power of attorney activation for older adults with dementia who are admitted to the hospital.
As someone who wants to go to Physical Therapy school, Sanders says that “I had a very narrow mindset of what PT is, and then as I’ve been a student here, and especially since being in a research lab in the therapeutic field, it’s really expanded my viewpoint of what is included in PT…it’s really strengthened that interest.”
Sanders credits her lab for improving her collaboration and communication skills, as well as teaching her innovative techniques and allowing for research practice experience. She speaks highly of the professional development she has received, as well as the exposure to new experiences not taught in the classroom.
“It’s a lot of learning,” Sanders says. “It’s a lot of getting experience and exposure, and then it’s stuff that you won’t get taught in actual classes, like the research process.” She adds that, like Sanchez, there is a lot more interpersonal communication and working with participants than she expected.
“Definitely pursue that as early as you can… I wish I would have gotten involved in research earlier,” Sanders states.