Exercise Science major Emma Clarke ’25 was recently honored at the Midwest chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine’s (MWACSM) annual meeting with the President’s Cup, a prestigious award historically given to master’s or doctorate students.
Clarke’s presentation titled “The Acute Reduction in VO2max Induced by a Mitochondrial Targeting Antioxidant (MitoQ) is Not Associated with Lower Cardiac Output,” was about a study done by a study led by Dr. Matthew Harber, Professor of Kinesiology. The research delved into the mechanisms by which the consumption of a mitochondrial targeting antioxidant (MitoQ) blunts aerobic capacity (VO2max). Clarke reviewed the research and created a poster, and then conducted the award-winning presentation at the MWACSM conference.
“That side of human performance, and how the things we ingest affects the things we do is just fascinating to me,” said Clarke. “Since this was my second year presenting at the conference, I went into it knowing how to be prepared, what questions to ask, and how to interact with industry professionals.”
The criteria for winning the President’s Cup are demonstration of knowledge, scientific merit, quality of the poster/presentation, clarity of verbal description of the project, and ability to answer questions related to the research. The majority of student presentations were conducted by master’s, PhD-level, and post-doctoral students.
“Emma outscored every other undergraduate student as well as every master’s-level and doctoral-level student at the conference,” said Dr. Brandon Dykstra, Department Chair and Associate Professor of Kinesiology. “It’s a powerful affirmation that Exercise Science students at Taylor University are given the opportunity to participate on research teams, present research, and even write published manuscripts.”
This year, faculty and students from both the Kinesiology Department and Psychology Department attended the conference. Five students gave presentations: Emma Clarke, Maddie Schultz, Mackenzie Noah, Hannah Beidelman, and Alison Stuart.
For winning the award, Clarke will take her research to the national annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in May, where she will compete against the other 10 regional winners.
Clarke is from Elkhart, Indiana, and plans to pursue a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree after graduating from Taylor University in May.
