Senior Student of HHPR
Author: Grace Balsam | Major: Exercise Science
As a senior, I’ve fallen in love with research as I worked under Dr. Kaitlin Gallagher during the summer of 2021, and I’ve formulated my own research question for my Honors thesis under Dr. Abigail Schmitt. In hopes of graduating in the Spring of 2022, I began working on my research this past fall, and I’m planning to finish my thesis during the spring semester. After graduation, I am hoping to attend a Physician Assistant Master’s program in my home state of Tennessee because there’s nothing I want more than to help those around me become the best versions of themselves.
Both Dr. Schmitt and Dr. Gallagher have gotten most of their research experience from working in Biomechanics labs; Biomechanics can be defined as simply the science and study of human movement. Going a little further, I was exposed to the world of Neuromechanics through Dr. Schmitt, and that is where my fascination grew with the connections made by multiple organ systems through simple, everyday tasks. My research focuses on the connection between the change in an individual’s visual input and their ability to maintain balance. In reality, my research can lend itself to further study of older and/or disabled populations, but right now, I want to focus on healthy, young adults and how their balance is affected when provided a dual-task scenario. Determining the role that visual input plays in maintaining balance can provide recommendations that may be useful in injury prevention and fall predictions of older populations.
Starting my junior year, I was getting a bit intimidated at the idea of working on an Honors thesis; at that point in time, it still seemed like it was so far away. I had looked into studies that were happening within the Exercise Science Research Center, but I was still finding it hard to see myself taking research into my own hands because I was still unsure of what aspect of exercise science I wanted to focus on. Enrolled in Dr. Schmitt’s Mechanics of Human Movement course, I started to see another side of research that really intrigued me. Listening to her experience with gait and balance research opened my eyes to the world of Biomechanics, and I knew that I wanted to learn more. After some preliminary research and literature reviews, I decided that I wanted focus on human balance. At first glance, balance seems to be a simple, innate task experienced in everyday life, but I quickly learned there was so much more; while designing my study, I found myself wanting to know more about the role that visual input plays in one’s ability to balance. With the help of Dr. Schmitt, I landed on the idea of using eye-tracking glasses so that I can compare gaze data with the balance data provided by the force plates within the lab.
After getting the design of the study smoothed out, we began pilot testing during the last two months of this fall semester. The pilot tests revealed challenges that came with aligning the force plate data and gaze data through multiple computers, but further research into eye-tracking technology revealed a set of tracking glasses that sync in real time with the force plate system. Heading into this break, I presented a proposal outlining my thesis for my committee: Dr. Schmitt, Dr. Gallagher, and Dr. Schmitt’s PhD student Ashlyn Jendro. During this meeting, Dr. Gallagher helped me take a step back from the details of my study and showed me how to look at the overall picture. This winter break has given me time to go back to the basics and work through a research question that can serve as the guiding light for my thesis; I’ve always been someone who gets wrapped up in the details because I want everything to be perfect, but I learned that sometimes it’s best to pay attention to the overall idea of a research study, rather than those particular details. I’ve spent time going through more literature reviews and preliminary research to nail down what I want this study to reveal. Next semester, I look forward to refining my question, as well as collect data to complete my thesis; as this is only the beginning of my research, there have been challenges along the way, but those challenges have only made me more excited for my next steps in research.