Health study involves adults with Down syndrome ‘every step of the way’

Oct. 15, 2025 | Ethan Simmons NIH-funded study will develop community resources to support well-being of adults with Down syndrome The transition to adulthood can be a challenging phase for people with Down syndrome, as resources built to support them in their youth and in school begin to dry up. Marie Moore Channell, associate professor […]

AHS Faculty Q&A: Mariana Mendes Bahia on swallowing disorders and her research agenda

Oct. 14, 2025 | Ethan Simmons Speech and Hearing Science Assistant Professor Mariana Mendes Bahia, Ph.D. and CCC-SLP, is an expert on swallowing physiology, respiratory-swallowing coordination, and therapeutic strategies to alleviate swallowing disorders, called dysphagia. She joined the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in fall of 2024, and leads […]

WCIA: Otavio Leão explains the Illini Kindergarten Cohort

Oct. 10, 2025 | AHS Staff New research invites Champaign-Urbana families to help track children’s physical activity Health and Kinesiology Assistant Professor Otavio Leão appeared on WCIA 3 News segment “Community Spotlight” to explain a new research project recruiting young participants this fall. Illini Kindergarten Cohort is a study seeking to estimate the physical activity, […]

Exercise is Medicine On Campus month kicks off at Illinois

Oct. 09, 2025 | AHS Staff Join activities hosted by Health and Kinesiology faculty and students Exercise is Medicine on Campus (EIM-OC) is an annual initiative that calls upon colleges and universities to promote physical activity as a core component of health and wellness. More than 200 campuses in the United States have registered for […]

AHS Faculty Q&A: Megan Huibregtse on traumatic brain injuries, MRI and coming to Illinois

Oct. 8, 2025 | Ethan Simmons Megan Huibregtse, Ph.D., is a first-year assistant professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology, but she’s no stranger to the Midwest. Huibregtse obtained her bachelor’s in neuroscience and a Ph.D. in human performance from Indiana University, Bloomington. She worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Emory University before joining […]

Announcing our faculty promotions for 2025-26

Aug. 14, 2025 | AHS Staff Seven AHS faculty received promotions for the 2025-26 academic year Seven faculty at the College of Applied Health Sciences received promotions prior to the 2025-26 Academic Year. Here are their new faculty titles. Professor Nicholas Burd, Health and Kinesiology Andiara Schwingel, Health and Kinesiology Associate Professor Susan Aguiñaga, Health […]

Illinois Sport Psychology: A ‘once in a lifetime’ reunion

Aug. 05, 2025 | Ethan Simmons Today’s Department of Health and Kinesiology once hosted the nation’s foremost researchers of sport psychology. Nearly 50 years on, these pioneers reunited at Huff Hall for a weekend on campus. When Rainer Martens arrived at the University of Illinois in the summer of 1966, he stepped out of his […]

New study reveals nitrous oxide misuse deaths are steeply increasing

July 31, 2025 | Ethan Simmons Misuse of nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas,” is on the rise nationally. Researchers warn that the U.S. may be at the “bottom of the hill” for this public health issue. An anesthetic most often used at the dentist or doctor’s office, nitrous oxide or “laughing gas” has been misused […]

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