Mackenzie Roby '08 Invited to Speak at National Scientific meeting
Mackenzie Roby, a recent graduate from the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences and former member of Dr. Michael Deschenes' Muscle Physiology Laboratory, was invited to give an oral presentation of her research in a symposium at the national scientific meeting Experimental Biology 2009 held in New Orleans in April. She presented the study entitled, "Effects of age on training-induced adaptations of the neuromuscular junction", in which she, Emily Glass '10, and Dr. Deschenes are co-authors. The symposium focused on physiological preconditioning and tolerance to environmental stressors, and included five other speakers from institutions such as Duke University, Penn State, and Univ. of Colorado. It is so rare for an undergraduate student to be chosen to give an oral presentation at a symposium that Roby contacted the American Physiological Society to confirm that it was not a mistake, and was assured that it wasn't. Roby, currently a doctoral student in physical therapy at the University of Delaware, says that her experience at the meeting was "an unexpected but incredible honor and opportunity." "I could not have asked for a more perfect way to wrap-up my William and Mary research and to showcase the dedication and hard work of all involved in our muscle physiology lab."
