Marcella J Myers

Marcella J Myers
St. Catherine University · Department of Biology

PhD University of Wisconsin

About

40
Publications
4,302
Reads
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924
Citations
Introduction
I study mobility in humans, with a particular focus on locomotor physiology and biomechanics – across the lifespan, and in contemporary as well as early human populations. I am co-PI of an R25 NIH Grant preparing underrepresented students for longevity and aging research. Recently, my lab has focused on energy flux and movement patterns in females walking with and without loads, as well as improving walking speed and stability in elders using a novel mobility trainer.
Additional affiliations
August 1999 - September 2017
St. Catherine University
Position
  • Managing Director
August 1999 - present
St. Catherine University
Position
  • Energetics, kinematics of load carrying
June 1995 - June 1996
University of Minnesota
Position
  • PostDoc Position

Publications

Publications (40)
Article
While mobility strategies are considered important in understanding selection pressures on individuals, testing hypotheses of such strategies requires high resolution datasets, particularly at intersections between morphology, ecology and energetics. Here we present data on interactions between morphology and energetics in regards to the cost of wa...
Article
Functional morphologists have traditionally regarded cost of locomotion as an important influence on the design of locomotor structures. If cost of locomotion is an important constraint in the natural selection of these structures, it should be possible to show that animals differing in limb morphology also differ in their locomotor costs. In previ...
Article
Although the metabolic cost of running has been found to vary systematically with running speed and body mass in animals, no mechanistic model of cost determination has been widely accepted. Because two suggested cost determinants—mechanical power output and the rate of force application—covary with running speed when gait (stride frequency) is unc...
Article
For better understanding of the links between limb morphology and the metabolic cost of locomotion, we have characterized the relationships between limb length and shape and other functionally important variables in the straightened forelimbs and hindlimbs of a sample of 12 domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Intra-animal comparisons show that foreli...
Article
Drawing inferences about locomotor energetics from limb morphology, especially in regard to small differences between individuals, depends critically on valid estimates of lower-limb inertial properties. While there are numerous options for such estimations in the literature, geometric models that involve simple measures and straightforward mathema...
Article
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of far-infrared (FIR) heat on quality of life (QOL) in older adults. Participants were assigned to either a convective heat group (CON) or a convective and FIR group. Participants received six, 30-min heat sessions over the course of three weeks. Pre- and post-assessments included physical measur...
Article
Full-text available
Identifying methods of pain amelioration to meet the unique demands of older adults (OA) may be crucial to increasing quality of life (QOL) for this population. This study aimed to examine the effects of far-infrared heat (FIR) on pain management and QOL in OA. FIR utilizes a long light wavelength that simulates dry sauna-like conditions. Examining...
Article
The demands on women’s energy can be summed up simply: everything, everywhere, all at once. By playing the long game, women have the potential to provide energy-intensive help to others and still maintain a reasonable healthspan. https://www.anthropology-news.org/articles/womenergy
Article
Mentoring underrepresented students in aging research during the COVID-19 pandemic affords many opportunities for innovation and learning, for both students and program leaders. Here, we describe lessons learned from an Advancing Diversity in Aging Research (ADAR) program at a women-centered, minority-serving undergraduate institution. We share pro...
Poster
Full-text available
The goal of this study, an initial phase in a larger project, was to characterize the relationship between age and several gait symmetry measures in women 55 and older.
Poster
Full-text available
This study measured gait variables while using a novel gait training device (Vizziq Neuromuscular Trainer) compared against 2-wheel and 4-wheel conventional walkers in older (65yr+) adults who were not regular assistive device users. Specific gait variables measured were those associated with risk of falls, including self-selected speed, stride len...
Article
Here, we argue that two key shifts in thinking are required to more clearly understand the selection pressures shaping pelvis evolution in female hominins: (1) the primary locomotor mode of female hominins was loaded walking in the company of others, and (2) the periodic gait of human walking is most effectively explained as a biomechanically contr...
Presentation
Full-text available
This study compared changes in gait patterns and walking speed over 3 weeks of training with a novel gait training device (Vizziq Neuromuscular Trainer) to changes observed in women 55 and older walking an equivalent amount without the device.
Presentation
Full-text available
This study measured gait variables while using a novel gait training device (Vizziq Neuromuscular Trainer) compared against 2-wheel and 4-wheel conventional walkers in older (65yr+) adults who were not regular assistive device users. Specific gait variables measured were those associated with risk of falls, including self-selected speed, stride len...
Article
Among human sexually dimorphic features, a few are particularly important for locomotion, namely: overall body size, the proportions and lengths of the lower limbs, and the shape of the pelvic girdle. Across populations, males are absolutely larger in terms of mass, stature and limb length, whereas females have wider pelves relative to size. Variat...
Poster
Full-text available
Associations between Core Strength, Walking Speed, and Age in Women Jean R. Omodt, Andrea L. Hokanson, Cara M. Wall-Scheffler and Marcella J. Myers College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA. Email: mjmyers@stkate.edu Age-related changes in muscle strength and walking speed are well described in the literatu...
Poster
Full-text available
Central fat, insulin resistance and physical inactivity are linked in a pathological positive feedback cycle leading to ever-increasing levels of visceral abdominal fat (VAF). Our ultimate goal is to interrupt this cycle by developing walking regimes for women of different ages and mass distributions that maximize calories burned while minimizing l...
Presentation
A common way to evaluate student work is to grade each aspect of a course (exam, paper, project), sum the points, and assign a grade based on the percentage of total points earned. In some courses, students are allowed to revise work and have it re-graded (especially papers), but most work is assessed only once. I used this standard method of evalu...
Article
Full-text available
This article provides some tips for success in facilitating teamwork. Working collaboratively is common in science and the functioning of teams has a large impact on both the implementation of a research project and student satisfaction with the experience. The strategies are divided into what can be done to minimize problems from the start and how...
Article
Council on Undergraduate Research -- March 2006 As faculty in the biology department at The College of St. Catherine, a private liberal arts college for women, we are committed to graduating students well prepared in the practice as well as in the theory of biology. We are continuously evaluating our strategies for the teaching of scientific think...
Article
To test for differences in strength of 6 muscle groups of the hip on the involved leg in recreational runners with injuries compared with the uninvolved leg and a control group of noninjured runners. Descriptive analysis. : Three outpatient physical therapy clinics in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. Thirty recreational runners (17 femal...
Presentation
As the result of much trial and error in the undergraduate classroom, I have become convinced that: 1) students require objective rules (statistics) to properly interpret their data, no matter how simple the experiment, 2) students learn statistics most effectively while doing science, and 3) students should be introduced to statistical concepts as...
Article
Full-text available
We redesigned our intermediate-level organismal physiology laboratory course to center on student-designed experiments in plant and human physiology. Our primary goals were to improve the ability of students to design experiments and analyze data. We assessed these abilities at the beginning and end of the semester by giving students an evaluation...
Presentation
These days, many introductory biology courses include a lab component in which students conduct experiments of their own design. It is not as common for these courses to give students the tools they need (i.e., basic statistical principles) to meaningfully analyze the data they have collected. I have heard the following reasons for not requiring in...
Presentation
To see if we met our primary goal of helping students get better at ‘making sense’ of data, all students (n=43) in our intermediate-level organismal physiology lab course were given an evaluation (data with four questions of increasing complexity) at both the beginning and end of the semester. To control for non-treatment influences, pre-to-post im...
Article
Full-text available
To examine the long-term association of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) and risk of death from coronary heart disease (CHD) and all-causes. Data are from a prospective study of 12,138 middle-aged men at high risk for CHD participating in the MRFIT. Men were classified into deciles based on average min/d of LTPA reported at baseline, which wer...
Poster
Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of cycling cadence during 8 weeks of heart rate (HR)-based training on peak watts (Wpeak) and peak aerobic capacity (VO2peak). Sixteen sedentary adult females agreed to participate in a 22-week crossover design training study with random assignment to: Group A [8 wks at low cadence (LC...
Thesis
While the effect of artificial limb loads on the cost of locomotion has been established, we do not know how this situation differs from natural variation in limb mass distribution. In addition, there is no consensus on the major determinants of the cost of locomotion. Several factors (body mass, speed, stride frequency) have shown simple and stron...

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