Club water polo wins Northwest Division title I 5
Oregon Daily Emerald
An independent newspaper
www.dailYemerald.com
Since 1900 | Volume 106, Issue 54 \ Wednesday, November 10, 2004
The heat is
Doctoral student Brett Wong wins an esteemed
national research award for studies of heat stress
BY ANTHONY LUCERO
NEWS REPORTER
University doctoral student
Brett Wong is making a
name for himself in the sci
entific world. Wong, who is
studying physiology, has pub
lished a research article on how
the body deals with heat stress in
this month’s Journal of Physiolo
gy. The research also garnered
Wong the highest national stu
dent research award from the
American College of Sports Medi
cine in May.
“It was a great honor,” Wong
said about receiving the award,
which is a national competitive
award for doctoral students.
Wong’s research, co-authored
by former doctoral student Brad
Wilkins and Human Physiology
Assistant Professor Christopher
Minson, has the potential to help
diabetics, the elderly and people
with multiple sclerosis lower heat
stress, which is a health risk if
body temperature is too high.
Wong said common health prob
lems related to high heat stress in
clude fatigue, lightheadedness
and nausea.
Wong, who works in collabora
tion with the University’s Exercise
and Environmental Physiology
Laboratories, has studied heat
stress and body temperature be
fore, but the award recognized
work Wong did on heat stress re
lated to histamine receptors. The
primary function of these recep
tors is to lessen the rate of blood
flow to the skin and regulate the
body’s temperature.
Wong said he showed that the
body’s function for increasing
skin blood flow and mediating
sweat response, or the vasodilato
ry pathway, contains a certain his
tamine receptor (called HI) that
can regulate heat stress by its
production of nitric oxide, which
is not present in a second hista
mine receptor (H2) in humans.
Essentially, the specific receptors,
when paired with the nitric oxide,
can regulate and lower body tem
perature protecting the body from
heat stress.
Minson, who helped co-author
the research, said the aim is to
help people in the long run, but
there is a need to learn the basic
science first.
“We’ve investigated certain
mechanisms that have been
around for 75 years but never ful
ly understood; histamine, specifi
cally, is something new for us to
study,” Minson said. “We want to
know what’s happening in the
bodies of healthy people and take
that to sick people and see what
part is defunct.”
The laboratory uses several
tools to measure skin blood
flow. Wong put student volun
teers — and himself — into
a water-perfused suit that keeps
body temperature at 100 degrees
Fahrenheit.
With the suit on, Wong could test
the rate of blood flow during heat
stress by sending antihistamines
through a microdialysis machine
and then by observing the changes
through the lab’s laser Dopier mon
itor. He also had a thermometer to
measure body temperature.
The extensive procedure and
the analysis began in September
2003, Wong said.
John Buckwalter, a chairman
on the American College
of Sports Medicine who sat
on the research award commit
tee, said heat regulation and its
studies are very important in
sports medicine.
“What stood out was the
♦ Erjk Bishoff | Photographer
Human physiology doctoral student Brett Wong’s award-winning research on heat
regulation is an important component of sports medicine.
sophistication of Wong’s paper
and specifically his looking at
how blood flow is controlled dur
ing exercise,” Buckwalter said.
Buckwalter added although the
organization says ‘American,’ it’s
more of an international competi
tion with many students like
Wong vying for the award.
University of Minnesota Professor
William Roberts, an ACSM mem
ber who finalizes the student re
search winner, echoed praise for
Wong’s research.
“This is a pretty competitive
award,” Roberts said. “Hopeful
ly this will further his studies
and can help improve health
in exercise. ”
Furthering his studies is what
Wong has in mind. Wong said he
plans to finish up his doctorate,
and from there, continue research
and teach in a University setting.
anthonylucew@dcdlyememLd.com
★ AMERICA VOTES 2004 ★
Student
registration
numbers
pass 7,500
The Student Vote Coalition
exceeded its goal and contributed
to an increase in campus activism
BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF
NEWS REPORTER
The Student Vote Coalition had its work cut
out for it this election season.
Not only did the group want to register at
least 7,500 University students to vote, it want
ed to make sure those students actually voted.
The first part alone may seem lofty enough —
7,500 newly registered voters would be more
than any get-out-the-vote effort the University has
ever seen. And to some, the latter goal may have
seemed like wishful thinking because of the de
mographic’s reputation for political apathy.
But on Oct. 12, the coalition, a combination of
the ASUO and other student groups on campus,
had exceeded its goal by registering 7,669 voters.
A week removed from the election, student lead
ers say it is clear the new voters will have an af
fect on the state legislative process.
ASUO President Adam Petkun, board chair for
the Oregon Student Association, spoke before the
State Board of Higher Education on Friday and
said state legislators were impressed when he
told them about the University’s registration drive '
and get-out-the-vote efforts.
“Their jaws would drop when they heard
how many students we registered to vote,' |
Petkun said. '
He said one of the most frequently asked ques
tions from state legislators when talking about
student issues is how many students are even
registered to vote.
VOTERS, page 8
Lauren Wimer | Senior photographer
Pumping a small red ball to increase blood flow, freshman Tiffany Liewer donates blood on Friday
for the first time at the third annual Civil War Blood Drive.
Student turnout grows
at Civil War Blood Drive
The University looks to go 2-1 in the third annual donation
competition against rival Oregon State, which runs until Nov. 17
BY KATE WEBSTER
FREELANCE REPORTER
As students make tailgating and post-game
plans for Saturday’s Civil War football game, some
students are preparing for a different matchup be
tween the University and its Corvallis rival.
two organizations, with the help of the Univer
sity’s Student-Alumni Relations Board, have
volunteered on- and off-campus recruiting stu
dents and community members for the drive.
Volunteers have been stationed at the EMU and
Bean Complex to assist blood donors by signing
them up for the drive and escorting donors to and
from the bloodmobiles.
The Lane County
Memorial Blood Bank
and the American Red
Cross are holding the
third annual Civil War
Blood Drive until Nov. 17.
For the past week, these
Music major Jethro Higgins said the donation
process was smooth and well worth his time.
“It is an easy yet worthy community service
because it only takes an hour, but it can make a
big difference,” he said.
Junior Kerra Schmidt, SARB blood drive chair,
said she has noticed a good
student turnout this year” and
that the blood drive’s student
turnout has grown each year.
“The amount of students
attending the drive this year
leads me to believe that
we could win the competition this year,
Schmidt said.
So far, the University has a 1-1 Civil War
Blood Drive record.
“Every 24 minutes someone needs a blood
transfusion in Lane County and one donor has
the ability to save three people’s lives,” Lane
BLOOD, page 8
GET MORE^
Visit www.lmbb.org for information about how to
get involved with the Lane County Memorial Blood
Bank. For information about American Red Cross
donation opportunities, visit www.givelife.org.