Marshall University Athletics
Ethan Bowens Honored By Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine
12/5/2024 4:21:00 PM | Track and Field, Buck Harless Student Athlete Program
Marshall TXFC standout wins ‘Best Undergraduate Student’ at 36th Annual Health Sciences Research Day
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall junior sprinter Ethan Bowens is no stranger to being a step ahead of the competition for the Thundering Herd Men's Track & Field team.
Bowens recently showed that he can do so in the competitive field of medicine and research as well.
The Wayne, W.Va., native was named the 'Best Undergraduate Student' among the oral presentation winners at the 36th Annual Marshall University Health Sciences Research Day.
"Ethan has progressed significantly in track and field, and it does not surprise any of us that he approaches his academic work with the same diligence and skill," said Christian Spears, Marshall's Director of Athletics. "This is a true honor, as he competed against some of our university's best and brightest students. Ethan continues to represent our athletic program and his team with extraordinary effort. Kudos!"
Bowens, a student in the College of Health Professions who is mentored by Dr. Kumika Toma, was honored as part of the Health Sciences Research Day, which took place on Nov. 1 at Marshall University Medical Center.
"Honestly, at first, I didn't believe it. Immediately after, it switched to humility and a sense of joy because all the work I put in – the research I'd done sitting there looking at muscles for hours – paid off," Bowens said. "All the people who have helped me along with the process – Dr. Toma and many others, it's just overwhelming. It felt really good to get that award."
Organized and sponsored by the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, the Health Sciences Research Day partners with the School of Pharmacy and the College of Health Professions to highlight original research and educational innovations by more than 200 students, as well as post-doctoral residents and fellows.
The one-day symposium features oral and poster presentations in several different areas of medical research with faculty members served as judges and selecting the winners in each category.
Bowens, an Exercise Science student in the College of Health Professions, previously landed a research fellowship through NASA's West Virginia Space Grant Consortium this summer, which led him to a unique endeavor into muscle atrophy – specifically, the impact of zero gravity on muscle size, based on variables of age and sex.
Bowens' research project gave insight into how muscle atrophies during space travel and how those results vary through different variables for the astronauts involved.
That insight could be a pivotal push toward the future in helping astronauts prepare for missions – especially long, sustained missions – and how muscular contraction through resistance training could help offset the atrophic effects that astronauts experience.
"Hypertrophy is a big part of sports and the athletic scene, and sports got me into that mindset," Bowens said. "I knew that I wanted to research something related to medicine - looking at military, Air Force and Aerospace medicine, specifically. This merges all those passions that I have and puts them all in one project, so it makes it more fun to work on.
"It is neat to take what you enjoy doing and apply it to things that are bigger than yourself later down the line. Hopefully, it will be helpful for a larger organization than what I'm working on now."
Bowens' preliminary research started in May 2024 and really ramped up in August after he was awarded a $5,000 grant in Undergraduate Research Fellowship to pursue the project through NASA's West Virginia Space Grant Consortium.
Bowens said his research would not stop here as he plans to research the intercellular impacts of hypertrophy and how they relate to fatigue.
"This study did a great job of showing hypertrophy, but I want to look more at the mechanisms behind it and why some groups illicit a greater response and why some had a smaller response," Bowens said.
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