Feb. 26, 2026 | Ethan Simmons A new essay from a Recreation, Sport and Tourism professor shows these runners “shaping their own destinies” on a premier stage of the sport. The Boston Marathon’s first known Black finishers. The first Black American to run the marathon in the Olympics. A charismatic road race organizer who ran […]
Author: Ethan Charles Simmons
News Bureau: Seven pain-related risk factors that magnify risk for postpartum depression
Feb. 16, 2026 | AHS Staff In the last decade in the U.S., the highest rates of postpartum depression were among racial and ethnic minority women. A woman’s risk of developing postpartum depression is influenced by several pain-related factors before and after childbirth, including poor pain management, their prenatal mental health and the quality of […]
WCIA: The link between healthy eating and brain outcomes for toddlers
Feb. 10, 2026 | AHS Staff Health and Kinesiology professors talked about early childhood nutrition with local news It’s no secret that the food you eat every day can impact your body or impact how you feel. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois are learning the link between what toddlers are eating, and how […]
A message to Speech and Hearing Science, from Department Head Georgia Malandraki
Feb 02, 2026 | AHS Staff “I welcome perspectives from everyone (…) because the future we create together will be stronger for it.“ Dear Speech and Hearing Science community, It is with pride and a deep sense of responsibility that I begin my role as Head of the Department of Speech and Hearing Science. Returning […]
SHS researchers patent method to extract speech from noise using high frequencies
Dec. 18, 2025 | Ethan Simmons Extended high frequencies, above 8 kHz, can make speech more intelligible in noisy environments. When we speak, the air moving through our vocal cords generates soundwaves vibrating at different frequencies: the higher the frequency, the higher the pitch. Most of our modern audio technology, including hearing aids, headphones, and […]
Online Allies: How Black travelers view DMO social advocacy statements
Oct. 30, 2025 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo Did digital gestures from destination marketing organizations resonate with Black travelers? In the summer of 2020, when streets across the U.S. filled with protests for racial and social justice, something unusual happened in the world of tourism. Destination marketing organizations—better known as DMOs—suddenly became vocal online allies. Their Instagram […]
Tattoos as anchors of transformative travel
Oct. 27, 2025 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo A new RST study examines how tattoos from memorable trips continue to ‘speak’ over time At the intersection of body art and travel lies a fascinating phenomenon: tattoos serving as anchors of transformative experiences. A new study from Recreation, Sport and Tourism faculty members Toni Liechty and Joelle Soulard, […]
Teaching the next ‘champions for change’ in sport
Oct. 24, 2025 | Ethan Simmons This Recreation, Sport and Tourism course brought together undergrads and local high school student-athletes, to understand how sport can produce positive social change. A new Recreation, Sport and Tourism course—Inclusive Champions for Change through Sport, or IC-ChangeS for short—is challenging Illinois students to understand how sports can provide a […]
U. of I. trial will test if exercise can improve protein efficiency for older adults with type 2 diabetes
Oct. 25, 2025 | Ethan Simmons Can regular exercise reduce the protein needs of adults with type 2 diabetes? For healthy adults, roughly .8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day is enough to maintain muscle mass and support daily function. But for adults with type 2 diabetes, an estimated 1 in 10 […]
Understanding the trauma coping of Ukrainian refugees
Oct. 21, 2025 | Ethan Simmons ‘This was by far the most difficult and I think impactful work that I have done’ Sitting face-to-face with Ukrainian refugees who had escaped to Poland after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Recreation, Sport and Tourism Professor Monika Stodolska asked a set of questions many of them hadn’t considered. Namely, […]