Congratulations to Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation MSc student Stephen Hunter on being named the top student oral presenter at the 2016 ISBPNA Conference, which took place on June 8 - 11 in Cape Town, South Africa.
The International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA) Conference is one of the major conferences in the behavioral sciences research field. Attended by researchers, PhD and graduate students from across the globe, ISBNPA provides a stimulating scientific program, which includes keynote speakers, oral and poster presentations and pre-conference workshops.
Graduate students in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation are often encouraged to attend international conferences to present their thesis and research, increase their knowledge base and network with fellow researchers.
"At the beginning of the year Dr. Carson and I talked about potential conferences I could attend based on my thesis research and it was decided that ISBNPA was the best fit."
In order to be accepted at ISBNPA, Stephen submitted an abstract of his research, which was an overview of the preliminary results from his master's thesis. As part of the submission he had to indicate whether he wanted to be considered for a poster presentation, an oral presentation or both.
"I chose both as I thought it would give me the best chance of being accepted. From there, all submitted abstracts were scored by three blind Reviewers. Abstracts with the highest overall score were assigned to a long oral presentation. The submitted abstracts come from professors, master's and doctoral students from all over the world. The student abstracts are then flagged. The students with the three highest overall scores are then nominated for top oral presentation."
Stephen's abstract focused on his research, which looked at how naturally-occurring (school-led) changes to school physical activity related policies, recreational programming, public health resources, and the physical environment impact secondary school students' moderate- to vigorous- intensity physical activity over a one-year period.
Much to his initial surprise, Stephen's submission was selected as a top three abstracts for student oral presentations.
"I was indeed very surprised upon learning that my abstract was nominated for top oral presentation. However, upon reflection, I do believe the strength of my abstract came from using data from the COMPASS study, which has a very rigorous study design."
The COMPASS (The Cohort for Obesity, Marijuana use, Physical activity, Alcohol use, Smoking and Sedentary behavior) study is an ongoing study that collects data regarding multiple youth health behaviours. Approximately 50,000 students and 89 principals from 89 schools across both Ontario and Alberta are involved in the study. Stephen used the physical activity data that was collected from year two and year three of the COMPASS study to look at how physical activity related changes influenced student physical activity over the one-year period.
The opportunity to present at a conference as recognized as ISBNPA is quite the experience for a young investigator, and to be nominated as a top three student oral presenter is an accomplishment that is highly recognized in the research field. Stephen was given 12 minutes for his oral presentation - 10 minutes for presenting and two minutes for questions. At the conference, the student oral presenters are scored by two judges. It was announced at the closing ceremonies that Stephen had won best student oral presentation.
"I was again very surprised! It all happened quite quickly. I did not attend the other presenters' sessions so I really had no idea who was going to win."
A lot of hard work and practice went into preparing for the ISBNPA Conference, which was not only Stephen's first international appearance, but also his first oral presentation.
"Before we left for the conference, our lab had practice sessions where those of us who were presenting orally had a run through in front of our supervisor and other lab members. Here, we were able to get critical feedback and make necessary adjustments to improve our presentation. Once the conference began, I practiced each day, whether it was just going over my slides in my head during the other sessions, or running through the whole thing at night in my hotel room."
For Stephen, winning this award is a reflection of the strong research environment that he is situated in.
"Under the supervision of Dr. Valerie Carson, I was able to pursue an area of research that I am passionate about, and I think that winning this award acknowledges that."
Congratulations once again to Stephen for winning this prestigious international award!