Lee students Karina Dilse and Alexa Van Veghten, sponsored by the Lee University McNair Scholars Program, recently presented at the Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED) Centennial National Convention in Birmingham, Alabama.  
 
AED encourages and recognizes excellence in preprofessional health scholarship and service and provides a forum for students to interact with members in other chapters across the United States, establish contacts in the health care profession, and be considered for AED scholarships. 
 
Van Veghten, a junior biology major with a pre-physical therapy emphasis, won the first-place prize of $500 in the Research Poster Presentation category. Her project was “Injury in the Making?: A Look into the Kinetic Chain of the Female Hip and Knee Orientation and Its Potential Susceptibility to Causing Knee Injuries.”  
 
“This was the first time we were able to have our students go to the national AED mee

ting to represent Lee University, so I was very pleased that one of them placed first in the poster presentations,” said Dr. Pamela Hobbs, associate professor in health science at Lee. “Alexa and Karina did an excellent job in their presentations and represented Lee and the McNair program well.” 

Van Veghten’s research aimed to answer why female athletes experience knee injuries at a higher rate than males. She had eight females aged 18–30 complete exercises to identify abnormalities in the knee and hip that may increase injury risk. Van Veghten’s findings suggested that limited hip internal rotation and strength imbalances in women may contribute to more frequent knee problems and that developing targeted hip exercise programs or other interventions could lower injury risk y.  
 
“It was an honor to represent Lee’s chapter of AED and the McNair Scholars Program,” said Van Veghten. “I am very grateful for McNair’s funding throughout this process, as well as my faculty mentor Dr. Hobbs and friend Karina for being my biggest supporters for something that can feel so intimidating.” 

Dilse, a senior health science major, presented her project “A Health Education Intervention on Physical Exercise, Sleep, and Mindfulness and Their Effects on Mental Health in College Students.” For her research, she met with college student participants once a week via Zoom to discuss their individual health behaviors for a total of four weeks to determine how the intervention affected symptoms of depression and stress levels.    
 
“The AED Convention was a great opportunity to meet other students, professors, and recruiters from different schools across the United States who had similar health care interests,” said Dilse. “It was a welcoming and encouraging experience, and I highly recommend future students in AED to attend and present their research if given the chance.” 
 
The McNair Scholars Program serves 25 juniors and seniors each year, preparing them for success in graduate school. The program provides eligible undergraduate participants with summer research internships guided by Lee faculty mentors, seminars, conference travel, presentation opportunities, and assistance obtaining financial support for graduate education.  
 
“These awards highlight the advanced undergraduate research that Karina and Alexa have completed under Dr. Hobbs’ mentorship,” said Dr. Andra Tharp, director of the McNair Scholars Program and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (OURS). “Being recognized at regional and national conferences demonstrates how their research and presentation skills set them apart. These examples highlight how rigorous research training at Lee, supported by the McNair Scholars Program and the OURS, helps our students excel.” 
 
For more information on Lee’s McNair Scholars Program, visit leeuniversity.edu/mcnair. 
 
For more information on Lee’s Department of Natural Sciences or the AED club, contact Hobbs at [email protected] or visit leeuniversity.edu/academics/arts-sciences/nsm. 
 
For more information on Alpha Epsilon Delta, visit aednational.com.