November 2024
European Respiratory Society (ERS) 2024
The Respiratory Research Center presented work at the ERS Conference in Vienna, the world’s biggest respiratory medicine conference showcasing the latest advances. Dr. William Stringer presented “Exercise Training Improves Symptomatology and Immune Cell Phenotype in Long COVID Patients-Preliminary Results”. This recent study explored the benefits of exercise training for Long COVID patients without autonomic dysfunction. Over 10 weeks, participants completed 20 one-hour supervised exercise sessions. Researchers measured changes in endurance, daily steps, a six-minute walk test, quality of life, and symptom improvements both before and after the program. We found that endurance exercise training in individuals with Long COVID delivered beneficial effects on cardiorespiratory fitness, quality of life, anxiety, depression, and fatigue without detrimental effects on immunologic function. This study highlights how a well-structured exercise program may safely enhance both the physical and mental well-being of Long COVID patients.
RRC Member of the Month
November’s RRC Member of the month is LeAnn Maanum. LeAnn received a bachelor’s degree in Physiology from UCLA and a master’s degree in Human and Applied Physiology from King’s College London. After living in London for a few years, she moved back to California and joined the Lundquist Institute in April. LeAnn works as an exercise physiologist, performing cardiopulmonary exercise tests and pulmonary function tests for various research studies. Additionally, she reads CPETs from all over the world as a member of our Center’s cardiopulmonary exercise testing core laboratory. LeAnn recently completed her first Olympic distance triathlon – and first triathlon ever – in Playa Del Rey. The race consisted of a 1500-meterswim, a 40-kilometer bike ride, and a 10-kilometer run, which she completed in 3:07:11. She found training for the race to be incredibly fun and rewarding, and she has her eyes set on completing more triathlons and a half marathon in 2025.
Community Symposium
Nature and Nurture: How lifestyle (diet and exercise) can influence our health and the health of children.
The National Center of Male Reproductive Epigenomics hosted a Community Symposium in collaboration with the Pacific Islander Health Partnership at The Lundquist Institute on October 26th.The symposium offered hands-on learning on how lifestyle can influence health and the health of future offspring. Other topics included epigenetics, real world impacts, and how diet and exercise can influence gene expression. Each Pacific Island country had a table sharing a healthy version of a traditional dish. We spoke with the attendees about the importance of regular exercise and our mCPET research study of healthy adults that aims to develop a new cardiopulmonary exercise test.