Meet Outstanding Master’s in Kinesiology Graduate Elizabeth Heintz

Elizabeth Heintz received her Master’s of Science degree in Kinesiology at the Graduate School Commencement ceremony on Saturday, where she was recognized as a Spring 2021 Alumni Association Outstanding Master’s Graduate.

“As a result of her demonstrated work ethic, wide range of interests, and scholarly proficiency, several researchers have reached out to Elizabeth for her assistance on a vast range of research projects,” comments Dr. Jeremy Foreman, assistant professor and graduate coordinator for the School of Kinesiology.

“These research projects have also brought her to collaborate with researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center as well as the Louisiana Bird Observatory.”

Elizabeth’s thesis topic on an obesity treatment called BAM15 arose from her experiences at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. As opposed to most obesity treatments, which hinge on appetite suppression, BAM15 addresses obesity at the cellular level. Her work found that BAM15 reduced the amount of fat tissue by 10-25%, relative to the control group that gained 50-60%. BAM15 also shows potential in reducing inflammation and making adipose tissue healthier, and therefore may help to prevent illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and liver disease.

During her time at UL Lafayette, Elizabeth has participated in numerous other research endeavors. These projects have yielded five publications, two of which name her as the primary author, as well as three research conference presentations.

Three of her manuscripts were published in Frontiers journals in July 2020, November 2020, and February 2021 and collectively have been viewed over 8,000 times.

Elizabeth has gained experience researching a range of topics, including the role of weightlifting coach gender in men’s and women’s weightlifting performance, determinants of games missed following concussions in the NFL, the effect of concussions on quarterback performance in the NFL, how race influences whether holding penalties are called in the NFL, and the effect of age and travel on NFL quarterback performance.

She has also worked on research projects about the prevalence and perceptions of coed sport participation among Native American tribes as well as within the university intramural setting. Both of these projects were accepted for presentation at research conferences for academic societies.

Her notable service contributions include serving as the Graduate Student Organization representative of the School of Kinesiology, and mentoring current and incoming graduate students. She additionally served as the executive director for the UL Lafayette St. Jude Up ‘til Dawn fundraising event, and was invited to participate in the St. Jude Collegiate Leadership Seminar in Memphis, Tennessee.

Elizabeth received the UL Lafayette Webb Award for Excellence in Technical Writing in 2019, and was also a finalist in the Graduate School’s 2020 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.

She plans to pursue a doctoral degree in physiology with a focus in metabolism and continue doing biomedical research on effective treatments and cures for chronic disease.

Pursuing a master’s degree in kinesiology can prepare you to work in fields such as exercise and sport science, health promotion and wellness, and recreation and sport management. Learn more about advancing your career through the MS in kinesiology program.