My name is Emily Lundstrom and I joined the Athlete Triad Coalition shortly following my enrollment at Penn State in the Kinesiology Graduate Program to pursue my Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology. Prior to PSU, I was a Division 1 swimmer at USD, and I am originally from the great state of Minnesota. Shortly after joining the lab of Dr. Nancy Williams and Dr. Mary Jane De Souza, I became involved with the Athlete Triad Coalition. I have had the privilege of attending Annual Coalition meetings, and serving as one of the ‘Athlete Triad Social Media Team’ coordinators/project managers in the efforts of improving the Athlete Triad social media outreach education and promoting awareness of the Athlete Triad. Additionally, my work in WHEL over the years has resulted in first-author publications (in review) and several research projects directly related to the Athlete Triad. I have dedicated my research to bridging the gaps and advancing Athlete Triad research. Specifically, my research has explored and employed field-based methods for detecting energy deficiency and offering alternative and more accessible strategies for prevention, elucidating disordered eating/restrictive eating behaviors between males and females, and studying elite athletes (an at-risk population for energy deficiencies).

Currently, I serve as a project coordinator for several ongoing research studies addressing the impact of the Athlete Triad on the physical and psychological health of athletes (Athlete Study-PSU), recreationally active women (Active Women’s Study-PSU), and recreationally active men (Active Men’s Study). Leading these projects has allowed me to not only educate young athletes and active men and women about the importance of energy intake to maintain reproductive health and maximize bone health, it has also provided me the opportunity to expand my knowledge on the physiology (metabolic, reproductive and bone) behind the Triad.

A few “Fun Facts” about me:

1) I just attended the International Sport + Exercise Nutrition Conference in Manchester, United Kingdom, and gave a research presentation/talk of my research, titled: “Sport Specific Stress is Associated with Eating Attitudes and Metabolic Compensation in Collegiate Female and Male Endurance Athletes Across a Competitive Season”

2) I recently had my paper published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism! (See photo) Title: ‘Sex differences and indications of metabolic compensation in within-day energy balance in elite Division 1 swimmers’

Click HERE to access the research article.