Campus Conversation: Cate Jones
Posted on: October 21, 2022; Updated on: October 21, 2022
By Kelley Barrett, kab12@email.sc.edu
"I started with the Arnold Childhood Obesity Initiative in the summer of 2022 as an undergraduate research assistant. I currently work on two research studies; one looks at consumer wearable devices, like Apple watches and Fitbits and how accurately they compare to medical-grade research equipment, in kids aged from 5-12. The other is a study working on developing a wearable patch device that measures heart rate and accelerometry, in kids aged 3-8.
I help the research team run data collection for both research projects. Each study has a protocol designed to get the kids in different activity levels. To keep the kids engaged and in their respective activity level, I lead them through different games and activities. The biggest thing I have learned is how to communicate with kids. The research equipment can look scary to a kid so it is important to show them what they will be wearing and doing and make sure they are comfortable with the study.
I intend to get my master’s degree after I graduate and would love to get involved with more research studies wherever I end up. While I don’t know what I specifically want my career to look like, I am really interested in global health. I studied abroad during my junior year in England, right after the COVID-19 pandemic, and it made me look at public health from an international perspective. I definitely want to incorporate that perspective into whatever I end up doing as my future career."
— Cate Jones, senior public health major
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