University of Massachusetts Amherst’s LAB:SYNC experts seek adults 18 to 85 for study

Researchers from Laboratory for the Scientific Study of Dance (LAB:SYNC) at UMass Amherst are seeking adults to participate in their new study, “Measurement of Professional Dance Training Exposures and Health Correlates in 18- to 85-year-olds.”

Participants must be able to walk safely on a treadmill and be interested in dancing solo while in the laboratory. No prior dance training is required.


Participants must be 18- to 85-years old who are:

able to refrain from eating any food or drinking any beverages, except for water, for four to eight hours
able to engage in vigorous exercise
nonsmokers, not pregnant, without a pacemaker or other implanted medical device
not taking medications that may impact cardiovascular responses to exercise
without a bone, joint, or soft tissue (muscle, tendon, ligament) problem that could be made worse by becoming more active
without a chronic medical condition, such as a heart condition, metabolic or renal disease
Participants will be asked to: 

wear an activity monitor on their wrist while engaged in their daily business as usual for nine days 
make three visits to the lab at UMass Amherst (about six hours in total) and complete a small number of physical health assessments, including resting energy expenditure and an EKG
provide saliva and fingernail samples; complete an iDXA scan
complete questionnaires on mental health status
walk comfortably on a treadmill
dance in the lab
describe their experiences of dancing in the lab 
Participants will receive up to $100 for their time.