The vast majority of Americans do not exercise, even though the benefits of exercise are widely known. Why? And more to the point, what can be done to turn this situation around?

Dr. Katie Collins ’15, the recipient of this year’s Pfeiffer University Presidential Merit Award, has begun uncovering some intriguing answers as a researcher in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the prestigious Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C. The answers support a general philosophy proclaimed on her Duke web page: “The first rule of getting in shape: Don’t quit.”

While research and securing needed funding take up most of her time, Collins* occasionally shares her knowledge with prospective doctors in lectures she delivers as a Medical Instructor, having assumed that title this year.

Collins, who’s originally from Concord, N.C., majored in Biology at Pfeiffer, where she also played on the women’s soccer team as a defender. After earning master’s and doctorate degrees in Exercise Physiology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, she pursued a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Duke that emphasized Translational Exercise Physiology and Behavior Change (2019-2023).

“I definitely didn’t see Duke in my future,” Collins said recently. “If someone from my Pfeiffer days had told me, ‘Hey, this is what you’re going to be doing about 10 years from now,’ I would have laughed in their face. I definitely would not have believed them, especially during that time.”

Initially, Collins saw medical school in her future. But she came to realize that her love for playing soccer could be rechanneled into a study of exercise physiology. In other words: “I was able to merge my passions in both sports and science,” she said.

The combination has enabled Collins not only to advance the science in her field but also to play the role of interventionist. For example, imagine a working mother of a young child wants to exercise but just can’t seem to work it into her busy schedule. Collins might ask her to write out her schedule to see where, realistically, gaps of free time could emerge, from an hour in the early morning to several five-minute walks each day.

The key is to motivate somebody to take these and similar measures “for themselves” because “if they do it for me, they’re less likely to do it and stick with it.”

Some of Collins’ most recent research has begun to uncover what she calls “genetic predictors of individuals who are more susceptible to dropout from our interventions or have poor adherence to them.”

This finding rests on an examination by Collins and her colleagues of the DNA data of 603 participants in an exercise study to see if those “who stopped exercise early (dropped out) had anything in common.”

The researchers found that “those who quit exercising had distinct changes in gene expression and metabolic pathways in their muscle,” Collins said in a press release about the study. “These changes in the muscle may lead to a greater perceived exertion during exercise and ultimately greater discomfort and dissatisfaction while exercising.

“We believe this connection could perhaps lead to a diagnostic tool and allow healthcare providers to recommend better, more tailored exercise approaches for this group of individuals and/or become the target of a new therapy in the future.”

Dr. Mark McCallum, a Professor of Biology at Pfeiffer, taught four courses that Collins took over her four years at the University.

“I was able to see her grow academically starting as a first-year student in general biology to a senior in my cell and molecular biology class,” he said.  “The academic skills and confidence that she developed in her striving to achieve her goals was amazing to see.” McCallum also praised Collins’ organizational skills, which enabled her to achieve academic success in addition to playing soccer, serving on the Campus Activity Board, and becoming involved in student government.

Collins thanked McCallum for his help in getting her into graduate school. He wrote letters of recommendation and helped her clarify what she should focus on after Pfeiffer. Collins said that he and the many fellow students who helped her study grew into “a little family, a little support system.”

“That support system was really helpful,” she said. “Without it, I doubt I’d be where I am today.”

And Collins isn’t quitting either. In fact, she is just getting started. Over the next five to 10 years, she sees herself continuing her work at Duke, where she plans to build on her current research, secure larger grants and move up the professorial ranks. She’s looking forward to developing her work in ways that make an impact, and she’s grateful for the start she got at Pfeiffer.

*Collins is to marry Will Bennett, an Exercise Physiologist at Duke, on Oct. 11. After that, she will be known as Dr. Katie Collins-Bennett.