Bulls Rise: The UB ENS Podcast

In the most special edition of the Bulls Rise Podcast yet, Dr. Chris Perry sits down with the men who run UB Men's Basketball: Head Coach George Halcovage III, who helped lead Villanova to two national championships before becoming the 15th head coach in UB history , Director of Sports Performance Jon Mangel, Athletic Trainer Austin Herman, and Dr. Luke Pryor, exercise physiologist and perform...

Heat kills more Americans than any other weather event — and most of those deaths never get recorded as heat at all. This week on Bulls Rise, Coach P welcomes Dr. Fabiano Amorim, an exercise and thermal physiologist, associate professor, and department chair at the University of New Mexico. Fabiano studies heat where it actually does its damage: on construction sites at 2:30 in the morning, in the...

She's been asked to write a meal plan thousands of times. Here's why she almost always says no. This week on Bulls Rise, Coach P sits down with Tiffany Rutecki — registered dietitian, certified nutritionist, and clinical director of UB's Clinical Nutrition Master's Program. With more than a decade as a clinical dietitian and years of training future RDs, Tiffany brings one of the m...

Before Title IX, 90% of girls' sports teams were coached by women. Today it's 45%. The law that expanded girls' sports somehow cut the number of women coaching them in half. This week on Bulls Rise, our student edition, Coach P sits down with Cassandra Vaccaro, a USA Hockey Level 4 coach with bronze-level goaltending certification, a Zamboni driver for the Buffalo Sabres, and a full-ti...

Picture two coaches. One yells instructions all practice. The other asks questions and lets his athletes figure it out. One builds better players under pressure — and it's not the one you'd expect. This week on Bulls Rise, Coach P sits down with Mike Hodgins — a World Rugby Master Trainer who works at the national governing body level for both USA Rugby and World Rugby, and who teaches the...

You already know what you should do. So why is it so hard to actually do it? This week on Bulls Rise, Coach P sits down with Heather Bieber, Director of UB's undergraduate Exercise Science program and a behavior change expert whose career has revolved around one question: why do people struggle so much to change, even when they know what to do? Heather's path was never a straight line. fro...

For the first time in Bulls Rise history — the host becomes the guest. In this episode, Dr. Jen Temple takes over the microphone to interview Coach P (Dr. Chris Perry) — UB faculty member, sleep researcher, strength and conditioning coach, and host of the Bulls Rise Podcast. What follows is the most personal and transparent episode Bulls Rise has produced. Coach P walks through the full story of h...

Two students. One shared mission. The first-ever student episode in Bulls Rise history. Jenna Kersten is a first-year Doctor of Physical Therapy student in UB's combined three-plus-three program. Rion Dugan is a fourth-year exercise science major on the pre-med track, grinding through MCAT prep while teaching as Dr. Lee Kroll's TA. They both peer-tutor across the ENS department. They both...

A student forgot the AED in a simulation. Years later — when a parent went into real cardiac arrest at his workplace — he didn't forget it again. That story is the heart of this conversation. Dr. Sarah Krzyzanowicz is the Clinical Director of UB's Master of Science in Athletic Training Program, and she joins Coach P to break down the teaching philosophy producing clinicians who actually pe...

She went from undeclared to unstoppable — and she's already changing how we think about heat and health. This week on Bulls Rise, we sat down with Ayla, a second-year PhD student at UB studying heat physiology under Dr. Hayden Hess — and she came ready. Her dissertation is tackling something most of the research world has quietly ignored: how adults with obesity actually thermoregulate in extr...

Join us as we explore the inspiring journey of Dr. Lacey Alexander, a Penn State alumna and leading researcher in vascular physiology and endometriosis. Discover her insights on curiosity, resilience, and the future of applied physiology research. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Dr. Lacey Alexander 02:43 Journey into Exercise Physiology 05:21 Transitioning from Medical School Aspirations 08:02 The...

What if the most important nutrition lesson you'll ever learn has nothing to do with macros, seed oils, or the food pyramid, and everything to do with who's sitting at the table with you? Dr. Tegan Mansouri is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of the Undergraduate Nutrition Science Program at the University at Buffalo. She's also a Registered Dietician whose mission is to mak...

It's Not Willpower, It's Neurobiology: Inside the Brain Science of Obesity and GLP-1 Medications What if the reason you can't stop eating has nothing to do with discipline, laziness, or a lack of self-control? What if the answer has been sitting inside your brain this entire time? In this episode of Bulls Rise, Dr. Chris Perry sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Mietlicki-Baase, PhD, Associat...

What if everything you've been told about willpower, weight, and food is wrong? In this episode of Bulls Rise, Dr. Chris Perry sits down with Dr. Jennifer L. Temple — Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs in the School of Public Health and Nutrition Sciences Professor at UB — for one of the most intellectually honest conversations about food, eating behavior, and health that this pod...

Most professors believe motivation is entirely the student's job—that's a myth holding students back. Dr. Lesley Vandermark flips that idea on its head, revealing how a shift in mindset transforms classrooms and student lives. Imagine a professor who makes learning fun, who emphasizes why students need each skill, and who believes that challenging courses actually boost success. That’s Dr....

Dr. Perry hosts Dr. Ed Gannon, a new clinical professor in Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at UB with 20+ years in professional rugby and U.S. sports performance, to discuss what makes effective strength and conditioning. Gannon recounts developing an academy rugby player into an international starter through targeted hypertrophy and conditioning, and shares an example of returning a winger with a...

In this engaging conversation, Dr. Lee Krol discusses his unconventional journey from computer programming to physical therapy, emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach in treatment. He shares insights on the significance of diagnostic skills, the impact of the bottom 50% of PTs on the profession, and the role of AI in enhancing patient care. Dr. Krol also highlights his teaching philosop...

In this engaging conversation, Chris Perry and Ryan Krzyzanowicz delve into the world of athletic training, exploring its significance, the journey from athlete to trainer, and the essential skills required in the field. They discuss the evolution of athletic training education, the importance of communication, and the diverse career opportunities available for athletic trainers. Ryan shares impac...

Summary In this conversation, Dr. Chris Perry interviews UB ENS colleague Dr. Hayden Hess, where he discusses his research in extreme physiology, focusing on how the human body responds to extreme environmental conditions such as heat, cold, altitude, and underwater environments. He shares insights from his experiences in diving research, the importance of understanding human responses to environm...

Overview In this inaugural episode of the Bulls Rise podcast, Dr. Chris Perry introduces the mission of the UB ENS podcast, which aims to educate, inspire, and equip listeners through evidence-based conversations in exercise and nutrition sciences. He emphasizes the importance of translating scientific knowledge into practical tools for everyday life, focusing on whole human performance, including...