“Specifically, my work has been focused on adult women....I am extremely proud to be a woman in STEM and feel called to advocate and focus on this overlooked population. ...I hope my research under Dr. Anita Coté's wing will help future generations of Canadian women have healthier hearts and happier lives.”
— Natalie Szakun, Bachelor of Human Kinetics, 2021
Natalie Szakun was on the path to pursuing a degree in medical sciences, when she discovered that health encompasses more than the biological.
“I quickly realized that health is multidimensional and holistic, including a pivotal spiritual domain,” Szakun said.
“It became clear to me that as much as the physical and mental aspects of health are vital components of healthcare, spirituality is also a key player.”
This realization was part of the reason why Szakun decided to transfer to Trinity Western, where she sought to learn how to serve people's health holistically.
A calling to advance women's healthcare
This past Spring, Szakun graduated from TWU with a major in Kinesiology and a minor in Chemistry. Throughout her education, Szakun developed a keen interest in healthcare for adult and elderly women.
“My calling into advancing women's health, specifically within the aging population, did not develop until my last semester when I took a directed study with Dr. Anita Coté,” Szakun explains. Dr. Coté holds the Canada Research Chair in Cardiovascular Adaptation to Exercise.
"A larger contributor is not recognizing and addressing the cardiovascular disease risk factors that women silently carry, often for decades. ...Now you can maybe see why I am so passionate about this population!”
Szakun is among the recipients of 2021 TWU USRA research awards. Working alongside her faculty supervisor, Dr. Coté, Szakun’s main project is to investigate how exercise can serve as a mitigating factor of heart disease, while also increasing overall cardiovascular health.
“Specifically, my work has been focused on adult women, as unfortunately, women's heart health is often unnoticed, and definitely understudied,” she explained.
“I am extremely proud to be a woman in STEM and feel called to advocate and focus on this overlooked population,” she continued.
“Although very minimal, I hope my research under Dr. Anita Coté's wing will help future generations of Canadian women have healthier hearts and happier lives.”
Addressing the healthcare needs of Canadian women
Szakun has been part of Dr. Coté’s ongoing project with the Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging, measuring the effects of physical activity as a mitigating factor of cardiovascular disease.
Through this work, Szakun noticed a gap in Canadian healthcare when it comes to care for adult women. “I realized how overlooked and under-represented this population is,” she said.
Women make up over half of Canada’s aging population. Despite this, longitudinal studies on the specific cardiovascular disease risk factors associated with the menopausal transition are scarce, Szakun explains.
In response, Szakun and Dr. Coté hope to establish potential cardioprotective risk factor data for this specific high-risk population.
Global healthcare and cardiovascular disease risk factors for women
In view of global healthcare, their work has great significance. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women worldwide, Szakun explains. It is thought that the increased prevalence is due to how symptoms of cardiovascular disease are often not recognized in women, leading to low diagnosis and treatment rates.
“But this accounts for only part of the story,” Szakun says.
“A larger contributor is not recognizing and addressing the cardiovascular disease risk factors that women silently carry, often for decades,” she continued.
The delays in diagnosis, which can lead to less accurate prognosis in women, places women at a significant health disadvantage.
When Szakun observed these trends, she felt highly motivated to help advance women’s healthcare. “Now you can maybe see why I am so passionate about this population!” she says.
Szakun has engaged a wide scope of research work with Dr. Coté this summer.
“I've dipped my toes in a lot of different projects!” she says. Her summer projects have included working with the Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging, investigating the ethics for a study regarding adverse pregnancy outcomes, creating an intervention protocol for a new study, and finally, screening over four thousand titles and abstracts for a systematic review.
Read this story in the Langley Advance Times.
See also — TWU's Hannah Hube studies how psychology may influence physical activity among individuals with chronic pain:
TWU News
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to establish meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vital faith community committed to forming leaders to have a transformational impact on culture. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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