To celebrate Elon University’s Spring Undergraduate Research Forum on April 29, Today at Elon is highlighting several students presenting their research at the annual campus tradition.
Corey McCall ’25 has known for a long time that he wanted to enter the healthcare field, so when it was time to plan his undergraduate research, he wanted to focus on the health of actual people.
McCall connected with Associate Professor of Biology Robert Vick who studies how a variety of factors, from anxiety, music, religious beliefs, and more can impact heart rate variability. Vick and McCall are examining the cardiac effects of COVID-19.
To measure heart rate variability, McCall used software to analyze electrocardiogram (ECG) readings, the time in between heartbeats. McCall says if you have more variability, you have a healthier heart. This information was combined with survey data to get a better understanding of a person’s experience with COVID-19 and vaccination.
But the project took on a different meaning when McCall was diagnosed with myocarditis, inflammation of the heart. According to the Mayo Clinic, myocarditis is serious, but rare, affecting 10 to 20 out of every 100,000 Americans, mostly younger adults. The National Institutes of Health says viral infections are the most frequent cause of myocarditis in the U.S. Symptoms can vary greatly, including fatigue, malaise, chest pain, congestive heart failure, even cardiac arrest. After three months with the condition, McCall made a full recovery.
In his research, McCall, who is an Honors Fellow and Lumen Scholar, found a correlation between exposure to COVID-19 infection and vaccination, and lower heart rate variability. However, he cautions that there are other factors[CM2] they were not able to take into account due to time constraints
“It’s hard because I love doing this research, but I don’t have as much time as I would like to give to this project,” he said.
During the Spring Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF) on April 29, McCall will give an oral presentation – his first SURF Day experience. During SURF, all other campus activities are suspended so the Elon community can come together around students’ creative endeavors and research efforts. Undergraduate research is also one of the five Elon Experiences, which provide a natural extension of the work students do in the classroom and ensure that Elon graduates are prepared for both graduate school and careers.
This is not the first time McCall is presenting his work. Earlier in April, McCall was one of more than 40 students to attend the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is also presenting his work at the American Physiological Society meeting in Baltimore in late April. This fall, McCall will be returning to Pittsburgh after being accepted into the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Dental Medicine.
“I grew up playing sports, so the team-oriented nature of a dental office and nutrition are big factors in dentistry and that’s something I’ve always been passionate about. I think you can transform someone’s life by changing their smile,” he said. “So having those three qualities, I think dentistry is the perfect career for me.”
And as he continues through his educational career, the lessons he has learned at Elon, specifically through his research, can help guide his future.
“When you start a project, your initial plan is not always what you end up doing,” McCall said. “You have to go with the flow, if something’s not working, you have to be okay with making minor adjustments.”