Rehabilitation Sciences PhD student Winrose Windsor presented her poster today at the APHA Annual Meeting & Expo in Washington, D.C., after being selected by Delta Omega as one of 29 student presenters nationwide. Her nomination came through UTMB’s chapter, Delta Nu, and the honor included a $500 cash prize. The work probes how leisure time physical activity relates to the odds of stroke in U.S. adults, an inquiry shaped by Winrose’s clinical background and her first year of doctoral training.
Clinical roots in India
Before joining UTMB, Winrose completed her master’s in physical therapy and worked in a rehabilitation institute at Christian Medical College and Hospital in South India. Her clinical work as a physiotherapist centered on rehabilitation for stroke, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury, and she was also involved in teaching in the physical therapy program. After moving to the U.S., she volunteered with Physiopedia, an online platform for physiotherapy and rehabilitation professionals. These experiences primed her to ask questions that connect evidence with everyday function.
Winrose describes her journey to the U.S. as ‘following her husband’s dream’ and feels blessed to have discovered the right place to grow into an impactful researcher.
Where coursework meets curiosity
At UTMB, Winrose advanced a question that took shape early in her coursework. What does leisure time physical activity signal about the odds of stroke? The project’s biostatistical underpinnings were reflected and strengthened under the close mentorship of Dr. Alejandro Villasante-Tezanos. Professional presentation training with Dr. Monique Pappadis helped her communicate the study clearly in a national scientific forum.
What the study found
Winrose wanted to find the association between leisure-time physical activity levels and stroke status in U.S. adults using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data collected in 2021-2023. Even though stroke remains one of the leading causes of chronic disability, the reassuring part is that nearly 80% of all strokes are preventable through modifiable risk factors. Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) is one such factor and refers to planned exercise during discretionary time, distinct from work or household activity.
The findings of this study point to a clear signal. Moderate LTPA is linked with substantially lower odds of reporting a stroke—57 percent lower in men and 49 percent lower in women in adjusted models. High LTPA showed a protective pattern in crude estimates; after adjustment, the effect remained protective but did not reach statistical significance. Age behaved as expected, with each additional year associated with a 4.3 percent increase in the odds of stroke.
The take-home message: Leisure-time physical activity that raises the heart rate to a moderate level on a regular basis is associated with lower odds of stroke in a large, recent national sample.
Why the findings matter
Moderate-intensity activity for 150–300 minutes each week, such as brisk walking or recreational cycling, aligns with national guidelines and is associated with lower odds of stroke. The message gives clinicians, therapists and community programs a realistic goal to promote.
Winrose shares, “Every coursework along with research projects, committed mentorship and structured rotations in the graduate program at SPPH is preparing me for my journey towards becoming an independent researcher, educator and a change-maker.”