Derek Hosier, a University of Mount Union exercise science major and Ashville native, recently attended and presented research at the Asian Congress on Nutrition in Yokohama, Japan.

Students attended the conference with Dr. Lonnie Lowery, assistant professor of human performance and sport business.

The Asian Congress on Nutrition welcomes researchers from all over the world and allows them to present and share their scientific findings. Lowery heard about this conference last year through his research network. As a member of the American Society of Nutrition, a society that is also affiliated with its international counterpart, the Asian Congress of Nutrition, Lowery was able to get Mount Union and his students the connections to participate in this year’s events.

Prior to the conference, the group had to submit their two research abstracts and wait while they were peer reviewed. After being accepted, they began creating further literature reviews, graphs and posters, partly from a prior course.

During the conference, the group listened to talks presented by scientists, which included the professor who discovered the hormone leptin. The group visited with Lowery’s colleagues, went on a tour of ancient Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, shopped in Japan’s largest Chinatown and participated in many other activities in the country.