About the HEAT Institute
Dr. Sandra Fowkes Godek, the director of the HEAT Institute, is a professor of sports medicine at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Her research on thermoregulation, hydration and electrolyte replacement in football players has attracted national attention. After the heat stroke death of Minnesota Vikings player Cory Stringer, Dr. Fowkes Godek appeared on MSNBC as an expert on heat illness in football players and was interviewed by Brian Williams. CBS news correspondent Byron Pitts visited the West Chester University campus to film a story about the silicone-encased internal body temperature sensors that members of the HEAT Institute use in field research. When Byron Pitts asked Philadelphia Eagles lineman Hollis Thomas how significant he thought the sensors were for football players like him, the lineman answered, "Keep us from dying."