Konner Roche

Dynamic and dedicated professional with a strong background as a Division I athlete at Michigan State University, excelling in leadership and time management. Experienced as a Perfusion Assistant, and hands on research assistant demonstrating reliability and patient care skills. Proven ability to collaborate effectively and analyze data, contributing to team success and fostering a positive environment.

• Wrestling Coach, Coached athletes across a wide range of ages and skill levels, from beginners to advanced competitors.
• Roche Approach Strength Training Camp, Led a series of strength training camps focused on teaching advanced training techniques to high school athletes.
• Ragnarok Training Systems, Nonprofit dedicated to creating opportunities for young athletes through sport and mentorship.
• Game Changers, Community outreach program where MSU athletes mentor students in local school districts.
• S.A.K.C - The Student Athlete Kindness Committee, Pioneered a student athlete-led initiative to foster a more positive, inclusive campus environment.

• Michigan State Student Athlete Academic Excellence Highest Honor Award, 2024
• Michigan State University Varsity letterman, 2024
• Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Athlete, 2023, 2024
• Dean's List, All semesters
• Academic All Big Ten, 2023, 2024

80 Hours

Cardiothoracic Surgery, Emergency Medicine, General Cardiology, Anesthesiology (pain management), Primary Care, Sports Medicine

Sensorimotor Development Laboratory

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, 48823

Lab Supervisor: Dr. Mei Hua Lee, PHD

2024-Present

Reaching and Grasping study

• Longitudinal study aimed at understanding the developmental trajectory of fine motor skills in infants. My role focused on analyzing infant motor behavior through detailed video annotation, using behavioral coding to track the emergence of reaching and grasping patterns over time. This required high attention to detail and consistency to ensure that nuanced movements were reliably captured and aligned with developmental benchmarks.

PLAY Project (current)

• The PLAY Project is a collaborative research initiative involving 70 researchers from 50 universities across the United States and Canada. Funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, it serves as a model system for advancing developmental science through a “big data” approach. My contribution to this project is to systematically code behavioral patterns using open-source software. This involves extensive pre-training and ongoing quality assurance to ensure accuracy and reliability

Walking Study (Current)

• This project, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), was a collaboration between the Kinesiology and Engineering departments at MSU. Through its interdisciplinary nature, I had the opportunity to work closely with professors, graduate and undergraduate students, and families with young infants—an experience that taught me the value of teamwork and community engagement. One of the unique aspects of this project was participating in experimental setups within participants’ home environments, which offered intimate insights into developmental contexts. In addition to facilitating data collection, I also analyzed the results to explore how the onset of walking influences communication dynamics between infants and their caregivers.

UURAF (2025)

• I co-led a research project investigating how the onset of walking influences communication dynamics between infants and their caregivers. As both a researcher and presenter, I played a key role in project design, data collection, and data analysis.