Author: Christie Williams

HCAS Chemistry Research Grant Gains Supercomputer Time

This year, Halmos College chemistry professors Brian Van Hoozen, Ph.D. and Maria Ballester, Ph.D. received a grant from the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), a division of the National Science Foundation. XSEDE is a single virtual system that scientists can use to interactively share computing resources, data and expertise. People around the world use these resources and services — things like supercomputers, collections of data and new tools — to improve our planet.

This grant allows three undergraduate biology majors (Rade Jibawi Rivera, Senior; Anthony Bianco, Junior; and Ramson Munoz, Junior) to do computational chemistry research which focuses on trying to model a pathway by which the body may naturally avoid skin cancer by simulating molecular vibrational coupling between model systems for DNA base pairs and nearby water molecules. The project is also supported by a President’s Faculty Research and Development Grant.

2nd Annual Society for NeuroSports Conference

NSU College of Psychology will sponsor the 2nd Annual Society for NeuroSports Conference on March 26-27 in Deerfield Beach, FL. The conference will include speakers from NSU and other universities around the country. This year we welcome NSU graduate and former NFL athlete, Julius Thomas as the events virtual event host.

Wendy Suzuki, Ph.D., will be the keynote speaker. Suzuki is a Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the New York University Center for Neural Science and prominent science communicator. Her talk is entitled “The Astonishing Effects of Exercise on Your Brain!”

Session topics will include:

  • The Role of Breathing in Performance, Pain, and the Nervous System.
  • Evolutionary Biology and Performance.
  • Sports Supplements – Good for the Noggin.
  • Exercise and Neuroplasticity.
  • The role of Sleep in Recovery and Performance
  • Mind-Body Approaches to Exercise.
  • Cognition and Mental Skills Training
  • Brian Injury and Recovery in Contact Sports.
  • The Application of Sports Neuroscience

The Society for NeuroSports is an academic society run by three NSU faculty- Jaime Tartar, Ph.D. from The College of Psychology along with Corey Peacock Ph.D., and Jose Antonio Ph.D. from the College of Health Care Sciences.

The society and conference is dedicated to interdisciplinary collaboration in the fields of exercise science and neuroscience. This society is the first of its kind in the field of Sports Neuroscience. It is a society for passionate scientists and practitioners with an interest in furthering research-based athletic performance and brain health. It is our hope that the interdisciplinary discussions taking place in this society will increase the effectiveness and potential to reach greater levels of performance.

Registration details can be found here: Attendance can be in person* or virtual!

https://www.neurosports.net/ConferencesDetails.php?IDconf=110

“Presentations in the conference will show groundbreaking research on how exercise can improve mental and physical being.” – Dr. Tartar

 “This conference will break down academic silos by providing an opportunity for academics across disciplines to share knowledge and open up new collaborations.” – Dr. Tartar

Important Tax Return Document Available

GREAT NEWS! The electronic W-2s for 2020 are now available on SharkLink.

GREAT NEWS! The electronic W-2s for 2020 are now available on SharkLink. NSU has completed the 2020 Wage and Tax Statements (Form W-2) for all employees. Employees who have previously given consent to receive their W-2 electronically, can now access their forms online by logging into Sharklink. Paper forms, for university employees who opted to receive one, were mailed out on January 29, 2021.

For more information and detailed instructions on how to view your W-2 Form please visit the payroll website, W-2 Information (If I sign up, how will I get my W2?).

Additionally, within the website, you will find the Notice to Employees .  The IRS requires this information be provided to all employees, and is normally found on the back of your W-2. You must print the Notice to Employee statement.

Employees can print as many copies as necessary of Form W-2. It should be printed with black ink on white paper only.

 

NSU Launches Bee Conservation Campaign: “Save the Bees at NSU”

The Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the NSU Office for Alumni Relations and Annual Giving is partnering to support NSU’s sanctuary for bee habitat, which houses dozens of beehives to promote educational activities for students of all ages on campus.

Bees have a very important role in the conservation of our planet, not to mention other medicinal and economic purposes, such as pollination of crops, fruit plants, and flowers, for example. Unfortunately, these honeybee beehives and colonies are severely threatened locally, nationally, and globally. They are dying at alarming rates, at times reaching nearly 50%, from several causes including pesticides, invasive species, loss of habitat and food, and others.

The loss of honeybees can have disastrous outcomes for our food web and environmental health. This is the reason why NSU aims to teach students about environmental stewardship and raise awareness of the importance of honeybees.

Dr. Vic Shanbhag, a professor in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, volunteers his time to maintain and develop a beekeeping initiative at NSU, purchasing equipment and supplies needed to keep the students and the bees safe. He is a certified apiarist and maintains a fair amount of beehive boxes (5-10) on campus.

Shanbhag does this out of his own pocket, which is expensive and limits the educational and conservationist impact of the project.

The Halmos College of Arts & Sciences and University Advancement are collecting donations for the “Save the Bees at NSU” crowdfunding campaign. With these donations, we will be able to cover the costs of the needed supplies and expand on the education experiences for our students.

Some of the needed supplies include two (2) storage bins ($200 each), two (2) beekeeper suits ($100), five (5) additional beehive boxes ($200 each), and other supplies.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, the campaign offers wonderful incentives for all donors who donate to it by February 10 at 5:00 p.m. ET. For every $5.00 gift, NSU will email a valentine’s card to your valentine; for every $10.00 gift, we will mail them a scratch-off valentine’s card; and for every $25.00 gift, we will ship them a special bee charm pendant.

To support this initiative, please share our campaign and donate at: https://www.givecampus.com/ghlii4

Let us help the next generation to preserve our bees and our environment. Any just maybe, make some Shark honey as well.

COM Outlook Wins CASE Award

On January 28, the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine’s COM Outlook magazine received the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Bronze Award of excellence in the magazines–alumni/special interest category. The CASE District III Institutional Awards represent the very best in advancement across the southeastern United States.

“This is the third award COM Outlook has won within the past year,” said Scott Colton, B.A., APR, director of medical communications and special projects for NSU’s Office of Printing and Publications and COM Outlook executive editor. “These awards speak to the sustained excellence of the magazine and the myriad talents of the individuals who play an essential role in creating each issue.”

In 2020, COM Outlook received the first-place prize in the magazine and periodicals category in the Public Relations Society of America Tampa Bay Chapter PRestige Awards and the Best Magazine award from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.

Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice Professor Interviewed by NPR on Haitian Independence Day

Charlene Desir, Ed.D.

Charlene Desir, Ed.D., Professor, Department of Education, at NSU’s Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice, was interviewed last month by WLRN NPR on Haitian Independence Day, which is celebrated on January 1st. The day celebrates the only victory in history of enslaved Africans gaining independence from their captures/colonizers – defeating Napoleon’s army.

Desir was invited by WLRN since South Florida has the largest Haitian community within the United States.  While the celebration is an intergenerational celebration of liberation, she explained that for the 2nd and 3rd generations, the Haitian Independence is an honoring of a PanAfrican Movement in the United States.

You can hear the interview here. Dr. Desir’s section starts around the 20 min mark.

For more information on Dr. Desir and her research interests please visit:  https://education.nova.edu/faculty/desir-charlene.html

NSU Alumna Recognized as one of South Florida’s Most Influential and Prominent Black Women

Breion Moses, MPA ’16, was recognized for her leadership and impact in advocating for diversity and inclusion in the community.

Breion Moses, alumna of Nova Southeastern University’s Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, is a trailblazer who continues to create equal opportunity in both her career and her community. She was recently named by Legacy Magazine as one of South Florida’s Most Influential and Prominent Black Woman, and continues to support diverse and inclusive initiatives.

Currently, Moses is CEO and founder of Seven Hillz Productions and the Seven Hillz Production Foundation. Her mission as a leader and entrepreneur is to hire as many minorities as possible, as well as partner with minority groups in the community.

“Diversity and inclusion relate to all consumers,” said Moses. “I’m building a team of professionals who identify in multiple ways. Our world is multicultural and multiracial and therefore, we should acknowledge the importance of diversity.”

Moses, who echoes the need for more black and female voices, pays it forward by providing mentorship and scholarship opportunities to students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

“Our foundation [Seven Hillz Production Foundation] is dedicated to service, education, and creating awareness within the black community in hopes of sparking a new trend that will inspire people of all ages. We understand the important role education plays in leveling the playing field for all members of society,” she said.

In recognition of her impact in the community, Moses was honored by Legacy Magazine as South Florida’s Most Influential and Prominent Black Women in Business and Industry for 2020, and was previously honored as the publication’s 2019 South Florida 40 under 40 Leaders of Tomorrow. Gaining additional momentum, Moses was also recently added into the McDonald’s campaign, “Black & Positively Golden Mosaic,” and has many more initiatives in the works.

The NSU alumna believes her alma mater played an integral part in her career through its real-world business applications, and still remembers influential professors who made an impact in her life – namely, (former) NSU professor James Agbodzakey, Ph.D. and Terrell Manyak, Ph.D., both of whom kept in contact after graduation.

In sharing her advice to current NSU students, Moses offers the following words of wisdom:

“Be the best you know you can be; seek out people you admire for them to assist you in your journey. Find your tribe of people who believe in you and invest in yourself. Do not allow circumstances to hinder you from your success and where you know you want to be. One favorite quote of mine is, “Life offers you so many doors, it’s up to you which one to open and which one to close.”

Faculty From Two NSU Colleges Partner for COVID-19 Research

 A cross-disciplinary COVID-19 research project is bringing together faculty from NSU’s College of Psychology and the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The research is a joint effort involving Madhavi Menon and Weylin Sternglanz, both faculty in the College of Psychology, and Bindu Mayi of the College of Osteopathic Medicine.

“What we’re looking at is psychological correlates of COVID-19 preventive health behaviors,” Sternglanz said.

Sternglanz noted that while there are many preventive behaviors like masking and social distancing that can reduce people’s likelihood of contracting COVID-19, not everyone carries out those behaviors. Because of that, Sternglanz, Menon, and Mayi are studying the personality and social variables that might predict if people will or will not engage in preventive health behaviors.

The current project builds on previous research that the three faculty members conducted in 2019 on preventive health behaviors relating to mosquito-borne illnesses. That research was inspired by the Zika fever outbreak that had previously made news headlines. Menon said the study will have about 400 participants, divided evenly between undergraduate students and medical students.

“It’s very similar to what we had for our Zika studies, and we’re trying to keep everything comparable across the two studies,” Menon said. “The only distinction is we’re incorporating these COVID-19-related questions about beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes towards the coronavirus.”

According to Menon, the research will also study factors like self-esteem, overall psychological well-being, and social support from family and significant others. The previous study examined the relationship between conscientiousness and social support and found that the interaction of both influenced preventive health behaviors.

New Year/New Dance, Feb. 12

The Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts presents “New Year/New Dance” on Friday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Join us for an evening of dance created and performed by NSU students. This event provides a new platform for our emerging choreographers and dancers to share their talent and creativity with the community.

For more information, visit nova.edu/arts or contact Elana Lanczi, associate professor of dance, at lanczi@nova.edu

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