Author: Christie Williams

UM-NSU CARD Offers Free and Remote Autism-Related Support

Connecting remotely and virtually is the new norm during these days of the coronavirus pandemic, and the changes deeply affect families with special-needs children who receive in-person services. To help families cope and stay connected, programs at the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern Center for Autism & Related Disabilities (UM-NSU CARD) are reevaluating their resources to deliver the best services they can to help families in need during these turbulent times by using email, video conferencing, and phone to provide support.

In Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties, UM-NSU CARD serves more than 13,000 families who utilize the organization’s free autism-related support, clinical care, and educational programs. In mid-March, when public schools began to close and recommendations for social distancing measures were being implemented across the country, CARD teams in five branch locations across South Florida began to assess service-delivery options and ways to remain fully operational while remote.

Some upcoming online trainings and groups include:

Autism in the Workplace – Job Coach’s Guide to Success

Drop-In Sessions for: Behavior Consultations, Surviving and Thriving and Ask an Autism SLP.

Spanish support groups for managing behavior, and for mothers. (Grupos de apoyo para comportamientos y para madres).

Training in English and Spanish for Managing Behavior

And many more…

Find updates and new resources on the UM-NSU CARD Link Tree page at www.linktr.ee/umnsucard which includes social narratives, activities for learning at home, activities for teens and adults, Spanish resources, trainings, support groups and much more. These events are open to all families, teachers and professionals in our community, and not limited to county.

For more information on services, contact UM-NSU CARD at (305) 284-5263 for Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, and at (954) 262-7111 for Broward county.

Follow UM-NSU CARD on social media for updates – Facebook, Instagram, YouTube page at @UMNSUCARD, and on Link Tree at www.linktr.ee/umnsucard

Education Professor to Present at the OLC Innovate 2020 Virtual Conference

Anymir Orellana, Ed.D., Professor at NSU’s Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice, will be presenting at the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Innovate 2020 Virtual Conference. The conference was originally scheduled to be held this spring in Chicago, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was revamped to a fully online conference and rescheduled for June 15-26.

Dr. Orellana’s session, Creating and Sharing VR with Google, will be a virtual hands-on workshop where participants will learn how to create simple 360 VR content using free Google-based tools with their smartphone and computer, and view their product with an inexpensive VR head mount such as Google Cardboard.

She currently teaches online graduate courses in the areas of instructional technology, distance education, instructional media, and instructional design. Her research interests are in the field of instructional technology and distance education, specifically quality in online courses and effective integration of technology for learning.

For more information on the OLC Innovate 2020 Virtual Conference and Dr. Orellana’s session, please click here.

Halmos College Faculty and Students Present Protein Modeling at Virtual Conference

During April, a Halmos College faculty and student team was accepted to the National meeting of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Originally the symposium was scheduled to be held in San Diego, but due to COVID-19, the event was moved to a virtual platform. The team prepared a video presentation and posted to YouTube to link to the nationwide event.

The team consisted of Halmos faculty members Arthur Sikora, Ph.D., Emily Schmitt Lavin, Ph.D. Halmos College undergraduate students: Feza Abbas, Matthew Hunt, Lyla Abbas, Helana Ghali, Alesa Chabbra, and Mina Ghali. The team modeled two well know inhibitors of HIV-1 protease called Darunavir and Ritonavir. They also used chemical elements of both inhibitors to design a hypothetical new inhibitor that they named “Sharkavir” in honor of the NSU Sharks. The group worked in conjunction with the Center for Biomolecular Modeling as part of their NSF funded project to develop protein modeling research through the CREST (Connecting Researchers, Educators, and STudents) Program.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects approximately 37 million people worldwide and results in over 1 million deaths annually. A class of drugs first developed in 1995 inhibits the enzyme HIV-1 protease, thus preventing the maturation of an HIV precursor protein. There are now over 10 protease inhibitors available to treat HIV. Multiple mutations in the protein have made this treatment less effective. Darunavir is currently one of the strongest competitive inhibitors, as it binds effectively to the substrate envelope and has yielded a lower resistance for patients. The most effective treatment is a combination of two of these inhibitors: Darunavir and Ritonavir. In order to explain how these drugs work, the active site of the non-mutated wild-type HIV-1 protease was depicted as a binding box model. The protease inhibitors Darunavir, Ritonavir, and our hypothetical drug, “Sharkavir” were 3D printed to show how they fit into the protease active site. Details of the wild-type HIV-1 protease, as well as the drugs Darunavir, and Ritonavir, were found in the Protein Data Bank files. The new protease inhibitor molecule, “Sharkavir”, was designed as a combination of Darunavir and Ritonavir using Marvin Sketch: a software used to manipulate molecular structures.

 

Halmos Faculty Participates in NSF STEM for All Video Showcase

From May 5 to May 12, Halmos Faculty Member Arthur Sikora, Ph.D. collaborated with faculty around the country to present their video entitled, “Rich Collaborations Yield More than Expected: BASIL lab. This curriculum from the BASIL (Biochemistry Authentic Scientific Inquiry Laboratory) collaboration aims to get students to transition from thinking like students to thinking and acting like scientists. Students will analyze proteins with known structure but unknown function using both computational and wet-lab techniques. BASIL is designed for undergraduate biochemistry lab courses but can be adapted to first year (or even high school) settings, as well as upper-level undergraduate or graduate coursework. It is targeted to students in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, or related majors.

Sikora stated, “We have been fortunate to have robust anticipated learning outcomes that were developed by our collaborators at Purdue. The full set is published in “Anticipated Learning Outcomes for a Biochemistry Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience Aimed at Predicting Protein Function from Structure: Implications for Assessment Design” Irby et al BAMBED 2018. Several members of the group have started working with these ALOs to design targeted assessments.”

The 2020 National Science Foundation (NSF) STEM for All Video Showcase is an annual online event. Each year, it hosts between 100-200 three-minute video presentations from federally funded projects that aim to improve STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and computer science education. During the seven days of this online event, Principal Investigators, practitioners, administrators, researchers, policy makers, industry and the public at large are encouraged to participate. All participants will be able to view the video presentations, post to the facilitated discussions related to each video, and vote for the videos that are most effective in conveying the creative work being done. All videos and discussions will be archived for perpetual future access. In addition, all videos from this Showcase will be added to the collection in the STEM for All Multiplex after the online May event.

College of Pharmacy and Halmos College Faculty Collaborate in Journal Article

During April, College of Pharmacy faculty member Anastasios (Tassos) Lymperopoulos, Ph.D., F.A.H.A., F.E.S.C., and his research team discovered that a protein called GRK5, which phosphorylates other proteins (a kinase), blocks the receptor of a hormone that is very toxic for the heart, named aldosterone. Halmos Chemistry faculty member Beatrix Aukszi, Ph.D. is a longtime collaborator of Dr. Lymperopoulos and a contributor to his research.

Their research was published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences and is entitled, “Antagonistic Roles of GRK2 and GRK5 in Cardiac Aldosterone Signaling Reveal GRK5-Mediated Cardioprotection via Mineralocorticoid Receptor Inhibition”.

Aldosterone is increased during heart failure, after a heart attack, in hypertension, and in other cardiovascular diseases. It increases the reabsorption of sodium and water into the kidneys, causing high blood volume and blood pressure. It also has several direct damaging effects on the heart, such as fibrosis, hypertrophy, and inflammation. This is why drugs that block its receptor, called mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs), are part of the cornerstone pharmacotherapy of chronic heart failure in humans. By finding a way to stimulate GRK5 in the heart, for example with certain drugs that activate a receptor for adrenaline, professor Lymperopoulos hopes it will lead to the reduction of the severity of heart failure. The group is now testing new and existing heart failure medications such as Inspra, Finerenone, and Aldactone, to see how effective they are at promoting this cardio-protective GRK5 action against aldosterone.

This study was supported in part by a Gateway to Research scholarship from the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE), by a Scientist Development Grant from the American Heart Association (AHA #09SDG2010138), and by a Nova Southeastern University’s President‘s Faculty Research & Development Grant.

National Student Speech Language Hearing Association Chapter Awards NSU with 2020 Gold Chapter Honors

The National Student Speech Language Hearing Association,(National NSSLHA) has awarded the NSSLHA Chapter at Nova Southeastern University with 2020 Gold Chapter Honors, https://www.nsslha.org/Programs/Chapter-Honors-Recipients/.

Efforts made by the NSSLHA Chapter at Nova Southeastern University helped National NSSLHA:

  • Increase awareness of communication sciences and disorders (CSD) on more than 110 local college campuses and communities across the country
  • Increase advocacy efforts by sending more than 15,500 letters to state and federal legislators, https://takeaction.asha.org/asha/StudentIssues.
  • Provide scholarships to students in CSD programs by contributing more than $15,000 to the ASHFoundation’s NSSLHA Scholarship, https://www.ashfoundation.org/apply/#Scholarships.
  • Support CSD-related organizations with more than $162,000 in donations

National NSSLHA Chapter Honors are awarded to affiliated NSSLHA chapters that demonstrate an outstanding effort to support National NSSLHA’s mission to inspire, empower, and support students in communication sciences and disorders programs.

 

About the NSSLHA Chapter at Nova Southeastern University

 

As a highly motivated and dedicated NSSHLA chapter, we have dedicated ourselves to community service and educating others about our field. We are incredibly fortunate to have students across the United States and Puerto Rico, which allows us to spread awareness and education across different settings. I feel incredibly honored to be co-president of the Nova Southeastern University NSSLHA chapter and incredibly humbled by our selection for Gold Chapter Honors. -Ginny Frankel, Co-President, Nova Southeastern University NSSLHA

 

About National NSSLHA

The National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) is the only national student organization for pre-professionals studying communication sciences and disorders (CSD) recognized by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Established in 1972, NSSLHA is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, and supports 12,000+ members and 320+ chapters at colleges and universities nationwide.

 

 

Music Around the World with The Alvin Sherman Library

Explore a joyous blend of musical games, songs and dances each week from different regions of the world with award-winning, internationally-touring family musician and teaching artist Alina Celeste.

Like the NSU Alvin Sherman Library’s page or visit each week: https://www.facebook.com/AlvinShermanLibrary

Funded by the Erwin and Barbara Mautner Charitable Foundation

Date:
Thursday, May 21, 2020 Show more dates
Time:
11:00am – 11:30am
Location:
Online

Physical Distancing May Be New for Humans, 
Not So Much For Whale Sharks

When it comes to physical (social) distancing, humans could learn a thing or two from whale sharks. Seeing one in the ocean is a rare occurrence, indeed, and a big deal – so much so that a recent sighting off the west coast of Florida made several news reports.

For a group of research scientists, “Rio Lady” is one whale shark that shows just how physical distancing works. She was originally ‘tagged’ in 2007 and hadn’t been seen since her tag popped off a few months later. That was until 2011. And she’s since been “re-tagged,” this time with a satellite tag that is showing some remarkable results.

You can read the full press release ONLINE. In addition, enclosed are high resolution photos you can use and here’s a link to b-roll video from the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation.

 

NSU University School Student Honored with Student of the Year Award

NSU University School is proud to congratulate senior Ronnie who was honored with the Student of the Year Award during the recent 22nd Annual Student Life Achievement Awards. Affectionately known as the “STUEYs,” this awards ceremony celebrates Nova Southeastern University’s best in Academic Excellence, Integrity, Innovation, Opportunity, Scholarship/Research, Diversity, and Community.

In her nine years as a USchool student, Ronnie has truly led by example and furthered a sense of community on our campus. We are so very proud of all she has accomplished and wish her continued success in her future endeavors. To watch the full virtual ceremony, visit https://www.nova.edu/campuslife/stueys/.

 

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