Author: Christie Williams

NSU Collaborates with Remote Area Medical

“Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine had a special opportunity to collaborate with Remote Area Medical on March 6 and 7, 2021.

Remote Area Medical is a major nonprofit provider of free pop-up clinics. Their mission is to prevent pain and alleviate suffering by providing free, quality healthcare to those in need. They do this by delivering free dental, vision, and medical services to underserved and uninsured individuals. They have provided care across the world at over 1500 events.

The founder of Remote Area Medical was the late Stan Brock. His vision for Remote Area Medical developed when he suffered a personal injury while living among the Wapishana Indians in Guyana, South America. When he left Guyana, he vowed to find a way to deliver basic medical aid to people in the world’s inaccessible regions. So, in 1985 he established the non-profit, Remote Area Medical or as most people know us – RAM™. RAM is the way he has have kept that promise, not only to the Wapishana Indians, but to thousands around the world in similar conditions.

The Remote Area Medical Clinic care was provided in special treatment tents at Carter Park located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The team was led by Dr. Mark Schweizer, Assistant Dean of Community Programs and Public Health, Dr. Juan Velasco, Assistant Professor, Dr. Aryia Amini, Assistant Professor, and Oral Surgery residents Dr. Maria Nord, and Dr. Neil Charnowitz.

Oral Health care was provided by D1, D2, D3, and D4 students with an amazing turn out of over 100 students.

Over 250 patients were provided dental services and more than 150,000.00 dollars in donated dental services.

Nova Southeastern University students demonstrated the core values of compassion, respect, and integrity. It was truly an honor to transform the lives of patients in our community.

HCAS Faculty Serves as Judge and HCAS Student Presents at the Virtual University Research Symposium of The University of West Alabama

Santanu De, M.Sc., Ph.D. faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS), served as a judge for the Graduate Poster and Oral Presentations at the virtual University Research Symposium of The University of West Alabama on March 9, 2021.

One of HCAS’s Biology major students, Jessica Hallett, used this opportunity to present an independent study research work she had performed under the mentorship of Dr. De.  Her presentation was entitled “COVID-19-based challenges and countermeasures in education, research, and management in healthcare and STEM”.

De’s research interests include, STEM education, pedagogy, reproductive physiology, developmental biology, cell biology, and protein biology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HCAS Communication Majors Self-Publish Works of Fiction and Poetry

Flor-Mireles

B.A. in Communication majors in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts within the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences have self-published their first works of fiction and poetry. In November, Wilson published her book “The Shadows of Heaven” as the first installment of a fantasy book series called “Trials of Fate,” which takes place in a fictional world with angel lore and elements of modern society. Wilson, a junior with a concentration in Digital Media Production, said her goal was to include marginalized groups within the subgenre of fantasy and to inspire others to write their own stories.

 In January, Mireles published her first book and poetry collection called “Perspective (and other poems).” The collection, which features 51 unique poems, is illustrated by Naomi Nguyen and examines the journey of finding oneself and the ability to connect with nature. Mireles, a senior with a concentration in Journalism, spent two years working on the collection, she said, and is now working on a second poetry collection.

 To learn more about the B.A. in Communication major, click here

 

Halmos College of Arts and Sciences Healthcare Theatre Course Trains Future Frontline Workers in the Art of Empathy

When you think about theatre, terms like actor, performance or even William Shakespeare probably come to mind. Do you happen to think of the word empathy? Bill Adams, associate professor/coordinator of performing arts for HCAS’s Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts, is helping healthcare students – and future frontline workers – learn the art of empathy with his Healthcare Theatre course.

Adams designed the course with Melissa Morris, director of simulation and interactive technology for NSU’s Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences. Students enrolled in the course work to develop empathetic responses as standardized patients and play roles such as patients, family members and caregivers. The student nurses and doctors who are training with them receive more life-like empathetic responses in their simulations and offer standardized feedback to healthcare students in training.

NSU began offering the course in January 2020, and it is now offered through the HCAS Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts

The course is open to students of all majors and seeks to foster innovative collaboration between students in different disciplines, Adams said.

“Imagine the nursing major giving feedback on the performance of the acting major in an effort to better perform a simulation – but the concepts are reversible because the actors and theatre makers are not only learning how to craft theatre in applied circumstances, but doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers are learning from actors how to be more empathetic in practice,” Adams said.

To learn more about the Healthcare Theatre course, click here.

 

 

 

 

College of Dental Medicine Assistant Professor Elected Officer for the Section on Dental Anatomy and Occlusion for the American Dental Education Association (ADEA)    

Liliana Mosquera, D.D.S., M.B.A. Presenting at the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) during the 2021 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition as part of the program for the Section on Dental Anatomy and Occlusion members forum.

 

Liliana Mosquera, D.D.S, M.B.A. Assistant professor in the Department of Prosthodontics at NSU’s College of Dental Medicine was recently elected to the Office of Secretary for the Section on Dental Anatomy and Occlusion for the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) during the 2021 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition. She will be serving for 3 more years in the Section on Dental Anatomy and Occlusion rising from Secretary, to Chair-Elect to Chair. She presented a short talk on “Pre-Doctoral Occlusion Curriculum” on March 11, 2021 during the 2021 Annual Session as part of the program for the Section on Dental Anatomy and Occlusion members forum.   Mosquera serves as the course director or the Cosmetic Dentistry courses and the content expert in the Integrated Restorative Dentistry course in the College of Dental Medicine.

NSU Law Alumna Recognized By Legal Aid Service of Broward County

Sharon Bourassa

Legal Aid Service of Broward County has announced that Sharon Bourassa, Director of Special Projects at Legal Aid Service of Broward County has retired after 39 years of legal public service. For almost four decades, Bourassa has been committed to representing and helping the poor and disadvantaged in the Broward County community. She has represented low-income families in cases involving federal and state environmental laws, federal and state housing laws and local code enforcement laws.

Bourassa was employed by Legal Aid Service of Broward County since 1981. Her interest and compassion for the low-income community began long before she entered law school. Before entering law school, Sharon was a divorced mother with two young children receiving welfare assistance via Food Stamps and a Section 8 Housing Voucher. Sharon became determined to earn a college degree and go on to law school, not only to help her family but also to help those who faced the same struggles she experienced.

Her advocacy through countless winning cases has brought millions of dollars’ worth of renovations to housing complexes neglected by owners that placed tenants in dangerous and unhealthy situations. Bourassa has had immense impact improving the lives of thousands of Broward’s low income and minority communities who have sought help from Legal Aid Service of Broward County.

“Our organization and the community will be suffering a tremendous loss as Sharon Bourassa retires” said Tony Karrat, Executive Director of Legal Aid Service of Broward County. “It has been her life’s mission to help those in need and right the wrongs imposed on those unable to help themselves, and through her work she has been able to accomplish this mission.”

Sharon has focused her practice on major impact cases that result in significant relief to local, state, and national segments of the low-income population. She has litigated cases against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for operating federal housing projects that are in clear viola­­tion of applicable housing laws, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its failure to enforce laws concerning a Superfund waste site, and other governmental entities for failure to either comply with applicable code enforcement, housing, and relocation laws or for improper enforcement of said laws.

Most recently, Sharon has been instrumental in developing programs to represent welfare and low-income women and men whose legal issues are keeping them from continuing their education or job training. This includes representing them in child custody, domestic violence, evictions, foreclosure, and other consumer matters.

Karrat continued “Sharon has been a shining example of the fearless leadership and advocacy that has made Legal Aid Service of Broward County stand out both within our community and statewide.”

Bourassa has received countless prestigious legal accolades and awards throughout her career including the Jane Elizabeth Curran Distinguished Service Award from The Florida Bar Foundation in 2018, Thurgood Marshall Award from Urban League of Broward County in 2002 and Alumna of the Year presented by Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center on their 20th Anniversary in 1994, to name a few. It is clear Sharon Bourassa represents the highest moral, intellectual, and professional characteristics that a lawyer can have.

Article courtesy of the Legal Aid Service of Broward County.

NSU Graduate Joins the MindPoint Group

Andrew Seely

Congratulations to Andrew (Andy) Seely, M.S., graduate of Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) College of Computing and Engineering (CCE), on his new job! Seely has recently joined the IT security firm MindPoint Group as the Director of Architecture and Engineering. In addition to this, he is an adjunct associate professor for the University of Maryland Global Campus and volunteers with the American Red Cross Central Florida Region and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

After serving seven years in the U.S. Air Force, Seely received his Master of Science in Computer Science degree in 2002 all while working as a civilian contractor for the Headquarters, U.S. European Command in Germany. He was the first and one of few who opted to focus on research over straight coursework and complete a thesis on Petri Net Implementations of Neural Network Elements.

When asked what piece of advice he has for students, Seely replied, “Students should brainstorm and focus on what their perfect job would be and then go find a job positing for it. It is important to look at the knowledge, experience, and exposure the company is looking for within that position and then go do it. Make yourself look like the candidate they want to hire rather than wonder why they did not hire you. Doing this early in your college career will provide time to make yourself the attractive candidate.”  He also stressed the importance of treating your career well and compared it to taking care of a pony, especially the need to nurture, manage, and feed it so it stays alive and be ready to saddle up to go somewhere new if needed.

 

Launch of NSU 2021 Grant Writing Mentoring Program for Faculty

The 2021 Grant Writing Mentoring program, hosted by the NSU Grant Writing Lab and Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine has launched with a cohort of 13 Mentees and 13 Mentors spanning 10 NSU colleges. The program supports early stage researchers by pairing them with established researchers with the aim of writing and submitting a grant application by the end of the program period. The overarching goal is to increase the capacity (i.e., knowledge and skills) of NSU researchers early in their careers to find, apply for, and be competitive to receive grant support for their research. This goal will be accomplished through an approximately year-long program that features one-on-one meetings between mentees and their mentors, check-ins with the program’s Advisory Committee, and utilization of NSU’s grantsmanship trainings and resources. Participation in this program will allow mentees access to external grant review of their proposals as well as equip them with their own grant writing handbook. NSU Colleges represented in this program include:

  • College of Computing and Engineering
  • College of Dental Medicine
  • College of Pharmacy
  • College of Psychology
  • Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine
  • Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences
  • H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business & Entrepreneurship
  • Halmos College of Arts & Sciences
  • Ron & Kathy Assaf College of Nursing

 

New Student Application, Lazy Text

 

NSU students now have access to a new text reminder tool, Lazy Texts.

Lazy Texts is a student-made service that sends students a daily customizable text message reminder with all important upcoming due dates (such as assignments, quiz, exams), based on the Canvas account. Lazy Texts is proven to keep students organized, increase academic success, and decrease stress. Student will need to sign up for Lazy Texts at lazytexts.com to use this service.

To learn more about Lazy text, visit  https://www.nova.edu/oiit/lazytexts/index.html

Thanks to the Undergraduate Student Government Association who brought this initiative, leading to our partnership with Lazy Texts to provide their services to all of our students.

 

Online Silent Auction – 36th Annual Scholarship Golf Classic Presented by DELL

 

Get your bid on! By participating in the online auction for the 36th Annual Scholarship Golf Classic Presented by DELL, you will make a direct impact on NSU Student-Athletes by way of scholarships and academic support.

The site can be found at NSUAthletics.givesmart.com and opens on Monday, April 12 at 8:00 a.m. and will close Monday, April 19 at 3:00 p.m.

Happy bidding and GO SHARKS!

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