Category: Academics

College of Psychology Faculty Presents at Sports Nutrition Conference

Kayla Thayer, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor Kayla Thayer, Ph.D., from NSU’s College of Psychology, recently presented at a conference on the intersection of psychology and sports performance.

The International Society of Sports Nutrition conference took place in person in Daytona Beach, but implemented masks and social distancing. Presentations covered topics such as diet and amino acids, but Thayer took a different course.

Although sports performance is not Thayer’s main area of research, her presentation took the basic tenets of clinical psychology and evidence-based tools like cognitive behavioral therapy, but applied them to sports. Thayer noted that athletes also contend with common problems – anxiety, depression, trauma, legal issues, substance issues and sleep issues.

“When it’s your job to perform well, all of these problems negatively impact cognitive functioning, so by using clinical psychology, what we’re doing is targeting those underlying problems so that we can dedicate more cognitive resources to performance and enhancing it in the moment on the field,” Thayer said.

NSU University School Students Named 2021 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

NSU University School is proud to congratulate the 12th grade students who were named Semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. These are high school seniors who scored in the top percentile in the nation on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

  • William Boudy
  • Duncan Jurman
  • Tobi Margolis
  • Ella Marshall
  • Ben Miller
  • Peyton Ronkin
  • Ben Yohros

Out of approximately 1.5 million entrants across the nation, only about 16,000 students qualified as Semifinalists. These talented seniors will have the opportunity to advance to the Finalist level and qualify for winner recognition as well as university scholarships.

Student Osteopathic Medical Association Provides Supply Donation

The Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) chapter at the NSU Tampa Bay Regional Campus exceeded expectations with its school supply drive for the Chi Chi Rodriguez Foundation.

SOMA’s original goal was to establish a mentorship program with the foundation, which is a youth organization aimed at providing students a unique environment to develop teamwork, community building, and leadership skills. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, SOMA had to find different ways to engage with the program. SOMA reached out to the foundation and found it needed various supplies such as sanitizers, cleaning supplies, and masks. This is when SOMA decided to hold a school supply drive for the students.

SOMA had volunteers donate items, while making sure they were all sanitized before being donated. To ensure social distancing requirements were being followed, SOMA held the drive in the outdoor courtyard area of the campus and had three to four people sign up for each shift. Each volunteer had his or her own table where people could drop off materials.

The drive was a success, as more than $1,000 was raised, along with various donations as requested by the foundation. SOMA hopes to continue working with the foundation and eventually coordinate a mentorship program once in-person activities resume. SOMA members are already participating in the foundation’s career day activities, which involves having a few students discuss their journey to medical school and answer any question the youth may have about the process of becoming a physician.

“We were super excited to have raised this much and very happy with the level of participation from our class,” said second-year student Madhuri Prayaga, SOMA president. “Even during such difficult times, they came together to help raise money for an important and meaningful cause. We are incredibly grateful to our class for helping so much.”

KPCOM Launches Unity Program for Change

As police brutality toward communities of color continues to make national headlines with protests, riots, and trials, Paula Anderson-Worts, D.O., M.P.H., assistant dean of faculty and alumni affairs, along with Elaine M. Wallace, D.O., M.S., M.S., M.S., M.S., dean, have created a program that will promote cultural sensitivity and address the impact of racial injustice and racism in the United States.

The program, titled the KPCOM Unity Program for Change, has involved KPCOM faculty and staff members, as well as students, with the goal of serving as a catalyst for ongoing change toward equality and justice for all. The program began in July, with its first Zoom meeting being a dialogue on racial injustice. The program has since followed with various Zoom meetings with speakers on racial consciousness, discussion groups on healing, taking action, and racial consciousness and Zoom group discussions on related topics—all with the hope of galvanizing others to work to educate, unify, and advocate for change that will help eliminate systemic racism and inequality.

HCAS Student Presents at Pi Sigma Alpha National Student Research Conference

Lucas Dombroski, student in the Department of Humanities and Politics in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS), presented his research at the Pi Sigma Alpha National Student Research Conference hosted by George Washington University. His paper was titled, “Capital Punishment and College Educated Individuals: How Do the College Educated View the Ultimate Punishment?”

According to Dombroski, “Essentially, my research involved analyzing National Election Studies (NES) data concerning how college-educated respondents felt about Capital Punishment.  I ran logistic regression models and cross-tabulations on these feelings toward capital punishment using the demographic information provided by the respondents, and I was able to see the relationships between feelings towards the death penalty and variables such as sex, political party affiliation, region, and ethnicity. My findings suggested that political party affiliation is the best indicator of how one feels about capital punishment whereas sex was the worst indicator; however, none of the relationships that were chosen to be tested in my research had a very strong significance.”

Ransford Edwards, Ph.D., faculty in DHP and NSU chapter advisor accompanied Dombroski. Dombroski was a recipient of the department Student Scholar Fund and used that financial support to take care of airfare, lodging, and food.

 

 

Kappa Delta Pi Omega Theta Chapter Recipient of Education Excellence Award

NSU’s Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) Omega Theta Chapter is one of the recipients of the 2019-2020 Professional Development Chapter Program Award presented by Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society in Education. The Awards for Education Excellence honor those individuals and chapters for their significant contributions to the Society and the education world.

 

Over the past year, KDP Omega Theta organized five professional development presentations involving participants from the USA, St. Vincent, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, as well as other countries. The presentations included:

  • Covid-19 ‘New Normal’: Reshaping the teaching/learning platform
  • Economic, Entrepreneurial and Educational Perspectives in the Pandemic Era Conference
  • Professional development for teachers on the management and use of different platforms for virtual classrooms at the time of a pandemic
  • Special Education Forum
  • Beyond the book cover – 1 hour of reading

KDP, founded in 1911, fosters excellence in education and promotes fellowship among those dedicated to teaching. The Omega Theta chapter, established April 14, 1999, continues to demonstrate excellence in education, amassing awards in Literacy, Membership/Online Program, and outstanding regional Counselor. The chapter’s leader is Dr. Sandra Trotman.

For more information on KDP and Chapter Awards featured on KDP’s website, please click here.

Halmos College Faculty Discusses A Bee’s View on Food      

This fall, Halmos College faculty member Lauren Nadler, Ph.D. published a new popular science article in the Outside JEB section of the Journal of Experimental Biology (JEB), entitled, “Making a bee-line for food with octopamine”. In this article, Dr. Nadler describes a recent scientific study in the journal Biology Letters (by Tianfei Peng and two of his colleagues from the University of Mainz in Germany) that examined how bees find food and perceive its value. The researchers found that the brain compound octopamine (equivalent to the fight or flight hormone noradrenaline in vertebrates like humans) was involved, with bees increasing foraging by almost 75% following an octopamine-laced treat. This publication highlights the important role of the brain in driving the behavior of animals both big and small.

The Outside JEB section reports on the most exciting developments in experimental biology. The articles are written by a team of active research scientists highlighting the papers that JEB readers can’t afford to miss. Dr. Nadler has been contributing to Outside JEB since October 2018.

College of Psychology names Charles Golden as its Professor of the Year

Charles Golden, Ph.D.

The College of Psychology has selected Professor Charles Golden, Ph.D., as its 2019-2020 Professor of the Year. Golden has a long and distinguished career. He has published over 500 books, chapters, and peer reviewed journal articles. His work has been cited just under 20,000 times, earning him an h-index of 52. He has published two neuropsychological tests, the Luria Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery and the Stroop Color and Word Test, which have had a major impact on the field. He also collaborated on publishing a frequently used test of emotional intelligence.

He is a Past-President of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists, Past-President of Section 9 of the APA Division of Clinical Psychology, and has served on numerous committees related to Neuropsychology at the national level. Golden has attained the status of Fellow of the American Psychological Association, as well as the National Academy of Neuropsychologists. He is Board Certified in Clinical Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology, and Psychological Assessment, and is currently co-editor of two major encyclopedia projects, as well as guest editor of a volume of Aggression and Violent Behavior. He is Editor of the Archives of Psychological Assessment, an associate editor of multiple neuropsychological journals, and a reviewer for over a dozen journals.

Golden has co-authored publications with over 300 NSU students and graduates. He has been the director of the Neuropsychology Concentration within the doctoral programs since 1996, and has consistently mentored approximately 30-40 doctoral students per year.

HCAS Biology Major a Winner for Poster Presentation at the Chemical Sciences Symposium of South Florida American Chemical Sciences

Brian Kim, a Biology major in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS)  was announced a Winner for a poster presentation at the virtual Chemical Sciences Symposium of the South Florida American Chemical Sciences (SoFLACS) 2020, hosted by Larkin University, Miami, FL. The theme of the conference was the Evolution of Immunity. Other students on the project included Rohan Muchintala and Owayne Haughton. The faculty mentors were Arthur Sikora, Ph.D., and Santanu De, Ph.D., Assistant Professors in HCAS. Both mentors attended the conference.

The project topic was entitled, Novel Assessment Strategies for Biochemistry Courses Using the Research-Based Biochemistry Authentic Student Inquiry Lab (BASIL) Model.

Brian Kim, Rohan Muchintala, Owayne Haughton, Santanu De, and Arthur Sikora

Halmos College of Arts and Sciences (HCAS), Nova Southeastern University

HCAS Communication Majors Create New Flavors for Hoffman’s Chocolates

 

Senior communication majors participating in course COMM 4900: Advertising, Branding, and Consumer Product Design, worked with Hoffman’s Chocolates in Fort Lauderdale to create new flavors and marketing. The course, offered by the Department of Writing and Communication (DWC) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS) has enjoyed a partnership with Hoffman’s for several years. The department developed the course to provide experiential opportunities for upper level students.

The students were in two teams, Orange Blossom and Hot Cocoa Campfire. Each team created a new flavor with the assistance of Hoffman’s staff and associated marketing design. Due to the pandemic, the course was completed virtually, including student presentations. Hoffman’s plans to produce the new candy for purchase in their stores.

“Partnering with Hoffman’s Chocolates gave students the opportunity to learn directly from industry professionals as they developed new products and campaigns,” said Shanti Bruce, Ph.D., professor and assistant dean. “I am grateful to Hoffman’s for their ongoing support of NSU students and experiential learning.”

1 … 35 36 37 38 39 … 55