Category: Academics

Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice Receives Grant from National University System Sanford Programs

On April 21, 2020, Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Abraham S. Fischler College of Education & School of Criminal Justice (FCE&SCJ) extended its partnership with the National University System Sanford Programs for academic year 2020-2021 by receiving a grant of $141,500.

Established at the National University System, Sanford Programs are made possible through a generous gift from philanthropist and businessman Thomas Denny Sanford. NSU is part of a nationwide initiative that is introducing research-based PreK-12 initiatives (Sanford Harmony and Sanford Inspire, as applicable) in conjunction with schools and districts in the state of Florida. The content is based on the most current and accepted educational theory, so the focus is on practical implementation to develop skills in children who engage better in school and relationships in the long run.

With this grant, the new Sanford Inspire On-Demand Module curriculum will be embedded into the NSU’s Fischler Academy program.

For more information on the Sanford Inspire and Harmony program at NSU, please contact please visit: https://education.nova.edu/sanford/ or contact Jamie Manburg, Ed.D. at jmanburg@nova.edu.

Conflict Resolution Alumni is a City Commissioner in the City of Weston

Margaret Brown, M.S., is a graduate of the master’s program in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS). Brown serves as a City Commissioner in the City of Weston. Elected in 2016, she was also appointed by the commission to serve as the Director for the 2018-1919 Broward League of Cities Board of Directors. She has served on a number of boards and committees including the Broward Council on Aging and the United Way of Broward County-Women United.

Brown received her B.A. in psychology from Connecticut College, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Psi Chi.

Halmos Mathematics Student Accepted into Ph.D. Program

Halmos College Mathematics and Chemistry double major, Nikhil Nagabandi will head this fall to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he has been accepted with funding to pursue his Ph.D. in mathematics at one of the top graduate programs in the nation.

Nikhil has worked under the mentorship of Mathematics faculty member Ricardo Carrera, Ph.D. (first as Razor’s mentor and now as the Honors in Major mentor). He is graduating this May. He was accepted to Ph.D. programs at Louisiana State University and the University of Pittsburgh. Halmos College is always proud of our graduates and we feel we have prepared them well for a successful future.

Education Student Selected as a Fulbright Scholar

 

Re’Nyqua Farrington, student at NSU’s Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice has been selected as a Fulbright Scholar.

Re’Nyqua started at NSU in 2016, majoring in Secondary English Education with a minor in Spanish, setting her sights on becoming a bilingual speaker and career educator. While studying at NSU, Re’Nyqua tapped into diverse educational opportunities inside and outside of the classroom. She has worked closely with the Farquhar Honors College as an Honors Advocate and Peer Coordinator, served twice as Peer Leader for the First Year Experience course,  worked as a Peer Writing Consultant and Fellow at NSU’s Writing Center, and volunteered as a reviewer for NSU’s literary journal Digressions.

Last winter, she studied abroad in Spain and learned about the opportunity to serve as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in the Fulbright program. After learning about the program, which perfectly merged her interests in education and Spanish, Re’Nyqua applied and received the news she was selected as a recipient of this honor in April. She is expected to begin her program in Honduras in January 2021.

Re’Nyqua was also a 2019 recipient of the U.S. Dept. of State Gilman Scholarship, as well as the 2016 Gates Millennium Scholarship.

Nutrition Manual for NSU Student Athletes Published on NSUWorks Website


 

The Department of Nutrition is proud to announce the published results of a student-led writing project—the Nutrition Manual for NSU Student Athletes. The publication targets freshman athletes who are new to campus and provides helpful information with examples of energy requirements, macronutrients, meal timing and campus dining options, snack ideas, eating on a budget, and travel ideas.

From strength training to endurance running and everything in between, the manual can help students put good nutrition to work in sports performance and general wellness. Steve Orris, M.Ed., NSU assistant athletic director for sports performance, initially proposed the collaboration to help student athletes in strength and conditioning programs.

The nutrition manual group project was overseen by Marilyn Gordon, Ed.D., RDN, CSSD, LDN, KPCOM assistant professor and course director for Advanced Sports Nutrition. It was created by enthusiastic graduate nutrition students Kaitlin Flaskerud, RDN, LDN, lead editor; Katie Emerson, B.S.; Stephanie Fonseca, B.S., NASM-CPT; Angel Marquez, B.S.; and Alejandra Velandia, M.S.

Special thanks goes to NSU’s Writing and Communication Center, which helped shape the manual into a great resource. The nutrition manual is available to download on the NSUWorks website at https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_com_faculty_articles/1581/ .

 

Halmos Researcher Chimes In On Field Research and Social Distancing

Summer is the field research season. This year, CONVID 19 has stopped the season in its tracks. For more senior academic researchers, this cancellation is disappointing, summer is the main time they get to do it. For graduate students who may only get one or two field seasons to collect all the data they need for their thesis research, the loss of a summer field season can be a disaster, adding even more trouble to an incredibly stressful time.

This month, the American Scientist published an article discussing the subject. Entitled “Data Collection During Social Distancing”, Halmos College faculty member David Kerstetter, Ph.D. was interviewed. If graduate students aren’t able to collect or analyze data, one of the main goals of graduate school isn’t achieved.

“Especially in fisheries biology, there’s a strong component of professional training that goes beyond the required graduate-level coursework, including field techniques and data analysis,” said Kerstetter. “Not having data means fewer publications, the currency of academia, which also affects future placement into doctoral programs. Not having field data collection experience would be a caution flag for any potential employee or prospective doctoral student in a position that would involve extensive fieldwork, even if that lack was due to something beyond everyone’s control.”

The article continues with giving potential solutions.

 Halmos Undergraduate Co-Author of Chronic Fatigue Journal Article

This spring, Halmos undergraduate biology major Mina Bekheit was a co-author of the publication with Dr. Lubov Nathanson from the Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine (Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine). The article is entitled “Unravelling myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS): Gender‐specific changes in the microRNA expression profiling in ME/CFS” and was published in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. In addition to Mina Bekheit, who significantly assisted in the data analysis, other Halmos undergraduates worked on the project. Leah Orton and Anna Movila participated in the literature search and analysis, Kenza Schreiber and Angelica Darmenko helped with the data input and analysis. Leah, Anna, Kenza and Angelica are acknowledged in the publication.

The articles abstract states: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a multisystem illness characterized by medically unexplained debilitating fatigue with suggested altered immunological state. Our study aimed to explore peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) for microRNAs (miRNAs) expression in ME/CFS subjects under an exercise challenge. The findings highlight the immune response and inflammation links to differential miRNA expression in ME/CFS. The present study is particularly important in being the first to uncover the differences that exist in miRNA expression patterns in males and females with ME/CFS in response to exercise. This provides new evidence for the understanding of differential miRNA expression patterns and post‐exertional malaise in ME/CFS. We also report miRNA expression pattern differences associating with the nutritional status in individuals with ME/CFS, highlighting the effect of subjects’ metabolic state on molecular changes to be considered in clinical research within the NINDS/CDC ME/CFS Common Data Elements. The identification of gender‐based miRNAs importantly provides new insights into gender‐specific ME/CFS susceptibility and demands exploration of sex‐suited ME/CFS therapeutics.

Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition Receives Candidacy for Accreditation

The Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition program received candidacy for accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics on March 19. The B.S. in Human Nutrition program will now offer undergraduate students a professional outcome as nutrition and dietetics technicians, registered.

The decision followed an extensive peer review of self-study documents, as well as a site visit. The program will begin this new specialization option in the fall of 2020 by offering 15 seats to interested candidates. Students who enter the approved professional practice pathway will take specified courses and gain 300 hours of supervised experiential learning.

Joining the Future Education Model Graduate program for registered dietitian nutritionists, this second successful accreditation achieved by the KPCOM in two years highlights the Department of Nutrition as a unique provider of quality education and training in this field.

 

Halmos Faculty Publishes Nature Article: Evolving Postdocs Important to Academics

Postdoctoral scholars comprise an invaluable component of global research communities, yet their support and training systems are poorly aligned with today’s job market. These issues are widely discussed in academia and in lengthy reports and op-eds; still, there is glaring lack of succinct, data-driven publications that provide clear and feasible corrective steps.

To address this deficiency, a team of 13 current and former Michigan State University (MSU) postdoctoral researchers co-authored the paper entitled “Academic ecosystems must evolve to support a sustainable postdoc workforce”. It was published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution and outlines strategic reforms to better support the world’s growing postdoctoral workforce.

“The project sprang from several informal meetings among the study co-authors during overlapping postdoctoral appointments,” said Eben Gering, Ph.D. a former MSU postdoctoral researcher who is now an assistant professor in Halmos College and senior author of the paper. “From there, it continued to gain momentum as interest grew around the issue.”

Following intensive analyses of relevant literature, data and personal experiences, the group identified five overarching goals:

  • Align career development with job markets
  • Sustain wellness and work-life balance
  • Enhance mentoring
  • Develop administrative support
  • Increase broader support.

To achieve these goals, the group recommended progressive changes that target levels of organization ranging from principle investigators to broader communities that fund and support postdoctoral positions.

About half of the paper’s co-authors have moved on to diverse jobs around the globe. According to the team, the publication’s fruition illustrates two important points.

First, all stakeholders in postdoctoral success (including postdocs themselves) can advocate for reform to enhance the quality and productivity of shared workplaces.

Second, the authors note, progressive aspects of their home institutions ultimately facilitated their success in a collaborative research and writing process.

In addition to facilitating a high-profile publication, the supportive climate appears to have fostered an enduring network of interdisciplinary scholars. The team recently met again on Zoom to toast the final acceptance of the manuscript.

Halmos Faculty Brings Marine Genomics to the Public

This spring, Halmos Biology faculty member Jose Lopez, Ph.D. conducted two outreach programs on marine genomics. Entitled, “Applying Genomics to Better Understand Marine Symbiosis: From Anglerfish to Sponges”, these lectures included a discussion of DEEPEND  consortium and symbiology results.  Essentially, a comparison and contrast was made between the two very different types of symbioses (the living together of >1 organism, typically a host and microbe). Through DEEPEND, our results characterized bioluminescent bacteria which provide light to anglerfish in the continually dark zones of the meso- and bathypelagic depths of the Gulf of Mexico. For more shallow regions such as endangered coral reefs, resident sponges filter bacteriaplankton in their habitat which can become mixed with their co-adapted microbial symbionts. The first talk took place as part of the Smithsonian Lecture Series. The talk was given at the Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit at the St. Lucie County Aquarium in Ft Pierce.

The second lecture took place at New River Middle School in Fort Lauderdale. There he presented to 50 middle schoolers. His host was a former mentee, and now teacher – Ms. Reneice Robinson.  Robinson worked as an intern in an NSF sponsored Research Training for Pre-teachers (before they get their degrees), which allowed her to gain practical experience that she could bring to the classroom.

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