Faculty & Staff News
Medical sonography students, class of 2023, who are completing their clinical externship have also spent several hours studying in preparation of their board examinations.
Six students passed their vascular board examination, and one student passed the abdomen board examination six weeks before graduation.
This is a great accomplishment!
Posted 07/30/23
From left, Amanda Perry and Vanessa Lewinsky presenting their poster at FLASHA 2023 convention.
Speech-language pathology graduate students Amanda Perry and Vanessa Lewinsky presented their research at the Florida Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (FLASHA) annual convention in Orlando on July 14, 2023.
Their poster presentation titled “Tiny Tots Transition to Home : A NICU Pilot Study” shared data collected from a parent and caregiver support group that provides peer to peer networking and education to medically fragile families in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU).
Their research found that a parent and caregiver support group supporting capacity building strategies, promoted peer to peer networking, increased parental confidence with the transition to home process as well as decreased stress, anxiety, and trauma. In collaboration with their research mentor, Raquel Garcia, SLP.D., CCC-SLP, CLC, CNT, BCS-S, assistant professor, Vanessa, and Amanda continue to collect data to determine tiny tots’ impact on infant development and parental health literacy.
This is an ongoing grant funded research study with many opportunities for interprofessional collaboration within the university and community. If you are interested in participating, please contact Raquel Garcia, rw602@nova.edu.
Posted 07/30/23
Water is one of the world’s most essential resources, and its shortage is on the rise—a global crisis that receives little attention. The Farquhar Honors College Water & Sustainability course is on a mission to change that. Last semester, students in this multidisciplinary course became advocates for safe and sustainable water for all.
Throughout the semester, students learned from guest faculty speakers and community leaders from various disciplines who offered unique perspectives on water-related issues identified by the UN Sustainable Development Goal #6, which aims to provide clean water and sanitation for all.
“Water is a vital and exhaustible resource; it is also an inexhaustible theme for discovery,” said Eben Gering, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences. “Taking an interdisciplinary approach to water studies lets us (the instructors) learn in parallel with our students while spotlighting urgent sustainability issues at both local and global scales.”
Gering is co-facilitator of the course alongside Martha “Marti” Snyder, Ph.D., professor in the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice and director of faculty professional development in the Learning and Educational Center.
Along with engaging in class discussions, students took an active role in water sustainability efforts by participating in a beach clean-up; visiting water sites across South Florida, including the Everglades, to learn about different ecosystems and the importance of citizen action; and interviewing innovative business leaders dedicated to conserving and using water sustainably.
“This course has allowed me to become more conscious of my actions and how they could potentially contribute to large-scale environmental concerns,” said Smrithi Mukund, a behavioral neuroscience major. “I have gained a lot of valuable information and insight concerning the lasting impact of sustainability efforts, and I will definitely take more initiative in my day-to-day life to participate in these efforts.”
Posted 07/30/23
James Oyetunji, M.P.A.
James Oyetunji, M.P.A., doctoral student in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS), presented a workshop titled “Developing Business Strategies with the Approach of Interpersonal and Organizational Conflict.” The workshop was hosted by Community Resolution Services (CRS) housed in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) in HCAS.
CRS is a practicum and volunteer site providing workshops, training, and other events to the NSU and local community. For more information about CRS, please contact Judith McKay, J.D., Ph.D., faculty in DCRS at mckayj@nova.edu.
Posted 07/30/23
Rose Leeger
For most students, getting into a Ph.D. program requires a master’s degree, but for Farquhar Honors College student Rose Leeger, all it took was an extraordinary dedication to research as an undergraduate student. Entering a Ph.D. program at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) this fall, Leeger will begin her graduate research journey with financial support from the National Science Foundation.
Leeger was able to jumpstart her Ph.D. career thanks to two years of research experience working on an honors thesis and being a scholar of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI).
‘[The] honors thesis [gave] me the opportunity to conduct my own novel research,” said Leeger, who received bachelor’s degrees in biology, marine biology, and environmental science this spring. “This opportunity. . . distinguished me from other applicants when I applied to graduate school as my thesis work was used as my justification. . . to bypass a master’s degree and go straight to a Ph.D. program.”
Her thesis studies the range expansion and hybridization of Mangrove Mosquitofish in South Florida due to climate change and human interference and includes a land acknowledgment recognizing and respecting Indigenous Peoples as stewards of the land she conducted research on. She completed her research under the guidance of her thesis advisor J. Matthew Hoch, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, who introduced her to the topic.
While at CU Boulder, Leeger’s research will focus on interdisciplinary methods to better understand how to protect species in Antarctica. She was inspired to pursue this research path after working with NOAA’s Antarctic Ecosystem Research Division to study penguin colonies last summer.
“I have always been passionate about polar ecosystems,” said Leeger. “I’m excited to combine my research interests in conservation and ecology [and apply them] to an ecosystem that is constantly threatened due to human impacts [and] meet new people in my field.”
After completing her education, she hopes to become a professor to engage the next generation of scientists in polar exploration and conservation.
Learn more about the honors thesis.
Posted 07/30/23
Students work with Lucina, NSU’s Birth Simulator.
Nova Southeastern University’s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine opened its doors to high-schoolers through its AIM-High program – a five-day medical school immersive summer camp held from July 17 to July 21 on NSU’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus.
Achieve in Medicine (AIM) – High is designed for academically strong freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior high school students who are interested in pursuing a career in the health professions. AIM-High will provide students with hands-on medical experiences, which include the role of technology in the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions.
Camp participants were able to get seven-plus hours of instruction each day and will learn alongside NSU medical students and faculty.
Among the student experiences this summer were the:
Posted 07/30/23
Emalee Bishop
Emalee Bishop (née Shrewsbury), an alum from the M.A. in Composition, Rhetoric, and Digital Media (CRDM) program, hosted a workshop for NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC) consultants and current CRDM students about her experiences as Marketing Manager for OZ Digital Consulting on January 31, 2023. Bishop was also a WCC Graduate Assistant Coordinator while at NSU.
Bishop’s workshop highlighted transferable skills she learned at the WCC and as an NSU student. She discussed how to leverage creativity, communication, and critical thinking in a corporate environment. She guided participants in reflecting on how to use skills they possess in their future careers.
When asked about this experience, Bishop said, “Considering life after higher education is a scary and stressful step. It certainly was for me. The time spent in this workshop was important to me because I wanted to give students who follow in my academic footsteps some tools, resources, and advice on how to think about that next step. [It] does help to have guidance from those who have come before us to help clear the debris from the path they are about to begin. I hope I could be that guide for the attendees of this workshop.”
To learn more about the M.A. in CRDM, visit: https://hcas.nova.edu/degrees/masters/composition-rhetoric-digital-media.html
Posted 07/30/23
Robert Moody, Ph.D., M.S., RVT, CVS assistant professor.
The Cardiovascular Sonography (CVS) program is also proud to make known the great accomplishments of Robert Moody, Ph.D., M.S., RVT, CVS assistant professor.
Moody successfully defended his dissertation on Medical Imaging Professionals Experiencing Workplace Interprofessional Conflict: A Phenomenological Study on June 22, 2023. He is a valued faculty member and medical professional in the field of sonography.
We celebrate his accomplishments, tenacity, and leadership and we are honored to have him as a part of Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences in the Department of Sonography, and especially the cardiovascular sonography team.
Great Job, Robert Moody!
Posted 07/17/23
Class of 2025 White Coat Ceremony
On June 20, the class of 2025 was officially welcomed into the sonography fold at the Annual White Coat Ceremony, which was held at the beautiful Tampa Bay Campus in Clearwater.
For the 20 students comprising the class of 2025, the White Coat Ceremony served as an auspicious experience that officially marked their entry into the medical profession. The White Coat Ceremony tradition will be continued with where family, faculty members, and administration members proudly watch students receive their white coats.
Posted 07/17/23
From left, Amenia Farraj, Jalynn Sylvain, and Dr. Charlene Désir
Faculty and students in the Farquhar Honors College received a $15,000 President’s Faculty Research and Development Grant to study Gen Z college students’ interest in and ways of learning. Their research, titled “In Their Words: Collaborative Assessment of Undergraduate Intellectual Curiosity,” will bridge the generational gap in traditional and modern understandings of education to encourage innovation in the classroom.
The research project is a collaboration between faculty members Charlene Désir, Ed.D., professor in the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice (FCESCJ), Rachel Panton, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Hamos College of Arts and Sciences, and Georgina Arguello, Ed.D., assistant dean and associate professor in FCESCJ, and honors students Amenia Farraj, and Jalynn Sylvain.
The project was conceived by the students after hearing about Désir’s research on youth education at an honors Research Roundtable event—an event created to connect honors students with faculty research opportunities.
“As an educator, I am humbled always to learn from students, they are my first teachers and this juxtaposition gives me the opportunity to model being a learner/student,” said Désir. “This project is a way for me to be inspired from the knowledge of undergrads . . . and learn ways teachers can effectively engage with them.”
The study aims to highlight the different modalities and environments in which college students learn, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic changed the learning landscape and emphasized the role of technology.
“Often, I think older adults can accuse emerging adults of not being intellectually curious because the younger generation receives information differently from what we experienced or even prefer,” said Panton. “I want to understand how we can better synthesize the knowledge that they bring from their communities, their families, and digital technologies into our classrooms.”
The researchers will use a mixed-methods approach and hope to publish and share their results creatively, such as through a children’s book and Mako Radio segment.
“This [project is] an opportunity to [combine] faculty and student interests and allow[s] us to explore students’ interests in learning in our own community,” said Farraj, a junior political science major. “Working with Dr. Désir and the other faculty has been an enlightening experience.”
Learn more about the President’s Faculty Research & Development Grant.
Posted 07/16/23