Category: Featured

NSU’s College of Pharmacy at the Palm Beach Regional Campus hosted “A Day in the Life of a Pharmacist,” an event designed for high school students, from the School District of Palm Beach County, who have identified an interest in the pharmacy profession. The event provided participants with foundational knowledge and an understanding of the evolving profession of pharmacy. The day comprised of mini lectures in pharmacy practice career pathways, an interactive activity focused on compounding medications, and a tour of a local pharmacy practice site to observe what pharmacists do daily. Eighteen students and their teachers from five schools across the county attended the event.

“We are excited to partner with the School District of Palm Beach County and bring local high school students to our campus to increase their knowledge about the many career opportunities for pharmacists, as well as, the tremendous impact pharmacists can have on their patients’ lives.” said Rochelle Nappi, Ed.D., the assistant dean of the college in Palm Beach.

For the fifth time in program history, the NSU’s women’s swimming team earned the Sunshine State Conference crown, becoming the outright leader in conference championships in the SSC. The men’s team fought until the end, coming up just short of first-place Tampa, who won their first title in program history.

TOP PERFORMERS:

• Emma Sundstedt earned her third-consecutive gold medal in the women’s 1650 freestyle with a time of 16:37.64, an NCAA B-Cut time and just .11 seconds from her championship record.
• Cassandra Wright won the second gold medal of the night for the Sharks in the 200 backstroke, finishing with an NCAA B-Cut winning time of 1:58.06.
• Samuel Brettmann earned the gold in the men’s 200 breaststroke, posting a personal-best time of 1:58.50.
• Alec Dawson earned the silver in the men’s 100 freestyle in 44.10 and Jenna Johns brought home the bronze on the women’s side in 50.75.
• Caily Friel finished second in the women’s 200 breaststroke with an NCAA B-Cut time of 2:14.67.
• Both the women’s (Wright, Amilia Nusbaum, Sundstedt, Johns) and men’s (Dawson, Aleksei Averchenko, Jonathan Yanello, Magnus Poulsen) 400 freestyle relays finished second with times of 3.23.96 and 2:57.86, respectively.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• In the men’s 100 freestyle, Lliam Dolan posted a personal-best 45.66.
• In the women’s and men’s 200 backstroke, seven Sharks qualified for the championship/consolation finals, and all seven of them posted personal bests.
• Friel cut off almost three seconds from her personal-best in the 200 breast and Molly Griswold also posted a personal-best time to advance to the championship final along with Elizabeth Zubero.
• Brettmann recorded a personal-best 1:58.56 to take the top seed in the men’s 200 breast.

BEYOND THE MEDALS:

• In the prelims alone, the Sharks tallied 13 NCAA B-Standard times.
• Out of those who qualified for the Championship or Competition Finals, 13 Sharks posted personal bests during preliminaries.
• During the finals, 13 Sharks posted personal bests.

UP NEXT:

The Sharks will continue their championship season preparation. Up next, the 2020 NCAA DII National Championships held in Greensboro, N.C. March 12-15.

NSU University School congratulates the outstanding Upper School students who have been selected to participate in prestigious NSU Fellowships. The NSU Department of Writing and Communication Fellowship Program has selected Gabriella Argue, Rita Shuster, and Mia Internoscia as Fellows based on their interest in the fields of journalism, broadcasting, and communications. These students are immersing themselves in experiential learning opportunities, including interactive workshops focused on interviewing, feature writing, and radio/film production, as they work alongside Fellowship Advisor Melissa Sabo and the NSU Office of Student Media.

The NSU Shepard Broad College of Law Fellowship program has selected Upper School students Mesha Singh, Sydney Clark, CJ Page, Jacqueline Sinai, Michael Weinbrum, Brett Weiselberg, Jonah Lubin, and Parker Maier as Fellows based on their demonstrated interest and skill in social science and civics. Students are working closely with NSU Professor of Law Heather Baxter, Fellowship Advisor James Stage, and the college’s current law students, gaining unique experience in legal research and writing, critical thinking, and individualized internships.

We look forward to watching these Fellows as they continue to learn during these hands-on educational opportunities this semester.

In a recent publication published in the Frontiers in Immunology journal, researchers from the NSU Cell Therapy Institute reported a novel anticancer cell therapy strategy that has the potential to be developed into new treatment for sarcomas and various other cancers.

A team of NSU researchers, lead by Dr. Adil Duru along with multiple international collaborators investigated a method of implementing cells of our immune system for treating sarcomas. Sarcomas are aggressive and metastatic cancers that affect bone or soft tissues. Most sarcomas are resistant to currently used anticancer therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Therefore, survival outcome is poor and there is an urgent need for developing novel therapies for this disease. A team of scientists at NSU decided to investigate novel immunotherapy strategies for solving this unmet medical need. A type of immune cells known as Natural Killer (NK) serve as a major component of our innate immunity and are known to act as the initial line of defense against infectious pathogens as well as cancers. NSU researchers used genetically modified (GM) NK cells to target cancer cells.

Analysis of clinical samples obtained from sarcoma patients revealed that sarcoma cells express two markers, CD112 and/or CD155 that can be utilized by receptors on NK cells to detect, target and eliminate these cancer cells. Researchers also found that when they genetically modified NK cells to over-express the activating receptors, DNAM-1 and NKG2D, these GM NK cells exhibited enhanced cytotoxic effect against sarcoma cells. These findings reported in the recent publication are evidence of the potential of these GM NK for cancer immunotherapy against sarcoma.

Although this research was primarily focused on sarcoma, researchers also tested therapeutic efficacy of DNAM-1⁺ and NKG2D⁺ GM NK cells against other established tumor cell lines. Their findings indicate that besides sarcoma, this immunotherapy strategy can also exert anticancer activity against neuroblastoma, melanoma, Schwannoma, myeloma, leukemia, prostate, pancreatic, colon and lung cancer. The scientific findings reported in the recent article indicate that this immunotherapy strategy using GM NK cells holds significant promise and has the potential to improve the lives of cancer patients.

NSU would like to thank the Thorek Memorial Foundation and National Pediatric Cancer Foundation – Sunshine Project for supporting this innovative immunotherapy research.

About Thorek Memorial Foundation: Thorek Memorial Foundation was created to provide service to the community and to promote and foster understanding of various health and wellness concerns affecting the members of the community. The Foundation will use its resources to identify healthcare needs, improve population health, and address other needs within the community it serves. The Foundation will provide financial support to organizations in the community to assist their operations, activities, and fulfill their missions. Thorek Memorial Foundation will sponsor various scientific, educational and charitable endeavors that result from the identification of certain community health issues. Thorek Memorial Foundation will also support and enrich Thorek Memorial Hospital through various educational activities.

About National Pediatric Cancer Foundation – Sunshine Project: The National Pediatric Cancer Foundation (NPCF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding research to develop cure for childhood cancer. The Sunshine Project is an innovative collaboration initiated by the NPCF for improving the outcome of pediatric cancer. Its primary goal is to bring together oncologists and researchers across the nation to increase the survival rate for children affected with pediatric cancer.

About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, NSU is ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s Top 200 National Research Universities and is a dynamic, private research university providing high-quality educational and research programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional degree levels. Established in 1964, NSU now includes 16 colleges, the 215,000-square-foot Center for Collaborative Research, a private JK-12 grade school, the Mailman Segal Center for Human Development with specialists in Autism, the world-class NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, and the Alvin Sherman Library, Research and Information Technology Center, which is Florida’s largest public library. NSU has campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa, Florida, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico, while maintaining a presence online globally. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is one of only 50 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification, and is also the largest private institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education’s criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. For more information, please visit www.nova.edu.

Undergraduate students at NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) and NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC) consultants competed in the Florida Model United Nations (FMUN) conference, hosted by Santa Fe College in Gainesville, FL. on Oct. 11-12, 2019.

The Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Model United Nations Team, sponsored by CAHSS, won the Distinguished Delegation Award for their answers during the debate. Genesis Alvarez (CAHSS & Farquhar Honors College) Legal Studies student, and Janay Joseph (CAHSS) History and International Studies student, both served as delegates for the Nova International Relation Association (NIRA) to represent South Africa in the General Assembly. Alvarez is also Vice President for the NIRA Executive Committee.

Topics discussed during the conference included economic globalization and sustainable transportation. During the debate, the delegates wrote resolutions and advocated for policies that matter the most to the assigned countries.

Joseph, a second year member of Model UN, expressed her gratitude for involvement in extracurricular opportunities at NSU, stating, “I feel like I had more of an expanding role in this year’s conference, since last year I was getting my feet wet in how the Model UN functions and how to represent my country. Through my work at the WCC, now I am able to help my fellow Model UN team members with their position papers.”

To learn more about NSU’s Department of History and Political Science, visit https://cahss.nova.edu/departments/hps/undergraduate/political-science/index.html

The office of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving hosted the 2020 Forum of Florida Alumni Associations at Nova Southeastern University on Thursday, January 9 and Friday, January 10. FFAA is a state-wide yearly conference, where Alumni Relations and Annual Giving professionals meet, share insights, new ideas, and learn from industry experts.

The NSU Alumni Relations and Annual Giving team hosted eight informative sessions with fundraising professionals and alumni relations experts at the University Center Club Room and the Museum Plaza building. They offered walking tours of our state-of-the-art Davie campus, hosted an entertaining happy hour at Rooftop on Las Olas Boulevard, and shared lunch at the NSU Art Museum in Downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Thank you to our 40+ guests from 17 colleges and universities in Florida, for attending FFAA 2020 at NSU and for sharing our Fins Up!

To see the full album of pictures from FFAA 2020 click here.

To our NSU family:

At this special time of year, we want to express our sincere appreciation for belonging to a community of people who are passionate about keeping NSU student-centered and focused on academic excellence. Together, we are helping drive NSU forward in exciting and innovative ways.

We hope you have a safe and joyous holiday season. Hug your loved ones, make new memories, and take some time to rest and recharge. We wish you nothing but the best as you embark on 2020.

November is a time to be thankful and to remember those who enrich our lives. We hope you surround yourself with people who bring you joy and take time to express your gratitude for all of life’s serendipitous opportunities. Thank you for all that you do. Your positive energy, hard work, and commitment to NSU is what helps make our NSU Shark family even stronger. Happy Thanksgiving!

In the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, which devastated the Bahamas, NSU joined in a United Way of Broward County effort to gather and distribute much-needed relief supplies to help Bahamians in need. Through the work of NSU’s Health Professions Division Chancellor Fred Lippman, R.Ph., Ed.D., first aid supplies were donated by Dr. Jason L. Radick of MedDepot. A total of 30 pallets of food, water, first aid supplies and other materials were sent on three trips via cargo plane. The flight included Dr. Radick and United Way staff. Items were distributed amongst several clinic and churches in the Bahamas, and participants had an opportunity to visit West End Clinic to gain a better understanding of needs on the ground.

United Way of Broward County’s relief efforts started immediately after the storm impacted the Bahamas with the shipping of 270,000 meals and medicine for 10,000 people. In the weeks that followed, the organization collected more than $130,000 in donations; recruited more than 230 volunteers to sort and organized 110 pallets of donated items; assisted evacuees in Broward County and much more.