Tag: Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences

NSU Grad Dedicates Her Career to Helping Voices Be Heard

Melissa Grassia-Chisholm

Melissa Grassia-Chisholm work with a speech language pathology patient.

Speech language pathologist Melissa Grassia-Chisholm has built her career on a specialty practiced by only 5 percent in her field– treating voice, swallow, and airway disorders. The enthusiasm and passion for her job is evident when she talks about her journey in health care.

“Let me warn you, I talk a lot,” said Grassia-Chisholm, who graduated in 2011 with a Master’s of Science in Speech at Nova Southeastern University. “Remember after all, I’m a speech language pathologist.”

Grassia-Chisholm says music has always been her passion and that she still sings locally today. Before coming to NSU, she studied vocal performance at Berklee College of Music in Boston. It was at Berklee that famous performers such as composer and record producer Quincy Jones and saxophonist Branford Marsalis developed their skills.

However, Grassia-Chisholm’s career interests shifted after she suffered a vocal cord hemorrhage while singing.

“There was no ‘me’ in South Florida that could help me with my injury,” she said, referring to a skilled professional treating voice disorders. “So, I decided to change that in the future.”

After earning her degree, she worked for Memorial Healthcare System and Catholic Health Services for five years each. Grassia-Chisholm then became manager of Cleveland Clinic’s Speech Pathology Department for seven years.

“One of the first things I did at Cleveland Clinic was to make sure that they had a student program,” she said, adding how she recruited several NSU students for an opportunity to work with adults who faced speech-language challenges. “I love NSU, I love teaching, and mentorship is my big thing.”

After Cleveland Clinic, Grassia-Chisholm started her own business, Voice Rehab LLC, and began working exclusively with South Florida ENT Associates, building a speech pathology program across 12 locations in South Florida ranging from Homestead to Boca Raton. (ENTs are ear, nose, and throat specialists.) She also created a “virtual voice rehab clinic” on her website that provides tutorial videos and free live-voice coaching in English and Spanish.

Voice Rehab LLC works with a variety of clients, much to the delight of Grassia-Chisholm.

“On one hand, we work with people recovering from spinal surgery and cancer, as well as stroke patients,” she said. “On the other, we treat athletes, musicians, public speakers, and CEOs.”

In the case of strokes, spinal surgeries, head and neck cancers, and thyroidectomies, patients often exhibit swallowing problems, which can lead to other health complications such as pneumonia, according to Grassia-Chisholm. And athletes, such as football players and runners, often experience airway disorders and seek medical help in learning how to moderate their breathing patterns when physically expending a lot of energy.

Grassia-Chisholm says head and neck cancer patients have been her toughest patients but also her most rewarding.

“I had a patient who had been in speech therapy for a year and never got better. His voice was still raspy,” she said. “I scoped him and found out he had full-blown cancer of his vocal cords, which required having his larynx removed. His symptoms had been mistaken for Parkinson’s. He thanked me profusely for identifying the problem before it turned deadly.”

As Grassia-Chisholm continues to expand her business model, she hopes to find a better way to serve more of the senior community through hosting educational seminars and assessments.

“I really feel like that’s our underserved — the baby boomer population,” she said.

Alumnus Finds Passion Through Public Health Leadership

Hill

NSU graduate Robert Hill

With more than 200,000 alumni across 50 states and in 119 countries, NSU graduates are making an impact worldwide. Master of Public Health alumnus Robert Hill is making his mark in South Florida.

“Through my personal experiences, I knew that the field of public health makes a difference to people’s lives,” said Hill, vice president of community impact for the American Heart Association. “I had struggled with obesity and my father passed away from a heart attack, so I find it so rewarding that I get to work every day to try to make people’s lives healthier.”

Hill’s career at the American Heart Association and previously the YMCA of South Florida has focused on health and wellness. He credits NSU for providing the skills and expertise he uses to connect with the people in his community.

“My relationship with NSU is important to my professional success in public health and how effective I am at communicating with people in a way that will inspire better health through knowledge,” he said.

Hill considers it a “gift to work with families and young children struggling with health issues and give them options or create environmental changes so that they can be more empowered to make healthier choices.”

From advocating statewide change to emergency response operations to working with at-risk youth, Hill brings his message into a world where he hopes to make a difference. And that includes his alma mater, where he is often invited to speak with students and share his personal and educational journey.

The experiences that inspired Hill are unique, and he knows everyone has their own story. With his refined ability to connect with people, he works every day to improve lives in his community. That’s what attracted him to NSU.

“Passion and community are really the most important things to me,” he said. “At NSU, I found the support, the leadership, and incredible faculty that gave me the opportunity to succeed far beyond the classroom.”

Professor Presents Research at 2 International Conferences

Adithya Chandregowda, Ph.D.,

Adithya Chandregowda, Ph.D., fields questions after his presentation.

Adithya Chandregowda, Ph.D., associate professor from the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at NSU’s Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences, presented a research poster at the British Aphasiology Society (BAS) International Conference, 2024, held in England in September. His presentation was titled “Addressing agitation in individuals with acute onset Wernicke’s aphasia.”

His presentation synopsis: Individuals with Wernicke’s aphasia, which is often caused by a stroke, have severe difficulty understanding others’ speech and monitoring their own speech. This results in substantial communication breakdowns with others (e.g., family, healthcare professionals) which in turn could trigger agitation in these patients.

Agitation in new onset Wernicke’s aphasia could be misdiagnosed and mismanaged as a psychiatric condition in acute hospitals. Chandregowda’s research has generated suggestions for health care professionals to prevent or minimize agitation in this context. Even though he presented his research poster virtually, it was well received, with a conference attendee expressing that the poster was logical, useful, and aesthetically appealing.

Chandregowda also gave an oral presentation at the 34th Alzheimer Europe Conference, Geneva, Switzerland in October. ​His presentation was titled “End-of-life interaction between individuals with dementia and their loved ones: Incorporation of nonverbal communication and nondeclarative memories.”  His presentation synopsis: There is a lack of literature on how to interact with individuals in advanced stages of Alzheimer type dementia when their declarative (explicit) memory and verbal communication could be severely impaired. With specific clinical suggestions, Chandregowda advocated for considering nonverbal communication and nondeclarative (implicit) memories to facilitate interaction in this context. His presentation generated substantial interest, with questions from multiple attendees during the post presentation Q & A and beyond.

“Attending events like this have immensely helped me with my professional growth and given me opportunities to represent my department (speech-language pathology), the college, and university internationally. I am also thankful that I can bring in these experiences to my classroom teaching to provide global perspectives to my students.”

Performance Team Celebrates Stanley Cup Victory

Pictured: Tobin Silver, Ph.D.; NSU students Liam Loging, Bella Vargas-Blanchard, Alexis Arena, and Joseph Petruzzelli; NSU alumni Peter Byers; and Florida Panthers staffers Tim Wittenauer and Mike Joyce

Pictured: Tobin Silver, Ph.D.; NSU students Liam Loging, Bella Vargas-Blanchard, Alexis Arena, and Joseph Petruzzelli; NSU alumni Peter Byers; and Florida Panthers staffers Tim Wittenauer and Mike Joyce

The Department of Health and Human Performance at Nova Southeastern University’s Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences had the honor of assisting the Florida Panthers Hockey Club with their preseason evaluations during the Stanley Cup-winning season.

Led by professors Tobin Silver, Ph.D., and Corey Peacock, Ph.D., the team—comprising undergraduate students of Exercise and Sport Science and graduate students of Sports Science—conducted detailed power, strength, fitness, body composition, and movement assessments. This invaluable experience gave students and alumni the opportunity to work in a high-performance setting alongside professional athletes. As a token of appreciation for their contributions, Tim Wittenauer, Director of Sports Performance & Rehabilitation, and Mike Joyce, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, invited the department team to spend time with the Stanley Cup, offering a momentous opportunity to celebrate the season’s success.

Peter Byers, M.S., an NSU alumni, reflected on the experience.

“This opportunity was truly invaluable,” Byers said. “Being able to perform hands-on assessments with professional athletes gave me insights and experience that I couldn’t have gained anywhere else. It was a defining moment in my development as a sports scientist.”

“Spending time with the Stanley Cup is a memory these students will carry with them for a long time,” said Tobin Silver, Ph.D. “This experience is not only about celebrating a victory but also about recognizing the hard work and dedication they put into working with elite athletes at the highest level.”

DO/MPH Student Awarded Good Skin Knowledge Grant

Marina Handal, a third-year Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and Master of Public Health student, has been awarded a 2025 Good Skin Knowledge grant from the American Academy of Dermatology.

Her project created a four-module lesson plan using arts and crafts to teach students about skin health and sun safety at the Fuller Center in Boca Raton, Fla. Handal and her sister, Jenna, a senior biology major in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, built models of the skin, drew pictures of the sun and created UV bracelets that changed color with sun exposure.

“We feel very humbled to have represented NSU public health through this service activity,” the sisters said. “We are thankful to our mentors from public health who have set fantastic examples of what it means to be an active team player in the community.”

Posted 04/07/24

Audiology Students Participate in Guatemalan Service Trip

NSU Audiology team: Catherine Regan and Alexis Sullivan, second-year student Katelyn Jacobsen and Professor Jackie Davie, Ph.D.

NSU Audiology students were invited to take part in the Florida State University Communication Science and Disorders’ 10th annual service trip, titled
“Help Guatemala Hear.”

The team, including fourth-year students Catherine Regan and Alexis Sullivan, second-year student Katelyn Jacobsen and Professor Jackie Davie, Ph.D., spent the last week in January in Sololá, Guatemala. The trip involved conducting hearing evaluations, examining outer and middle ear health, cleaning ear canals and fitting hearing aids.
The team assessed 211 patients, including several who were referred for further medical evaluation. Forty-six repeat and 134 new users of hearing aids were given amplification devices donated by Signia and ReSound Hearing Aid, while other supplies were funded by private sponsors. The team gave more than 50 Aquaphor creams and 25 Eucerin shampoos to two individuals suffering from harlequin ichthyosis, a genetic skin disorder.

The doctoral students said they appreciated the opportunity to mentor undergraduate students. The team noted how grateful many of the people were for their help.

Posted 02/18/24

Professor Teaches Asset Mapping in Rural Alabama

Moya L. Alfonso, Ph.D., MSPH, gave participatory asset mapping training to the Blackbelt Community Foundation in Camden, Ala., as a part of a community-based participatory research project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The training was part of the foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Program. Alfonso is the program director of the Ph.D. and DHSc doctoral programs in health science and an associate professor of health science in the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences. Her expertise includes community-engaged research, program evaluation, addiction and recovery, and adolescent health.

Alfonso was invited to teach coalition members to use asset mapping, which is the mapping of resources in local communities with the intent of building on the assets to create change. Her workshop was a part of a series to educate coalition members on a variety of topics, including racism, decolonizing nutrition, accessing resources and advocacy. Asset mapping is being used to reframe the narrative around childhood obesity – focusing more on health than body size and weight – and identify the structural causes of health problems. Coalition members learned how to use asset mapping with community members to identify local resources that could contribute to addressing obesity and racism in rural Alabama.

You can read more about the project here: https://irleaders.org/team/centering-the-lived-experience-of-head-start-families-to-investigate-intersections-of-structural-racism-rurality-and-childhood-obesity/.

Posted 02/04/24

NSU Receives Approval by Top University Accrediting Body

Dr. Belle Wheelan, President of SACSCOC with NSU President and CEO George L. Hanbury II

Nova Southeastern University received notification from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) that our Fifth-Year Interim Report has been successfully accepted with no additional reporting requested.

SACSCOC is the body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. It serves as the common denominator of shared values and practices primarily among the diverse institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Latin America and certain other international sites approved by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees that award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degrees.

The Commission also accepts applications for membership from domestic institutions in the other 39 states, as well as international institutions of higher education around the world.

Congratulations to all for this recognition of NSU as a preeminent university of quality and distinction!

Posted 12/05/23

FY2025 PRG and QOL Grant Cycles Now Open

The FY 2025 President’s Research Grant (PRG), formerly the Presidents Faculty Research Development Grant (PFRDG), and Quality of Life (QOL) grant cycles are now open! This year the application process will take place on Cayuse Sponsored Projects, NSU’s new grant management system. Applications are due via Cayuse no later than January 22, 2024, 5:00 p.m.. More information, as well as application instructions, can be found on the PRG and QOL websites, linked below. Through these programs, eligible faculty may apply for internal grants of up to $15,000 in support of a variety of research and scholarly activities. PRG and QOL are tremendous opportunities to obtain support for research and scholarship at NSU, and to build faculty research capacity that can be leveraged toward external funding pursuits.

For more information about how to apply and program guidelines, visit the PRG program website here and the QOL website here. For questions, please contact PRG@nova.edu or QOL@nova.edu.

Posted 12/10/23

Neuroanatomy SLP Students Take Part in 5 Acts of Kindness

Fabulous five neuroanatomy students, from left are Carly Burch, Eden Pressley, D’Shante Lightbourne, Sarah Kazden and Julie Fumero.

Jillian Yaw Ching, M.S., CCC-SLP, at the hydrocephalus walk

Tambi Braun, SLP.D., CCC/SLP, SLP associate professor, always starts her first day of the semester undergraduate neuroanatomy class with a discussion on positivity and neuromapping, and how kindness and community collaboration are essential to wellbeing. The students took part in five acts of kindness over the course of the semester. The students donated toward adjunct faculty member, Jillian Yaw Ching, M.S., CCC-SLP, participation in the South Florida Walk to End Hydrocephalus, https://www.hydroassoc.org/event/south-florida-walk-to-end-hydrocephalus/.

Yaw Ching also gave a guest lecture on hydrocephalus in the class. The students were sponsored by community members to donate items to Meals on Wheels South Florida for their holiday collection, https://www.mowsoflo.org/.

Plantation community members donated baby clothes to the students for local babies in need. A child’s bicycle and booster seats were donated to a local special needs family and the final act of kindness was groceries for thanksgiving to a local teacher. Braun and the students read inspiring quotes of gratitude and motivation in class as they discussed literacy and language in the corresponding areas of the brain.

Posted 11/26/23

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