Research Accomplishments from across NSU (Jul. 2022)
Find below a selection of recent research accomplishments by investigators from across NSU colleges.
From the College of Optometry:
Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) has granted Roger Wing-Hong Li, PhD a $100,000 RPB Walt and Lilly Disney Award for Amblyopia Research. The Award was established in 2002 and to-date has given awards to 29 vision scientists across the country. Dr. Li is currently working towards establishing a novel “stereoscopic” treatment for childhood amblyopia using 3D video games. This new technique may provide important fundamental principles for improving stereo vision in amblyopia.
Dr. Janet Leasher has been identified as #34 out of 200 optometrists with the highest h-indices from the world. The purpose of the ranking is to recognize and celebrate the leading optometric researchers worldwide. https://optomrankings.com/
Dr. Bin Zhang’s research team recently reported that a larger treatment zone decentration is associated with a larger summed relative corneal refractive power in the central cornea. This association may explain why treatment zone decentration is beneficial in retarding myopia progression in children undergoing orthokeratology treatment. https://bmcophthalmol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12886-022-02396-w
From the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship:
Suri Weisfeld-Spolter, Ph.D. and her colleague Brent Smith won a conference paper award and media attention for their project titled “The connection of attachment and self-gifting for the disconnection of loneliness across cultures.” This work is published in the International Journal of Consumer Studies here. See the news coverage here.
Dr. Kershen Huang has published in several A*/A level academic journals in financial economics. His research focuses on empirical corporate finance, with a current emphasis on the interactions between investor heterogeneity, externalities, and firm policies, as well as their relations with agency issues and capital prices. In his 2021 publication in Financial Management (“Working hard for long-distance relationships: Geographic proximity and relationship-specific investments”), he highlights the importance of firm-level relationship-specific investments as a signal for the willingness to fulfill on-going implicit claims. His latest working project, now circulating in both reputable academic and practitioner conferences (FMA, SFA, Factset Roundtable, etc.), identifies ways to measure the climate risk exposure of U.S. commercial banks and assesses its financial materiality.
From the College of Heath Care Sciences:
Dr. Alicia Fernandez-Fernandez is guest-editing a research topic in Frontiers in Pharmacology entitled “State-of-the-art Rational Nanodesign: From Screening to Theranostics and from Bench to Clinic”. She is co-editor along with Dr. Manchanda from Michigan State University (USA), Dr. Rodrigues from Universidade da Madeira (Portugal) and Dr. Tang from University of Toledo (USA). The ability to engineer tailored formulations through intentional design, surface optimization, and targeted biodistribution has greatly enhanced the potential of nanovehicles and nanostructures in the management of disease, and this research topic aims to compile manuscripts that provide an understanding of current successes and challenges of nanomedical applications.
Dr. Heather Hettrick has researched forensic science principles and the impact it has on integumentary function and dysfunction, especially early detection of pressure injuries. She is also exploring a comparative pathology study looking at fibropapillomatosis in sea turtles and papillomatosis in patients with advanced lymphedema to determine the role of lymphatic functioning and integumentary dysregulation. Her other area of interest is in fluid shifts experienced during weightless environments and the development of novel countermeasures to manage disrupted physiology for astronauts and astro-civilians.
Dr. Morey Kolber published his study entitled: “The Effect of Combined Bone Marrow Aspirate, Lipoaspirate, and Platelet Rich Plasma Injections on Pain, Function, and Perceived Change Amongst Individuals with Severe Knee Osteoarthritis“ in Biologic Orthopedics Journal. In this study he investigated the effect of using a combined regenerative medicine treatment approach for patients with severe knee osteoarthritis who were recalcitrant to previous care including injections and physical therapy. The results of his study found that the combined approach using both stem cells (obtained from adipose grafts and bone marrow aspiration) and platelets, when injected into the knee, resulted in improved global change, pain, and function among the study participants.
From the College of Pharmacy:
Congratulations to Dr. Jean Latimer (NSU AutoNation Institute for Breast Cancer Research and Care) on her recent breast cancer award of $100,000 from the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation for her project titled “Impact of S. Florida environmental chemicals on breast cells derived from women of different ancestries.”
From the College of Psychology:
Dr. Paula Brochu’s research on an educational intervention to address weight bias in clinical training was recently featured in an academic video by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), division 9 of the American Psychological Association (APA). The intervention reduced weight controllability beliefs and anti-fat attitudes, a promising finding given the pervasiveness and harm of anti-fat bias in healthcare settings. This research is published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology and is available online.
Dr. Vincent Van Hasselt, Professor of Psychology, has been collaborating with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the U.S. Marshals Service on the National Wellness Survey for Public Safety Personnel. Preliminary results of the Survey, the most comprehensive carried out to date with first responder groups (e.g., police officers, firefighters, crime scene investigators, emergency communication operators) indicate all are significantly impacted by the stressors associated with their work and personal lives. Further, there is a strong reluctance of these groups to seek help. The findings underscore the need for focused prevention and intervention programs directed toward these public servants.
Dr. Christopher Layne is Principal Investigator of a 5-year SAHMSA grant, launched in October 2021 through the UC Colorado Springs Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience, to establish the National Child Trauma Workforce Institute, a Category II (development and dissemination-focused) site in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. The grant focuses on building, adapting, and disseminating the Core Curriculum on Childhood Trauma on a national scale. The Core Curriculum on Childhood Trauma uses problem-based learning, and a diverse array of case studies and instructional tools to strengthen professional competencies that mental health professionals need to work with trauma-exposed children, families, and communities.
From the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education & School of Criminal Justice:
Maribel Del Rio-Roberts, Psy.D., is an Associate Professor within the Department of Human Services. Dr. Del Rio-Roberts’ research agenda focuses on assessment and treatment of children, adolescents and young adults with Autism spectrum disorders. Her most recent proposal entitled “The Experiences and Perceptions of College Students with ASD Related to Bullying” has been awarded a PFRDG in the amount of $14,400. Other NSU collaborators on the grant include: Drs. Marcelo Castro, Ronald Chenail, Angela Yehl, Meline Kevorkian, Nancy Klimas, Robin Cooper, and James Pann.
David Griffin, EdD, is a Professor in Education with a long history in research and scholarship in exceptional student education and teacher dispositions/teacher preparation. Dr. Griffin’s most recent article, entitled “The Assessment of Preservice Teachers’ Dispositions,” focuses on various approaches used to assess classroom-related dispositions and summarizes data collected on a cohort of preservice teachers who completed the Educator Disposition Assessment (EDA). The article was published in the Excellence in Education Journal, 10th Anniversary 2012 – 2022.
From the Halmos College of Arts & Sciences:
The harmful algal bloom (HAB) work of Lauren Krausfeldt, postdoc/research scientist in Dr. Jose Lopez‘s lab, was recently featured in a Science news article. She investigated HABs in Florida’s Lake Okeechobee by examining the microbial ecosystem using a metagenomics approach, a strategy of sequencing all the DNA in samples of water and other environments. The analysis uncovered 30 kinds of cyanobacteria never before detected in the lake, and in some cases new to science, including 13 that could potentially cause blooms. She reported on this work last month at Microbe 2022, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
From the Farquhar Honors College (and home colleges of Advisers noted below):
Student Joshua Bennett (Adviser: Manuel Salinas, Ph.D.; College of Computing and Engineering): Bennett published an article in the Global Journal of Medical Research that suggests engineering principles could be used to help fight heart disease. The research was completed as part of his honors thesis titled “Mathematical Analysis of Blood Flow in Human Coronary Arteries Plagued by Atherosclerosis” and was also presented virtually at the American Society of Thermal and Fluid Engineers Annual Meeting and the Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Fall Meeting.
Student Valentina Guidi (Adviser: Beatrix Aukszi, Ph.D., HCAS | Co-adviser: Anastasios Lymperopoulos, Ph.D., College of Pharmacy): Guidi presented research at the American Chemical Society Annual Meeting. Her research, completed as part of her Honors thesis titled “Investigating the specific phosphorylation sites of the human mineralocorticoid receptor using phospho-mapping,” explores the occurrence and location of a chemical process that could help protect the lungs from the adverse effects of e-cigarette vapors. Read more about this work here and here.