July 2011 Insider Story Continuations - Back to the Newsletter
Partnership with Public Media Commons Produces Student PSAs
For the Spring 2011 semester, Dr. Claudia Parvanta, professor and chairperson of behavioral sciences, and the Public Media Commons partnered to develop a special course for undergraduate and graduate students to learn about health communication and produce public service announcements about important health topics.
The students came to the Public Media Commons for five sessions, learning video production. They wrote, shot, acted, and edited their own public service announcements. Watch them here: http://www.whyy.org/hamiltoncommons/community2011_usp.html
Career Services Announce 2011-12 Devils’ Advocates
Career Services is excited to announce the 2011-2012 Devils’ Advocates: Daniel Boulos PharmD’15, Megan Burzynski PharmD’13, Linda Chen PharmD’15, David Einsidler PhB'11, Amanda Huon Phy’12, Kyuhee Kim PharmD’14, David Luptak PharmD’15, Alex Mercado BS BI’12, Cassandra Mislyan PrePro’13, and Tuc To BS PH/TX’13.
The Advocates are mentors to individuals as well as the whole campus. It is in its second year and plans to continue some of the great programs offered during the spring 2011 semester such as Take 5, informative professional blurbs around campus, and drop-in hour every other week. The campus may look forward to these programs continuing as well as more work with individual Protégés (mentees), campus presentations, and Career Services’ events.
If you are a student interested in participating in this program, as an Advocate or Protégé, please email careerservices@usciences.edu.
One Book, One Campus Choses Into the Wild
The One Book, One Campus common reading program has chosen Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer as its 2011–12 book selection.
Each year students, faculty and staff volunteers come together to form the One Book, One Campus Book Selection Committee. The Selection Committee is charged with selecting a book based on the following criteria: Literary quality; Appeal to wide range of readers; Challenge students to think about issues they may face; and Potential to create a sense of community (by sharing common experiences of reading and discussion). Krakauer’s Into the Wild should prove to be an excellent choice to accomplish these goals while allowing participants to examine their relationship, as individuals and as a society, with the natural world. The cover of Into the Wild declares, “In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild.”
Everyone at USciences is encouraged to join students faculty and staff in reading and discussing Into the Wild this summer. To assist in making this a true campus-wide, collaborative effort, the Office of the Provost will provide interested students with a complimentary copy of Into the Wild. To receive a copy, please come to the Provost’s Office which is located on the second floor of Whitecar Hall, Suite 2300. Please note that books will be distributed one per person on a first come first served basis and the supply is limited to the books on hand.
The 2011–12 Book Discussion Groups will meet on Saturday, August 27, 2011, from 2-3 p.m. during Welcome Weekend. Assisting a Group Discussion Facilitator is an excellent way for USciences students, faculty, and staff to meet and welcome our incoming students.
To learn more about the program and ways you can get involved, please contact James Yarrish at ext. 1114 or by email at j.yarrish@usciences.edu. For more information please check the One Book, One Campus website at http://www.usciences.edu/onebookonecampus/
Summer Events for USciences Community Sustainable
Saturdays: The West Philadelphia Local Food Series
Sustainable Saturdays, a celebration of sustainable eating and living, will feature everything from do-it-yourself workshops to urban farming to food tasting events.
Where: University City District
When: July 16, Aug 20, Sep 17
Cost: Free (Unless otherwise noted)
More Info: www.universitycity.org
Baltimore Avenue Dollar Strolls
Various merchants offer $1 treats and festivities.
Where: Baltimore Ave. from 41st to 50th Street
When: July 7, Aug 4, Sep 1 [5:30- 8:30pm]
Cost: $1 deals everywhere!
Grant Workshop Hosted at USciences
On July 12, USciences will be hosting a PHEAA State Grant Certification Procedures Workshop in Rosenberger Hall. The purpose of this training is to provide financial aid administrators with updates to the processing of students’ PHEAA Grants. This workshop will attract financial aid administrators from the Philadelphia region to campus.
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The Office of Community Partnerships announced the first “Community Engagement and You!” video/digital photo contest contest winners. The winning entries beautifully showcase the ways in which our faculty and students are engaged with the world beyond our campus, bringing value to both the university and our local community.
Steve Metraux – Winner, Faculty category
Inside Out Prison Exchange Program
Dr. Metraux, associate professor of health policy and public health, brought together USciences undergraduate students with persons incarcerated at the work-release facility at 600 University Avenue to participate in a joint class in which both groups were equal members. Part of a national network, the Inside Out Prison Exchange Program enables a transformative educational experience during which disparate groups encounter each other across profound social barriers - allowing problems to be approached in new and different ways.
Jason Porter – Honorable Mention, Faculty category
Human Ecology & Sustainability Programs (The Delaware Valley Eagle Alliance, 2011 Eaglefest); What’s Your Carbon Footprint? (Philadelphia Science Festival Carnival 2011 in partnership with the Jubilee Elementary School, 4211 Chester Ave.)
Mr. Porter, visiting instructor of biological sciences, showed his interest in educating the public about ecological and carbon footprints along with sustainability programs is evident in the multiple outreach programs he has participated in this year. Both his presentation at the 2011 Eaglefest and his joint project with the Jubilee Elementary School for the Philadelphia Science Festival’s Inaugural Carnival reflect his sense of commitment to collaborative efforts and to our local community.
Paul Caceres PharmD’12, Sarayu Murthy PharmD’11, Michael Sawicz PharmD’11, Mayur Amin PharmD’11, Renee Kopec PharmD’11– Winner, Student Category
Community Health and Wellness Fair (St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Oaklyn, NJ)
Five, 6th-year PharmD candidates joined together on April 2, 2011 to organize a health fair at a church in New Jersey. In addition to blood pressure screening, the students provided information on flu vaccination, safe medication disposal, and factors affecting cardiovascular health such as smoking and sodium intake.
APTA's Southeast District Sponsors Two PT Students to Attend LAMP Program
The American Physical Therapy Association's Southeast District sponsored two students to attend leadership training through the LAMP program. The following are thoughts shared by Roberta Stringer DPT’11:
"My professor, Dr. Kay Scanlon, suggested that I attend this leadership conference, and I thought she was crazy. I haven't even graduated yet, so why would I need to start developing my leadership skills now? However, I've come to trust her as a mentor and followed through on her suggestion. It has made a monumental difference in the way I approach everything in life, not just in school or the clinic. The leadership course forces you to examine yourself and get a strong sense of who you truly are. This included how you see yourself, how you think others see you, and how that affects your interaction with other people. I was baffled by how others at the conference perceived me as being a strong leader, especially since I am still a student and had only interacted with these people for a short time. It was very encouraging. The root of the message in this course is that you have to effectively lead yourself before you can even begin to effectively serve as a leader for others. Even though I am young and new to the profession, I have taken away valuable skills that will allow me to practice leadership and productive communication in all facets of life. This course was inspiring and has given me the foundation to develop into a leader within the physical therapy profession. To continue on this path, I have begun working on the Intermediate Leadership Project (ILP) which is the 2nd step in LAMP's leadership series. I think that no matter where people are in their career or education, they will benefit from participating in the C1 leadership course. If not for anything else, it was a really fun weekend in Alexandria!"
On Saturday, April 30 the PT Club (Rachel Buriani DPT’13, Ginger Galade DPT’13, Megan Kapuschinsky DPT’13, Payal Gaglani DPT’13 and Neelam Patel DPT’13) under the supervision Dr. Carol A. Maritz, associate professor and vice chair of physical therapy, participated in the first annual Mount Zion Healthy Living Expo given at the church (50th and Woodland).
The students took blood pressure and provided educational information to the over 100 attendees. These first professional year students represented the program, college, and university with the utmost professionalism. They also gave up study time participate in this event.
On June 11, USciences staff, students, and alumni teamed up to form “Team Muddy Bunch” to participate in the 2011 Mud Run MS Philly. The team featured Pierce Batty BSHS’10, Marc Caserio, director of campus recreation, Laura Clarke, head athletic trainer, Marie Kiechel, aquatics/fitness manager of campus recreation, Riddhi Patel DPT’11, Michael Rabinowitz PharmD’15, and Cory Rickards DPT’13.
Mud Run MS Philly is an unforgettable day of fun in the great outdoors. The event’s location in Newtown Square, Pa., offers a beautiful scenic backdrop and natural obstacles that, combined with man-made challenges, make for a truly unique 10k course. As a team we contributed $1,680.00 of the $760,000 the event raised for 1,300 local people living with MS.
"I strongly recommend participating in the event because it is a lot of fun," said Caserio. "More importantly, the feeling you have when you cross the finish line is awesome. I plan making this an annual event so if you are interested let me know."
If you want more information regarding the race or how to donate please go to http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/PAE/fundraising-events/mud-run-ms/index.aspx
The 2nd Annual UScience's Got Talent will fund raise money for Spinal Cord Injury Network USA, an organization working towards a cure for chronic spinal cord injury.
"A friend of mine was involved in an accident the summer after our senior year of high school and suffered from a spinal cord injury. His life, along with his family's, changed drastically. His day to day life is no longer a simple task," Melissa Fontana PharmD'13. "The money raised from this event will go towards research that will hopefully one day find a cure for spinal cord injury."
The event will be held on Thursday, Sept. 15 starting at 7 p.m. in the Bobby Morgan Arena. The event is once again open to all USciences’ students, staff, and faculty to perform any and all of their talents. The entry fee to perform is $10 per person involved in the act. A panel of judges, the majority of which will be from outside the school, will decide the winners this year. The grand prize is $150, 2nd place is $100, and 3rd place is $50. Admission to the event will be $5 at the door, with 100% of the proceeds from entry fee and admissions going to SCINetUSA.
If you would like to perform, email me at mfontana@mail.usciences.edu or inbox me with your name, your talent, email address, and the number of people involved in the act (if necessary).
Amber Ross, BSC’12, a 3rd year chemistry major with a field specialization in Forensic Science, has accepted an internship appointment to the US Department of Homeland Security. The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education administers this highly competitive program through an interagency agreement with the US Department of Energy and the Department of Homeland Security. Ms. Ross will be working for 10 weeks this summer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. Under the terms of her internship, Ms. Ross will be expected to participate in an oral presentation to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientific community.
Christine Rivera, BSBC’13, a 2nd year biochemistry major with a field specialization in Forensic Science, has accepted a position as an intern working with the Department of US Customs and Border Protection, New York Laboratory. Managed through the Student Temporary Employment Program, she is amongst a select group of students being provided with this opportunity. Her work will include testing of suspected controlled substances in the laboratory using multiple pieces of equipment, and learning how to process evidence items for fingerprints in order to assist analysts in completing their casework.
Rachael Kong BSBI’12 and Elizabeth Schlatter BSBI’12 , both 3rd year biology majors with a field specialization in Forensic Science , have accepted offers to serve as interns in the Toxicology Laboratory of the Office of the Medical Examiner of Philadelphia this summer. They will be working under the guidance of Ms. Lisa Mundy, MS, Forensic Toxicology Laboratory Supervisor. Rachael and Liz will be shown all of the analyses that are done on samples, from wet chemical methods and GC to GC-MS. Interested students may also spend time with he toxicologist learning how case assignments are made and how toxicology reports are finalized. Time permitting; the student is then given a special project that allows them to get hands-on experience with extraction and instrumentation in the lab. If the toxicologist is called to court to testify on a case during the student’s internship, the intern may accompany the toxicologist to court as well.
Dr. Adeboye Adejare, professor of pharmaceutical sciences, served as an external examiner on a dissertation defense at Temple University School of Pharmacy, April 27, 2011.
Dr. Adejare has been awarded a certificate from the NIH Clinical Center for successful completion of a workshop on Principles of Clinical Pharmacology. The workshop ran on Thursdays from September 2, 2010 to April, 28, 2011, 6:30-7:45 p.m. and each was broadcasted from NIH to several sites including one at University of Pennsylvania where he participated.
The Teaching Professor May 20 – 22, 2011
USciences faculty made three presentations at the Teaching Professor Conference in Atlanta, Ga.
1. Are IF – AT Practice quizzes Superior to Tradition Paper Practice Quizzes presented by Alison M. Mostrom, associate professor of biological sciences.
2. Keeping Your Teaching Fresh: Are Teaching Mentor Relational for you? Presenters: Andrew Peterson, Dean of Mayes College, Phyllis Blumberg, director of the Teaching and Learning Center, and Alison M. Mostrom,
associate professor of biological sciences.
3. Keeping Teaching Invigorated through Self-assessment and Scholarship of Teaching/Learning
Presenter: Phyllis Blumberg, director of the Teaching and Learning Center.
Lilly Conference - June 2 – 5, 2011 Bethesda, Maryland
USciences faculty eight presentations at the Lilly Conference
1. Finding the Research on Teaching and Learning – Jeanette McVeigh, coordinator of outreach services and assistant professor of information science.
2. Evaluating Your Teaching in Experiential Settings – Phyllis Blumberg, director of the Teaching and Learning Center.
3. Using online Discussion Boards to Foster Social Interdependence Among Learners – Amy Van Kleunen, assistant professor of physical therapy,
and Carol Maritz , vice chair and associate professor of physical therapy.
4. Impact of computer based simulation on the achievement of learning outcomes Lindsay Curtin, assistant professor of clinical pharmacy, and Laura Finn, adjunct assistant professor of clinical pharmacy
5. Using self assessment rubric to develop a teaching improvement plan for new faculty
- Amy Janke, assistant professor of psychology, and Phyllis Blumberg , director of the Teaching and Learning Center.
6. Using technology as a tool in the development of student’s problem solving skills.
- M. Mahalingam, interim assistant chair and assistant professor of chemistry and biology, Elisabeth Morlino, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and E. Fasella, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry.
7. Evaluating Student online Discussion forum Posts to Improve Teaching Methods that Promote thinking - Grace Earl, assistant professor of pharmacy practice and administration.
8. School Wide Curricular Efforts to Enhance Teaching Scholarship – Laura Mandos, assistant professor and assistant dean of pharmacy practice and administration.
Paul Halpern, professor of mathematics, physics, and statistics, was selected as a finalist for the Foundational Questions Institute Essay Contest: "Is Reality Digital or Analog?" There were 35 finalists chosen out of 161 essays submitted from around the world."
Principal Investigator |
Department |
Sponsor |
Title |
End Date |
Submitted: |
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Timko, Alix |
Behavioral & Social Sci |
NIH -NICHD Rosalind King |
Preventing Obesity in Youth: Developing a multidisciplinary approach to inform intervention |
8/31/2013 |
Perlman, David |
Health Policy |
Robert Wood Johnson |
How Do State Departments Of Health Use Public Health Laws To Distinguish Between Research And Practice? |
8/31/2012 |
Pophristic, Voki |
Chemistry and Bioche |
Quaker Chemical Foundati |
Chemical Educational Outreach Activities in the Conshohocken Area |
8/31/2012 |
Funded: |
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Thielman, Gregory |
Physical Therapy |
Temple University |
7/31/2011 |
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