News Archive
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- 5K Race for Humanity
- Advances in Pharmacy Practice
- Alumni Reunion Weekend
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- Delivering Medication Therapy Management Services Certificate Program
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- Lois K. Cohen Lecture Series
- Making the Connections
- The Bernard J. Malis Memorial Lectureship in Humanities
- Misher Festival of Fine Arts and Humanities
- MLK Day of Service
- Move-in and Welcome Events
- Orientation
- Patricia Leahy Memorial Lecture
- Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery Training
- Philadelphia Grain Malt Symposium
- Philadelphia Science Festival
- REEP Annual Symposium and Networking Event
- Research Day and John C. Krantz Jr. Lecture
- Summer Institute of Movement Science
- Undergraduate Research Festival
- Vestibular Rehabilitation Continuing Education Series
- USciences in the News
- The Bulletin Alumni Magazine
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Faculty Under the Microscope: A Closer Look at USciences Faculty Research
Faculty researchers at USciences are passionate and dedicated to their work. Three faculty members share what sparked their interest and what keeps them intrigued in their field of study.
Jason Heindl, PhD, assistant professor of biology, received his doctorate in microbiology and
molecular genetics from Harvard University. Today, Dr. Heindl shares his expertise
with bacteria and microbiology with students and serves as a mentor for students interested
in research in this field.
What made you want to get into your specific field of study?
During my time in the Peace Corps in Ghana, I had the opportunity to really consider
infectious diseases and the toll they take on the individual and society. So, when
I came back to the States, I decided to focus my graduate education and career on
infectious diseases, specifically molecular and cellular aspects of bacterial pathogenesis.
What's your favorite part of being in the USciences community?
I enjoy collaborating with and learning from colleagues across the university. Prior
to coming to USciences, I had very little opportunity to engage with practitioners
of pharmacy, physical therapy, or occupational therapy, for example. Now, I interact
with these folks every day and have a much deeper understanding and appreciation of
their fields, among others.
What keeps you passionate about this field?
Microbes run the world. That’s the truth. Everywhere you look, there are microbes,
even if you don’t see them. They clean your water, help you digest your food, clean
up toxic wastes, generate oxygen, eat methane, keep soil healthy and help plants grow
… I could go on and on. Although I entered microbiology intent on studying bacterial
pathogenesis (which I still do), the fact is that microbes are essential to life on
earth. What’s not to love?
Isabelle Mercier, PhD, chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, received her PhD from the
University of Montreal in Montreal, Canada. In addition to being chair of the department,
she serves as an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences. Dr. Mercier’s main
research interest is breast cancer.
What made you want to get into your specific field of study?
My determination to specifically study and focus my research on breast cancer was
catalyzed by having my favorite elementary school teacher pass away mid-way through
our school year from this disease. She looked fine and healthy the week before, and
the progress of the disease was just unbelievably fast and unexpected. I couldn’t
understand that she was suddenly gone from my daily life. As a seven-year-old, I am
not sure I decided that exact day to one day cure cancer, but I know in my heart that
it did have a huge impact later on my decision to become a scientist and study breast
cancer.
What is your favorite part about your field of study and what has it taught you?
Seeing students realize that their everyday experimental designs are shaping our understanding
of the disease, allowing us to possibly improve or even entirely replace current therapies
for more efficient ones is one of the best things as a research advisor. I have learned
that cancer is almost like a fingerprint, where every tumor is different, every patient
is different, and responds differently to treatments. The precision at which cancer
needs to be handled and treated will become even more obvious in the years to come
and hopefully will help accelerate the discoveries and treatments even more rapidly.
What is the biggest change you’ve seen in the field throughout your time?
The use of artificial intelligence in research. Everything we do in science uses computer
software, massive databases and algorithms, etc.. and this is what is making the field
move so rapidly. Even the next 5 years research will look entirely different and move
very rapidly and we will need to adapt to this ever-changing pace, which is also very
exciting
Greg Thielman, PT, MSPT, ATC, EdD, completed his EdD in movement science at Columbia University.
Dr. Thielman is a professor of physical therapy and neuroscience at USciences, and
also serves as Director of the Patricia Leahy Memorial Laboratory.
What made you want to get into your specific field of study?
As a college football player, I had back-to-back seasons where I tore a major ligament
in my knee and as I embarked on each rehabilitation program of my own I became very
interested in the process and pursued a degree in physical therapy. I became interested
in movement science and motor learning after working with patients early in my career.
However, if you were to ask my brother this question, he would say that after our
grandfather had a stroke (after a few years of me being in practice), that was the
motivation that led me to this field of study.
What is the biggest change you’ve seen in the field throughout your time?
Physical therapists have traditionally been overly concerned about the need to change
a patient’s motor ability and left the rest of the recovery up to other therapy specialists.
Now, physical therapists’ training has evolved to be equally concerned about the extremely
strong link to the cognitive and emotional changes that are necessary to rehabilitate
an individual post brain insult.
What keeps you passionate about this field?
As a researcher, I have been fortunate to hold onto my early passion of being a clinical
researcher, and this is because I have continuously practiced in the field throughout
my career. For many years, this was doing home care physical therapy, which is quite
isolating, but did afford me to practice many of the principles that I have been teaching
and researching over the years. With the onset of the pandemic, I have been fortunate
to return to a rehabilitation hospital environment for my practice. In my work alongside
clinicians in this setting, I am very excited by the fact that many of the motor learning
principles that I have been a part of supporting in my research, and abhorring to
the students to integrate into their practice, are now part of standard practice for
much of the therapy that I witness from clinicians.
Categories: News, Faculty, Research, Misher College of Arts and Sciences, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, Samson College of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Physical Therapy, Department of Biological Sciences