Tag: Faculty

This fall, Halmos faculty member Santanu De, Ph.D. with Fischler College of Education faculty member Vanaja Nethi, Ph.D. published an article entitled, “The Potential of Socio-biologically Relevant Mobile Applications to Attract Girls to STEM” in the Florida Distance Learning Association Journal.

Stimulating girls’ interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) when they are in school, and sustaining that interest, is critical in motivating girls to choose STEM-related disciplines in higher education and enter STEM careers. Research has shown that one of the main drivers that impact girls’ interest in STEM is hands-on experience with real-world problems. This paper proposes a strategy to provide middle-to-high school aged girls (13-17 years) with the opportunity to engage with biological concerns that are relevant to them. This strategy utilizes the prevalence of the smartphone among young people in this age group, and the availability of suitable free or low-cost mobile applications to address the problem of a ‘leaky’ STEM pipeline.

For more information:  https://nsuworks.nova.edu/fdla-journal/vol4/iss1/4/

This past August, Halmos faculty member Jose Lopez, Ph.D. was the session leader for the Global Invertebrate Genome Alliance/Community of Scientists (GIGA) at the broader Earth Biogenome Project (EBP) Conference. The conference session gathered experts who discussed their research and recent advances that included full genome sequencing of invertebrate taxa such as Cnidaria, Mollusks, Placozoa, and Planaria.

The annual conference was held at historic Rockefeller University in New York City and was designed to further advance the mission of the Vertebrate Genomes Project (VGP) and Earth BioGenome Project.

Additionally, for the first time during the Annual Meeting, the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) will partner with GIGA in a joint effort to engage and integrate with other large-scale genome projects, including previous G10K partnerships with B10K, Bat1K, GAGA and GIGA for non-insect invertebrates as well as other EBP-affiliated projects. The Earth Genome Project plans to eventually sequence all 1.5 million animals, plants and protists.

For more information: https://www.earthbiogenome.org/

This July, Halmos faculty member Aarti Raja, Ph.D. from the Department of Biological Sciences co-organized the annual Tiny Earth symposium with researchers from around the world. Faculty members Aarti Raja, Ph.D. and Julie Torruellas Garcia, Ph.D.  then traveled to the Tiny Earth National Conference at the Wisconsin Institute of Discovery, Madison, WI. They were invited to present their research at the conference. Dr. Raja’s talk was entitled, “Tiny Earth at NSU: Journey from Classroom-based Research to Independent Research”. Dr. Torruellas Garcia’s talk was “Beyond Antibiotics: Targeting Bacterial Virulence Factors”.

Tiny Earth was launched in 2018, however it began six years earlier when Dr. Jo Handelsman (former scientific advisor to Barack Obama) founded a course—then called “Microbes to Molecules”—at Yale University with the goal of addressing both the antibiotic crisis and the shortage of science trainees. In short order, the course grew and became a part of a larger initiative until Handelsman returned to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and launched Tiny Earth in collaboration with its hundreds of partners worldwide.

Elena Bastidas, Ph.D., faculty in the Depart of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS), presented at the Fourteenth International Conference on The Arts and Society in Portugal. The conference was held at the Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon. Her co-presenter was her daughter, Victoria Luzuriaga, a student studying art and psychology at The New School in NYC.

Bastidas and Luzuriaga presented their work on “Art as a Way of Facilitating Social Change Processes.” The presentation focused on Social Polygraphy, a methodology used to facilitate social processes. Using case studies from Bastidas’ work on youth peacebuilding efforts in Colombia, Luzuriaga dissected the methodology using arguments from the arts and psychology that helped the audience get a better understanding of the effectiveness of this methodology for conflict resolution efforts that depend on social change.

Bastidas’ research and teaching interests include quantitative methodology, conflict and international development, environmental conflict, and gender analysis in international development. She is also the director of the M.S. and Graduate Certificates in DCRS.

Anne Rambo, Ph.D., faculty in the Department of Family Therapy (DFT) in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS), and 3 DFT students conducted an Institute at the 2019 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Conference. The Institute was entitled, “Guns, Grief, and Family Therapy: After School Shootings.” The conference was held in Austin, TX.  The three students included Alexandra Alfaro, Elizabeth Jarquin, and Porshia Cunningham.

Rambo also directs DFT’s master’s and graduate certificate programs and has extensive experience working with at-risk children and families. She has written three books for professionals, and one for parents, as well as numerous book chapters and articles and presents internationally on social justice and family therapy.

Eileen Smith-Cavros, Ph.D., faculty in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS), has published an entry in the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Families, Marriages, and Intimate Relationships, published in August 2019. Her entry on the subject of “Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART),” includes the changes related to ART procedures and attitudes toward ART over time and across societies.

Smith-Cavros teaches courses in sociology and anthropology, including Introduction to Anthropology, Environmental Sociology, Social Problems, and Research Methods in Social Sciences. Her research interests include, women, infertility, and assisted reproduction; visual anthropology, and sociology; and African American churches and environmental activism.

Bill J. Adams, D.M.A., associate professor in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS), served as adjudicator for the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs (NANBPWC) vocal arts competition at the organization’s 82^nd national convention on July17, at the Urban League of Ft. Lauderdale.  The Mary E. Singleton Vocal Arts Competition for Emerging Artists provides a competitive arena for talented young African American musicians to demonstrate their artistic abilities in classical vocal performance. NANBPWC is the first African American civic organization to award monetary scholarships for performance in classical vocal arts.

Michael Reiter, Ph.D., faculty in the Department of Family Therapy (DFT) in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS), published the second edition of his popular book, Substance Abuse and the Family: Assessment and Treatment, 2^nd Edition (2019).

In this updated edition, Reiter examines addiction through a family systems lens, which considers a range of interconnected contexts, such as biology and genetics, family relationships, and larger systems. Chapters are organized around two sections: Assessment and Treatment. Examining how the family system organizes around substance use and abuse, the first section includes contributions on the neurobiology and genetics of addiction, as well as chapters on family diversity, issues in substance-using families, and working in a culturally sensitive way. The second half of the book explores various treatment options for individuals and families presenting with substance abuse issues, providing an overview of the major family therapy theories, and chapters on self-help groups and the process of family recovery.

This edition has many useful additions including a revision of the family diversity chapter to consider sexual and gender minorities, brand new chapters on behavioral addictions such as sex and gambling, and a chapter on ethical implications in substance abuse work with families. Additional sections include information on Multisystemic Therapy, Behavioral Couples Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Twelve-Step Facilitation. Each chapter now contains a case application to help demonstrate treatment strategies in practice. Contributors to the book include DFT faculty Christopher Burnett, Ph.D., who provided the cover photo, Jaime Tartar, Ph.D. faculty in NSU’s College of Psychology who co-authored two chapters, one with Christina Gobin and Julius Thomas, and one with Gobin, .and Myron Burns, Ph.D., faculty in COP who authored a chapter.

Intended for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as beginning practitioners, Substance Abuse and the Family, 2nd Ed. remains one of the most penetrating and in-depth examinations on the topic available. For more information: https://www.routledge.com/Substance-Abuse-and-the-Family-Assessment-and-Treatment/Reiter/p/book/9781138625976