Category: College of Health Sciences
December College of Health Sciences For the Record
January 07, 2025 Written by CHS Staff | Photos by CHS Staff
For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.
Recent appointments, presentations, publications and honors in the College of Health Sciences include the following:
Presentations
Brigette Romero Carpio, a fourth-year medical sciences doctoral student, presented a poster on her research on identifying biomarkers for cerebral palsy at the Society for Neuroscience’s Neuroscience 2024 conference held in November in Chicago. Romero Carpio works alongside Mona Batish, associate professor of medical and molecular sciences. Romero Carpio also presented her research at the podium at the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine’s (AACPDM) 78th Annual Meeting in October in Quebec City, Canada.
“Diagnosing cerebral palsy (CP) is challenging due to its varied causes and clinical manifestations, often leading to delays of several months or years. There is a pressing need for specific diagnostic methods to facilitate earlier identification of the condition,” said Romero Carpio. “A better understanding of the biological mechanisms of muscle development could facilitate early diagnosis, enabling timely therapeutic interventions. Such early interventions are crucial, as they can significantly improve the quality of life for patients with cerebral palsy.”
Romero Carpio also presented her research at the podium at the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine’s (AACPDM) 78th Annual Meeting in October in Quebec City, Canada.
“Presenting at these conferences has helped me connect with peers and experts in the field of cerebral palsy, providing valuable feedback and new ideas to explore. It has also opened the door to new collaborations,” said Romero Carpio.
The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSCD) in the College of Health Sciences (CHS) was well represented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) convention in December in Seattle, Washington. The ASHA convention is one of the largest professional development events for audiologists, speech-language pathologists and speech, language and hearing scientists.
- Sayan Nanda and Bryan Lamot, communication sciences and disorders Ph.D. students, and Nicole Guarino, postdoctoral research scientist, presented a poster on “Gut Microbiome Alterations and its Relevant to Stuttering” along with CSCD faculty mentors: Associate Professor and Ph.D. Program Codirector Ho Ming Chow; Assistant Professor Evan Usler; Professor Emerita Diane Chugani; and Aditya Dutta, assistant professor of reproductive biology in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
- Jessica Bahls, adjunct CSCD faculty; Associate Professor and Ph.D. Program Codirector Ho Ming Chow; Kimberly Van Buren, a speech-language pathologist in UD’s Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic; and Allan Carlsen, assistant professor of theatre and director of Healthcare Theatre, an interdisciplinary program in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and CHS, presented a poster on “Simulation and Healthcare Theatre: Elevating Student Learning and Confidence in Assessment of Motor Speech Disorders.”
- Speech-Language Pathologist Carly Aaron and Jessica Bahls, adjunct CSCD faculty, presented a poster on “Building Bridges: Graduate Student-Led Lego-Play for Elementary Students with Autism.”
- First-year speech-language pathology (SLP) master’s students Johana Garcia Mendoza and Jazmine Winters presented an in-person seminar entitled “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the State of Delaware” along with faculty mentors Lynsey Keator, assistant professor of linguistics and cognitive science in CAS; and Nina Straitman, a speech-language pathology clinician and retired assistant professor of linguistics and cognitive science.
- CSCD doctoral student Grace Gervino and Janina Boecher, a research assistant and Ph.D. student studying linguistics and speech rhythm, presented a poster on “Development of Speech Rhythm Among School-Aged Children” along with CSCD faculty members Ho Ming Chow and Evan Usler; and colleagues at the University of Michigan, including Associate Professor of Psychiatry Soo-Eun Chang and Research Assistant Professor Emily Garnett.
- Meredith Bailey-Orr, adjunct faculty in CSCD, presented an in-person seminar on “1873: An Interprofessional Approach to Promote Functional Outcomes: Elevating Skill Building for Students with Intellectual Disabilities.”
- CSCD Assistant Professor Rebecca Hunting-Pompon and Trish Hambridge with UD’s Aphasia & Rehabilitation Outcomes Lab presented a virtual technical seminar entitled “‘Keep Going, Keep Positive’ – Insights from Aphasia Advocates.”
Honors
Megan Sions, associate professor of physical therapy (PT) and director of UD’s groundbreaking interdisciplinary Limb Loss Clinic with Independence Prosthetics-Orthotics and ChristianaCare, has won the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy’s (AOPT) Innovative Practice Award. This award goes to pioneers in the PT field whose dedication to pushing boundaries with innovative ideas results in lasting contributions to the field. UD’s Limb Loss Clinic provides training for healthcare practitioners in this specialty area, helping to reduce the national shortage of providers with experience working with patients following amputation. The clinic has trained a dozen physical therapy and prosthetic residents and more than 150 PT students. Over the past decade, the clinic has resulted in research that informs evidence-based care for this population vulnerable to adverse health outcomes, including the importance of hands-on screening for conditions that may result in a second amputation. Sions and the Limb Loss Clinic were recently featured in the AOPT’s “Ortho Static” Podcast.
“We are honored to have received this award for our clinic, which provides integrated outpatient care after amputation, addressing a top priority of the limb loss community,” said Sions. “While similar models of interdisciplinary care exist within the VA system, this type of outpatient interdisciplinary specialty care model is rare in civilian PT clinics. Having a single evaluation visit by three disciplines reduces the burden for patients with mobility limitations, particularly early after their amputation, when they’re less likely to be driving and must rely on a loved one, friends, or public transportation to attend appointments.”
Grants
Jennifer Horney, founding director and professor of the epidemiology program in the College of Health Sciences and core faculty with UD’s Disaster Research Center, has been awarded a more than $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. The award, a first of its kind for UD, will allow Horney and her team to focus on translation and engagement around research on how the social service system adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project will focus specifically on the domestic violence service system as a model for understanding future adaptations needed to support the community post-disaster. “Public health and social services systems cannot meet demand on a day-to-day basis. A disaster means that even more people who require services cannot be served,” said Horney. “This supplement provides funds for the next two years to push our research findings into the field, to engage with practitioners to improve disaster preparedness, planning and response, and to study how our tools perform in a real-world disaster setting.”
To submit information for inclusion in For the Record, write to ocm@udel.edu and include “For the Record” in the subject line.
