Connections
 

February 2012

Dean's Message

I was so pleased to see so much activity around our research funding arena in recent months. The award of these grants – including the $2.3 million grant to Public Health researchers Brad Collins and Stephen Lepore, in such a challenging funding climate is a testament to the quality and hard work of the College’s researchers and staff.

As you’ll read below, we are inching closer to completion of the renovation and expansion of Pearson and McGonigle Halls, home to our Kinesiology Department. New offices, classrooms and athletic space are key highlights of the project. I applaud the efforts and patience of the Kinesiology staff and faculty during construction and several months of transition to move into their new space. 

Our momentum continues, and we must move forward in our efforts to invest in the future as our faculty, students and staff meet the future – one of opportunities and possibilities in an evolving educational and healthcare delivery system.

All the best,

Michael R. Sitler, Ed.D.
Interim Dean

Kinesiology Department settling into new home

Temple’s Pearson and McGonigle Halls, partially closed by construction for the last three semesters, will soon be fully accessible to students and faculty.

The $58 million renovation is scheduled for completion this March bringing an additional 140,000 square feet of classrooms, athletic practice space, and a rock climbing wall to Main Campus.

Grants and Contracts

 Listed below (and in the Read More section) are grants recently awarded to CHPSW faculty members)

Public Health researchers awarded $2.3 million R01 grant

Bradley Collins, PhD, associate professor,  and Stephen Lepore, PhD, professor, both from CHPSW's Department of Public Health,  received a $2.3 million R01 Research Project Grant from the National Cancer Institute for a study titled "Pediatrician Advice, Family Counseling, & SHS Reduction for Underserved Children".

Dr. Collins is the director of Temple's Health Behavior Research Clinic and Dr. Lepore is the director of the PhD program and the Social and Behavioral Health Interventions Laboratory. They will be co-PIs on this project.

Working with Beth Moughan, MD, Section Chief of the Department of Ambulatory Pediatrics at Temple University School of Medicine, they will develop a multilevel intervention strategy to reduce second-hand smoke exposure for medically-underserved children.

(Top left, Bradley Collins, PhD, bottom left, Stephen Lepore, PhD)

In the News

Adam Davey, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Public Health, was featured in a Jan. 31st Temple Today article: Type 2 diabetes effects on older adults appear minimal. Read more 

Gary Foster, PhD, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education,was featured in the Feb. 11th Philadelphia Inquirer article, Comcast-UnitedHealth program gives TV viewers a chance to lower diabetes risk. Read more

Temple DPT students storm Chicago

In February, over 40 students from Temple’s Department of Physical Therapy attended the American Physical Therapy Association's Combined Section Meeting in Chicago.

This was the largest number of students to attend a national conference in recent DPT history.

 

Events to highlight National Public Health Week in April

The College's Department of Public Health will be holding a series of events to commemorate National Public Health Week during the first week of April.  Kicking of the events is a community health fair on Saturday, March 31. To see a complete listing: Read more below.

Saturday, March 31st, 2012
10 a.m.- 2 p.m.

Community Health Fair
John F. Street Community Center
1102 Poplar Street
Philadelphia, PA

Therapeutic Recreation student wins Diamond Ambassador Scholarship Award

Every year, the Diamond Ambassador Scholarship helps a handful of exceptional students at Temple University achieve what is, for many, a lifelong dream of studying abroad. Lauren Frabizzio, a sophomore in Temple’s Therapeutic Recreation program, was one of the students chosen this year to receive the $2,500 scholarship, which is awarded to 25 students with financial need and strong academic records.

Communication Sciences professor appointed Co-Director of CECER-DLL

Carol Scheffner Hammer, PhD, CCC-SLP, professor and interim chair of CHPSW's Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, has been appointed Co-Director of the Center for Early Care and Education Research: Dual Language Learners. Dr. Hammer is also Co-PI of the Center.

The purpose of CECER-DLL is to advance research on children’s cognitive, language, literacy, and social-emotional development, to identify best practices for early childhood educational programs, and to share findings with educators and policy-makers. It is funded by the Administration for Children and Families in collaboration with the Office of Head Start and the Office of Child Care.

CHPSW graduate joins medical mission to Tanzania

In September 2011, Adriana Essilfie, a 2007 graduate of the College's BSN program, visited Tanzania as part of an effort to establish a health program for elementary school-aged children.

The ten-day trip was organized through GoPerimeter, a humanitarian group based in Atlanta, GA.

Rehabilitation Sciences to host Behavioral Health Forum March 19

The College's Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and the Collaborative on Community Inclusion for Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities are hosting a forum on Community Behavioral Health on Monday, March 19. 

This free discussion, Promoting Community Integration and Recovery in Behavioral Health: Roles for Recreational and Occupational Therapy Providers, will take place in the Howard Gittis Student Center, Room 200A and will highlight roles for recreational and occupational therapists in community integration. Faculty presenters Gretchen Snethen, PhD, CTRS and Carlos Moreno, MS, OTR/L will be joined by practicing recreational and occupational therapists. Seats are limited to 70 and pre-registration is required; please send your name, position title, agency, phone number and e-mail address to BHConf@temple.edu.

DPT Student Association serves the community

On February 25, the CHPSW's Department of Physical Therapy Student Association took part in Olney Charter Community Day. Students worked in Olney Charter High School's fitness room to clean and paint the room and replace broken exercise equipment with new or gently used equipment.

The revitalized room will help promote health among the school’s 1,600 students by providing them with a safe place to exercise. Temple volunteers also mentored students from Olney's special education department during the event.

Publications, Presentations, and Appointments

 Listed below (and in the Read More section) are CHPSW faculty members' recent Publications, Presentations and Appointments.)

A special issue of the journal Aphasiology, edited by Nadine Martin, PhD, CCC-SLP and Jamie Reilly, PhD, was published in February 2012. The issue, titled “Short-term/working memory impairments in aphasia:  Data, models and their application to aphasia rehabilitation,” contains contributions from the Aphasia Rehabilitation Research Center at Temple’s Eleanor M. Saffran Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. Dr. Martin is a professor in CHPSW's Communication Sciences and Disorders Department, and Dr., Reilly, a Temple Alumni, is currently an assistant professor at the University of Florida.

Rehabilitation Sciences News

New faculty members

Temple’s Department of Rehabilitation Sciences has welcomed five new faculty members during the 2011-2012 academic year: Carlos Moreno, MS OTR/L, Academic Fieldwork Coordinator and Clinical Instructor; Ivelisse Lazzarini, OTD OTR/L, Academic Fieldwork Coordinator and Assistant Professor; Rebecca Gilbert, Instructor; Gretchen Snethen, PhD CTRS, Assistant Professor; and Pei-Chun Hsieh, PhD CTRS, Assistant Professor.