Faculty and Students Share Their Research and Insights

On Tuesday April 4th, faculty, staff and students from the new College of Health held the college's inaugural Research Symposium. The format of the Research Symposium was developed to foster inter-professional dialogue and collaboration. Six faculty-led discussions at Faculty Roundtables kicked off the evening (Drs. Robin Chilton, Jenn Soros, Debbie Espy, Kelle DeBoth Foust, Heather Rice & Wendy Sarver), engaging attendees in conversations about a variety of components of successful research, from how to successfully include students, working within communities, to specific areas of scholarship such as sexuality and health, infant mortality and the transition for students into entry level practice.

The Keynote speaker, Dr. Douglas A. Wajda, delivered a poignant address on the need for multidisciplinary research in the field of rehabilitation technology. Four platform presentations, running simultaneously in different classrooms, gave attendees the opportunity to learn about engaging clinical professionals and assistants within the PT profession (Dr. Patrick McGinty) and the benefits of paid sick leave (Dr. Patricia Stoddard-Dare & Dr. Candice Vander Weerdt), or type 2 diabetes within the homeless population (Dr. Hamilton) and training perinatal support doulas as community health workers (Dr. Rice). The evening concluded with 25 student and faculty poster presentations throughout the CIMP atrium. The event was well attended and highly regarded by participants and attendees.