InnovateLI Highlights Zhang NIH Grant

Dec 15, 2021

As reported in InnovateLI, Associate Professor of Life Sciences Shenglong Zhang, Ph.D., is one of several researchers participating in a consortium of nationwide laboratories forming the new Center for Excellence in Genomic Science. The research is being funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Human Genome Research Institute. “Zhang’s lab – where the mission is to modify nucleotides and monitor the effects on cancer, diabetes and other conditions – will have a first-year budget of roughly $700,000, with $2 million-plus expected through 2026,” the story notes.

 

Sheikh Quoted on Inflation in International Business Times

Dec 11, 2021

Shaya Sheikh, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing and management studies, was quoted in an International Business Times story about inflation. Sheikh, who is an energy supply chain expert, discusses rising gasoline prices, which many believe rise and fall in tandem with the price of oil, but in fact rise at a faster rate than oil and come back down at a much lower rate. As he explains, this asymmetrical inflation is caused by a temporary mismatch between demand and supply, due to time lags.

“Private oil companies can theoretically increase domestic production. However, it takes months to catch up with the increased demand. This is because private oil companies do not have enough spare capacity to ramp up the production instantly, and the process of surveying, drilling, refining, and distribution take months,” says Sheikh.

 

Kirk Comments on Psychological Ownership in Homebuyers

Dec 09, 2021

Colleen Kirk, D.P.S., associate professor of marketing, was quoted in the story “Learning From the Mistakes of Frenzied Buyers,” which appeared in multiple local newspapers, including the News-Banner (Bluffton, Ind.) and the Richmond Times Dispatch (Richmond, Va.). Kirk, who has conducted extensive research in the area of psychological ownership, notes that consumers may become possessive of a home during the buying process.

“It’s easy for consumers to feel ownership of a home, especially when they enter it, touch countertops, and open closets. When consumers feel ownership, they can feel a great sense of loss when they are unable to acquire it,” she states. She notes that this sense of loss can then lead to frenzied overpaying in a bidding war.

 

Gharial Research Featured in the Media

Dec 04, 2021

As seen in SyFy, Science Daily, The Daily Advent, Verve Times, and other news outlets, anatomy research led by Jason Bourke, Ph.D., assistant professor of basic sciences at NYITCOM-Arkansas, reports that the gharial, a relative of the crocodile, can suffer from a deviated nasal septum. Bourke and his research team, which included an NYITCOM student, are the first to document this condition in crocodylians.

“It's a testament to crocodylian resiliency,” said Bourke. “A human with this pathology would need surgery to fix it, but these critters just keep on going.”

 

Psychiatry Expert Quoted in Discover Magazine

Dec 02, 2021

Discover Magazine published comments from Liat Jarkon, D.O., M.P.H., director of the Center for Behavioral Health, in its online story, “Causes of Phobia Can Be Complicated.” In addition to sharing clinical examples of phobia, Jarkon addresses the impact of traumatic events, which can trigger an intense fear of similar future situations. In providing one realistic example she states, “Let’s say I was waiting in line and I saw someone being robbed. I might be afraid of waiting in line again. Or, I might be more heightened to the sound of someone screaming because the person being robbed was screaming.”

 

Cohn Op-Ed: “What My Research Reveals About Gift Giving”

Dec 01, 2021

“The National Retail Federation predicts that, this year, 13.3% of holiday gifts will be returned. The economic and relationship cost of bad gifts is high,” writes School of Management interim dean  Deborah Y. Cohn, Ph.D. in an op-ed in Baltimore Jewish Times.

Cohn’s research has focused on why many consumers buy gifts that are unwanted, even when buyers are trying to please. “On the one hand, with the best intentions, givers misjudge the recipient’s preferences. Other times, my research found that givers intentionally give bad gifts,” she writes, adding that some givers “send a message that can be interpreted as mean spirited.” Cohn’s research identifies bad gifts that are given on purposes and categorizes them as: 1) threats to self-concept, 2) to you – for me, 3) hostile, 4) ritual and obligation, and 5) competition.

The piece, focusing on Chanukah gift-giving, also offers advice on how to give gifts to people one cares about. Read the full op-ed.  

 

Local Outlets Highlight NYITCOM ESD Grant

Nov 23, 2021

As seen in Newsday, and Long Island Business News, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) was awarded funds via New York State’s Regional Economic Development Council initiative. The $1.05M Empire State Development (ESD) grant will support the creation of the future Microscopy Innovation Center, which will help to advance research and breakthrough treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, clinical depression, and other conditions, while also training future clinicians in diagnostic microscopy, visualization, and imaging technologies. NYITCOM Dean Nicole Wadsworth, D.O. notes that the grant “brings us one step closer to realizing this goal,” adding that the center will be “training the next generation of medical professionals to use cutting-edge technology that could help us solve some of healthcare’s most pressing challenges.”

 

Fortune Publishes Musho Op-ed

Nov 22, 2021

Fortune has published an op-ed by Suzanne Musho, AIA, NCARB, vice president and chief architect for real estate development and sustainable capital planning, which contends that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented universities and colleges with an opportunity to create campus environments that foster student success and well-being. As she notes, institutions can draw inspiration from corporate America, which has long succeeded in creating spaces that promote employee productivity and wellness. Citing innovative designs from Google, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Nike, and other corporate giants, she writes:

“It's smart for businesses to invest in these designs. If employees feel comfortable and content in their workplace, they enjoy their work and put in quality effort. They respond well to the respect their employers show them. The same can be expected of college students. If they feel valued and secure in their research libraries, lecture halls, cafes, and campus quads, they can focus more effectively on studying, look forward to learning, and thrive academically.”

 

Outlets Highlight IDC-Funded Architecture and Design Initiatives

Nov 18, 2021

As seen in Archinect and InnovateLI, the School of Architecture and Design launched major initiatives in computational technologies and digital fabrication with the support of a $2 million grant from the IDC Foundation. The initiatives comprise three major components: the opening of the IDC Foundation Digital Fabrication and Robotic Matter Design Labs (Fab Lab), the recruitment of an acclaimed international expert as the IDC Foundation Endowed Chair of Digital Technologies, and the launch of two new related graduate programs. The new Fab Lab is equipped with vacuum forming tools, laser cutters, computer numerical control machines, 3-D printing equipment, simulation programs, augmented and virtual reality, building information modeling technology, and robotic systems.

 

Newsday Taps Harper's Public Health Expertise

Nov 18, 2021

Newsday quoted Brian Harper, M.D., M.P.H., chief medical officer and vice president for equity and inclusion, in its coverage of the Commonwealth Fund’s 2021 Health Equity Scorecard. The scorecard provides a state-by-state report measuring access to healthcare, quality of care, health outcomes, and health disparities across the United States. As Harper notes, many of the disparities cited in the report are caused by factors outside of the healthcare system.

“This is very challenging because in order to see major improvement, you have to really improve on what we call the social determinants of health,” said Harper, who is also a former Suffolk County health commissioner. “When you look at things such as poverty and unemployment, residential segregation, environmental toxins, institutional racism—all of those things play a role in terms of the poor indices you’re going to see in minority communities.”