Addiction Now Highlights Martinez NIH Grant and Research Effort

Feb 06, 2017

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant of $431,700 recently awarded to Luis Martinez, Ph.D. to research the impacts of methamphetamines on wounds is detailed in an article in Addiction Now.

Martinez gathered a group of NYITCOM students and other scientists to collaborate with him. The team recently completed a scientific paper showing that methamphetamines enhance the general proliferation of bacteria. Now, Martinez's team is focusing on the inflammatory properties of meth and its link to a particular protein gene.

The article outlines the multiple phases in this three-year grant period. Martinez explains, "Most of the work is still pre-clinical but to take it to the next level, we have to do a clinical trial. We need to involve patients so we can work directly in the wounds, either by getting samples or seeing what kind of infections they get because that's not well documented in the literature."

 

The Chronicle of Higher Education on Universities That Help Students Get Jobs in China

Feb 03, 2017

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on American universities' efforts to help students to find jobs in China after graduation. Lei "Tony" Tong, associate director of employer and alumni relations based at NYIT's Shanghai office, explains how NYIT guides a student's job search starting early in their undergraduate career. The Chronicle notes the importance of career services for Chinese students, and says that Tong's work is "critical to his university's success in recruiting top-quality Chinese students."

 

Newsday: NYIT Provost Named Interim President

Jan 25, 2017

Rahmat Shoureshi, provost and vice president of academic affairs at New York Institute of Technology, will be the school's interim president while an international search to replace its longtime president is underway, notes an article in Newsday (subscription required). "My goal is that we would be able to expand our scholarship and expand on the quality of education we are providing," says Shoureshi. "We want our students, by the time they graduate, to be in meaningful experiences before they enter the job market."

Related stories appeared in the Jan. 25 issue of The Island Now and the Feb. 3 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education.

 

Arkansas Business: Grant Aims to Lure Doctors to Delta

Jan 23, 2017

New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro received a $200,000 grant from the Delta Regional Authority to create a consortium with five hospitals to open residency positions, reports an article in Arkansas Business (subscription required). “The grant is designed to work with five hospitals … because no single hospital has all of the resources they need for residency training or graduate medical education,” says Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee, the vice president for health sciences and medical affairs at NYIT and inaugural site dean of NYITCOM at A-State. The grant money will be used to assess each of the five hospitals and hire someone to handle the applications to receive regulatory approval for the program, according to the article, which further notes that Shane Speights, D.O., a family practitioner in Jonesboro who was instrumental in establishing NYITCOM at A-State, has been named as Ross-Lee’s successor as site dean.

 

Journal of Blacks in Higher Education: Sheldon Fields Joins NYIT As Dean

Jan 09, 2017

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education has announced that Sheldon D. Fields has become the new dean of NYIT School of Health Professions. Fields, who earned his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, has extensive experience as an academic leader, most recently as dean of nursing at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in California. Fields will oversee allied health degree programs enrolling nearly 800 students.

Related coverage also appeared in Diverse Issues in Higher Education, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Insight into Diversity, and Newsday, among other publications.

 

Brookshield Laurent op-ed published by The Mercury News

Dec 30, 2016

Racial biases and misconceptions remain rampant in our healthcare system, and medical schools aren't doing enough to address the issue, writes Brookshield Laurent, D.O., assistant professor and vice chairperson, Clinical Specialties, NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) at Arkansas State University, in an op-ed published in The Mercury News.

"Implicit bias—the unconscious negative evaluation of a particular group—can affect medical judgment in any number of ways," notes Laurent. For example, research shows doctors are more prone to negative, nonverbal cues, such as closed body language and the avoidance of eye contact, when treating black patients as compared to white patients.

"Since many of these attitudes are established long before physicians begin their careers, medical schools have a significant role to play in addressing the problem. The first step is to help students recognize their unconscious biases early," writes Laurent.

Ultimately, she concludes, "What's most important is that medical schools aggressively pursue new strategies for combatting implicit bias, and share their lessons with the larger healthcare community."

 

CNBC: Glazer Writes on High-Impact Educational Practices

Dec 22, 2016

In an op-ed published by CNBC, Associate Provost for Educational Innovation Francine Glazer, Ph.D., urges universities to increase their incorporation of high-impact educational practices, or HIP, to help foster creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking skills in students.

"These practices can turn academically engaged students into profession-ready graduates," writes Glazer, who is also director of NYIT Center for Teaching and Learning.

In the commentary, Glazer notes that NYIT provides internship opportunities and project assignments for students that allow for real-world experience and meaningful results.

"Universities must evolve to better empower students to succeed once they're in the workforce," she concludes. "High-impact educational practices should be a central part of that equation," she concludes.

 

Deborah Cohn's Research in Washington Post, Good Morning America

Dec 16, 2016

NYIT School of Management faculty member Deborah Y. Cohn's research on unhappy gift exchanges is the subject of a column in the Washington Post. Sharing her findings about gifts that threaten recipients' self-concept, Cohn says, "These types of gifts are not a good idea. The recipients get angry. They get frustrated…Think about who [recipients] are and not who you want them to be."

ABC's Good Morning America also discussed Cohn's research, which describes reasons why people intentionally give gifts that displease recipients.

 

Anid, Nizich on Building Pipeline of Highly Skilled STEM Professionals: LIBN

Dec 16, 2016

SoECS Dean Nada Marie Anid and Michael Nizich, director, NYIT Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC), are quoted in a Long Island Business News article, "STEM Programs Sprout: LI colleges focus on preparing students to fill workforce shortage" (subscription required). In discussing how to address the shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals, Nizich notes that NYIT's designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education will enable students to enter the market well prepared for jobs in cybersecurity. Further, the article notes that NYIT is working to get its students into STEM careers through business partnerships, which also contribute to the local economy. "This reduces the talent drainage out of Long Island [and] contributes to meeting the high demand for STEM talent on Long Island," Anid says.

 

Dr. Ross-Lee on Educating and Healing Holistically

Dec 12, 2016

In an article in Diverse Issues in Higher Education, Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee reflects on her early support for NYITCOM opening a location on the campus of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. "Fundamentally, it kind of captured my motivation in medical education and healthcare," she says. The article provides an overview of Ross-Lee's career and move into medicine, as well as the need to improve the health status of populations in underserved areas and to provide opportunities for underrepresented minorities. Ross-Lee says, "One of the lessons I've learned is that success is not a measure of how a person is valued; it's a measure of opportunity—so one of my missions has always been to provide opportunities for minorities and for women in all areas of healthcare."