CONSUMER SCIENCE
Stewart Chang-Alexander, associate professor, and his research group began a first-of-its-kind experimental study on the effectiveness of campus interventions to increase the acceptance of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in college-aged men. HPV is a serious national problem, and the vaccine is effective for men and women in thwarting the spread of this costly health concern. Jonathan Bauchet, assistant professor, was part of a team that conducted a broad and complex applied field experiment measuring how a novel anti-poverty intervention helped destitute families come out of extreme poverty. The importance of his research, published in the Journal of Development Economics, is that it shows how such interventions may result in very different outcomes, depending on the setting in which they are applied.
HEALTH AND KINESIOLOGY
The department is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Celebration events will include the Charles Cowell Lecture on April 6, 2016, and the HK Achievement Awards Reception on April 22, 2016.
Yumary Ruiz, who joined the faculty in 2014 as an assistant professor, received a 2015 Clifford B. Kinley Trust Award for $20,000 to support her study titled, Providers, Patient, and Parent Perspectives on Contraceptive Decision-making in Latina Teens Who Have Experienced a Recent Pregnancy. Read more about her work in Building a Healthier Society.
The A.H. Ismail Center for Health, Exercise and Nutrition, along with the Purdue Cancer Wellness Program and the YWCA of Greater Lafayette, introduced summer classes on cancer survivors' cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, endurance, flexibility and body composition. The summer classes were in addition to two eight-week courses already offered in the fall and spring semesters.
Larry Leverenz, clinical professor and one of the principal investigators in the Purdue Neurotrauma Group (PNG), studied the brains of 25 high school football players and those of noncontact-sports controls before, during and after the regular season using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, a medical-imaging technique. The results show changes in brain chemistry and metabolism even in players who have not been diagnosed with concussions (sub-concussive impacts) and suggest the brain may not fully heal during the off-season.
HEALTH SCIENCES
A $2 million National Institutes of Health grant awarded to Ulrike Dydak, associate professor, will help bring a state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to Purdue's West Lafayette campus. A variety of Purdue departments and programs as well as the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships will provide the additional funds for the more than $2.5 million project, which was approved by the Board of Trustees in July.
Wei Zheng, professor and head of the School of Health Sciences, received the Career Achievement Award — the highest honor given by the Society of Toxicology Metals Specialty Section — during the society's 2015 annual meeting in San Diego, California. The award recognizes distinguished scholars for their outstanding achievements as a researcher, mentor and leader in the field of metal toxicology.
Jennifer Freeman, assistant professor, received the 2014 Exceptional Early Career Teaching Award for tenure-track faculty at Purdue. She also was awarded the 2014 College of Health and Human Sciences Early Career Research Achievement Award. Her current research is focused on investigating the adverse health effects of exposure to environmental stressors on human and environmental health using the zebra fish model system.
HHS Extension
Released in April 2015, Be Heart Smart is the newest HHS Extension program and the first health and wellness program developed by Purdue Extension. With recognition that heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in Indiana and the United States, HHS Extension sought to develop a program to address the issue.
Be Heart Smart is a program for individuals who want to learn more about preventing heart disease by making heart-healthy lifestyle changes. The program teaches participants how to monitor risk factors for heart disease and how to make simple changes to one's daily routine to improve heart health. Visit www.purdue.edu/hhs/extension, for more information.
Hospitality and Tourism Management
Professor Shawn Jang received the Michael D. Olsen Research Achievement Award at the 2015 Graduate Conference in Hospitality and Tourism Education held in Tampa, Florida.
Clinical Chef Instructor Ambarish Lulay recently won three medals in the hot and cold food categories at regional and national culinary competitions sponsored by the American Culinary Federation (ACF). Lulay's medals include a bronze at the Midwest regional in Madison, Wisconsin; a silver at the Florida regional in Tampa, Florida; and another silver at the ACF National Convention in Orlando, Florida.
The school introduced a new course in fall 2015 called Event and Meeting Planning Management. The course is designed for students interested in meetings, expositions, events and conventions, which are among the fastest-growing segments in the tourism industry and generate millions in revenues for cities and countries. Taught by Mick LaLopa, associate professor, the curriculum focuses on best practices in event planning, including promotion, organization, coordination, budgeting and risk management.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY STUDIES
The Center for Families (CFF) and the Military Family Research Institute (MFRI) recently celebrated their respective 20th and 15th anniversaries. Both centers focus their research efforts on the idea that families in all forms play a central role in creating resilient, vibrant communities.
At a gala anniversary celebration on April 25, Dean Christine Ladisch announced a two-year, $3.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment to MFRI. The institute will continue to expand opportunities for military members, veterans and their families by providing research that helps mental health providers, public policy makers, employers, and leaders in higher education better understand issues affecting the military community.
In addition, the Family Impact Institute (FII), which provides government officials and policy leaders throughout the United States with the latest research on families, has moved to Purdue and will be housed in CFF.
NURSING
Of the 765 member schools in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the School of Nursing is one of only four to receive a 2015 Innovations in Professional Nursing Award. The school was recognized in the "Public Schools without an Academic Health Center" category for its curricula innovations, programs in quality improvement and systems engineering, and associated student-learning outcomes.
Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing named Azza Ahmed, associate professor, the recipient of the 2015 Audrey Hepburn Award for Contributions to the Health and Welfare of Children. The society also named Nancy Edwards, associate professor, as the recipient of the 2015 Amy J. Berman Geriatric Nursing Leadership Award.
School of Nursing faculty at West Lafayette teamed with nursing colleagues at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, and Purdue Calumet to create a fully online Collaborative Doctor of Nursing Practice (CDNP) program. The post-master's program, which capitalizes on faculty expertise at each campus, admitted its inaugural cohort of 13 students for the fall 2015 term.
NUTRITION SCIENCE
As part of its 110th anniversary celebration, the Department of Nutrition Science launched a $16 million campaign in March 2015 to raise funds for professorships, new scholarships and research. Alumna Janice Strauss (NUTR '69) and her husband, Ted Strauss, of South Salem, New York, provided the lead gift for the campaign, which runs through 2017.
A research study led by Distinguished Professor Rick Mattes confirms that fat should be considered the sixth taste. "The taste component of fat, which we call oleogustus, is often described as bitter or sour because it is unpleasant," Mattes says, "but new evidence reveals fatty acids evoke a unique sensation satisfying another element of the criteria for what constitutes a basic taste," The study was published in Chemical Senses and cited in more than two dozen worldwide media outlets.
Connie Weaver, distinguished professor and department head, was named to the 2015 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Science Board, which provides advice on specific complex scientific and technical issues important to the FDA and its mission, including emerging issues within the scientific community.
PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Jeffrey Karpicke, James V. Bradley Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences, received a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Center for Educational Research to help fourth- and fifth-graders improve their study habits through a form of self-testing known as retrieval practice. The computer-based program will be evaluated in Burnett Creek Elementary School in West Lafayette and Fox Hill Elementary School in Indianapolis.
Two faculty members were recently recognized for their teaching and research contributions: Professor Louis Tay was named the inaugural recipient of the William H. Hendrix Industrial Psychology Excellence Award, which is endowed by Purdue alumnus William H. Hendrix (MS '69, PhD '74), professor emeritus of management at Clemson University; and Professor Peter Urcuioli received the 2015 Distinguished Contribution to Basic Behavior Analysis Award from Division 25 of the American Psychological Association.
Three faculty members recently received grants from the National Science Foundation: Ximena Arriaga, associate professor, for a project titled Relationship Strategies and the Stability of Interpersonal Security Over Time that will help couples reduce insecure relational dynamics and enhance attachment security; Professor Margo Monteith for a study titled Developing Effective Strategies for Confronting Racial Bias in Interpersonal Interactions that will help support a two-year fellowship with Purdue post-doctoral researcher Evelyn Carter; and James Nairne, Reece McGee Distinguished Professor, to investigate a recently discovered means of improving adaptive memory known as the survival processing effect.
PUBLIC HEALTH
The launch of the college's newly expanded Public Health Graduate Program (PHGP) in November 2015 included a symposium and reception at the Shively Club South in Ross-Ade Pavilion. Presenters addressed topical issues in the field of public health as well as the three PHGP concentrations approved by the University: Family and Community Health, Environmental Health, and Health Statistics. The program offers a stand-alone Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, an accelerated master's degree (BS+MPH) and dual degrees (MS or PhD + MPH). PHGP faculty members also have received a grant from the Office of the Provost to host a spring symposium on public health and technology. For more information, see Building a Healthier Society.
SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING SCIENCES
Distinguished Professor Larry Leonard is the 2015 recipient of the Callier Prize in Communication Disorders, a biennial award that recognizes international leadership in fostering scientific advances and significant developments in the diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders.
Research Professor Stacey Halum, M.D., was awarded a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for her research on using patients' stem cells to regenerate vocal folds following surgery.
Professor Michael Heinz was awarded a five-year grant from the NIH for his studies of hidden hearing loss that follows exposure to noise and creates difficulties understanding speech even when traditional measures of hearing appear normal.
