Dr. William Lacefield, professor of mathematics education, authored a presentation, titled “From Abundant to McNugget to Vampire: Using Fascinating Numbers to Build Competence and Enjoyment,” for the annual meeting of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics April 3-6 in San Diego, California. Dr. Susie Morrissey, assistant professor of education, and Dr. Tonya Clarke, mathematics coordinator for Clayton County Public Schools, delivered the presentation.
Dr. Robbie J. Marsh, assistant professor of special education, was named a member of the Department of Juvenile Justice Reentry Task Force and was elected chair of the Education and Vocational Training Subcommittee of the Reentry Task Force. The task force’s primary goal is to address the issues of schools reluctance to accept youth transitioning out of juvenile justice. Many schools either do not want to allow these youth to come back to school or are mandating that they attend alternative schools to prove they can transition back to a mainstream school. Both of these barriers are contributing to high rates of school dropout and are significant issues of the school-to-prison pipeline.
Dr. Leah Panther, assistant professor of literacy education, co-authored “This class changed my life: Using culturally sustaining pedagogies to frame undergraduate research with students of Color” in Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research. She will co-present “Literacy in every classroom: Developing university-school partnerships to support faculty’s literacy instruction” at the Literacy and the Whole Child 2019 Summer Literacy Conference in July in Macon.
Dr. Daniel Dale, clinical assistant professor of physical therapy, co-presented, with College of Nursing faculty Fran Kamp and Suzanne Applegate, “Assessing Collaboration and Communication in an IPE Experience between Nursing and PT Students in Acute Care Environments” at the Wolters Kluwer and Laerdal Medical Simulation User Network Innovation Summit May 15 in Atlanta.
Dr. Joseph Donnelly, clinical professor of physical therapy, was recognized on May 16 as a Healthcare Hero by the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s editorial board.
Dr. Alyssa Fiss, associate professor of physical therapy, co-presented “Strategies for Implementing On Track-DMS: A Novel Pediatric Developmental Monitoring System” at the Center on Health Services Training and Research Implementation Science Research Institute May 1-2 in Providence, Rhode Island.
Dr. Jonathan Addleton, adjunct professor of international and global studies, was a featured speaker at the “Mongolia Days” celebration April 25-26 at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. Joining Professor Christopher Atwood of the University of Pennsylvania and Professor Karen Stout of Western Washington University, Dr. Addleton’s presentation was part of a conference, titled “Mongolia in the Eyes of the World,” organized by the Western Washington University library, which contains one of the largest collections of Mongolia-related materials in North America. The event also included the launch of a new website for those interested in studying about Mongolia.
Dr. David A. Davis, associate professor of English, attended a meeting of the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) test in American literature committee at Educational Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey. He also presented the paper “Have You Heard Their Voices?: Sharecropper Photo Documentaries” at the American Literature Association conference in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Andy Digh, associate professor of computer science, received the 2019 Joe and Jean Hendricks Excellence in Teaching Award at the Macon commencement. The premier teaching award given by the University each year, it recognizes an outstanding teacher who best exemplifies the qualities that distinguished Joe and Jean Hendricks as teachers and mentors to generations of Mercer students. These include challenging and inspiring teaching in and out of the classroom, active engagement of students in the process of learning, discovery and leadership, as well as caring mentoring to motivate students and junior faculty to achieve their highest aspirations.
Dr. Sarah E. Gardner, Distinguished University Professor of History, was a discussant on a roundtable, titled “New Directions in the Study of U.S. Civil War Veterans,” at the meeting of the Society for Military History May 9-12 in Columbus, Ohio. She presented “Reading Cultures of the Civil War” at the American Literature Association Conference May 23-26 in Boston, Massachusetts. She was also appointed to the editorial board of Mississippi Quarterly: The Journal of Southern Cultures.
Dr. Eric Klingelhofer, senior research fellow and professor emeritus of history, was informed by Manchester University Press that the e-book version of his 2010 work Castles and Colonists: An Archaeology of Elizabethan Ireland was chosen for inclusion in the series Manchester Shakespeare, a collection of scholarship on the writing, influence and historical context of Shakespeare and his contemporaries.
Dr. Paul Lewis, professor of religion, presented “Gene-Edited Babies: Wise or Foolish?” as part of the Linger Longer Living Cultural Series at Lake Oconee on May 6. The lecture series is sponsored by Lake Oconee Community Church.
Dr. Randall Peters, professor emeritus of physics, authored “Power Factor of Heart Variability” and “A Spectral Tool for Predicting Catastrophes,” both available online.
Frani Rollins, assistant professor of theatre design and technology, chaired the annual Education Commission Poster Session and presented “Strategic Planning and You: Aligning your Program with your College’s Strategic Plan” at the annual United States Institute for Theatre Technology National Conference and Stage Expo March 20-23 at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
Dr. Justus Randolph, associate professor, co-authored “The absence of the common hepatic artery and its implications for surgical practice: Results of a systematic review and meta-analysis” in The Surgeon 17(3), 172-185. doi: 10.1016/j.surge.2019.03.001.
Dr. Jill Augustine, clinical assistant professor, was elected secretary of knowledge management for the Assessment Special Interest Group of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Her two-year appointment will begin in July.
Dr. Clint Canal, assistant professor, is serving as a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health Drug Discovery for the Nervous System Study Section through June 21. Dr. Canal served as a reviewer for the American Chemical Society Chemical Neuroscience from May 16-30.
Dr. Joshua D. Kinsey, clinical assistant professor of community pharmacy, Dr. Jennifer Nguyen, assistant professor of pharmacy, and Dr. Kathryn Momary, associate professor of pharmacy, were awarded the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation 2019 Wayne Roberts Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $20,000 for the project “Conducting Health Fairs for Refugees to Expand Cultural Competence of Student Pharmacists.” Dr. Kinsey serves as principle investigator on the project.
Dr. Katelynn Mayberry, clinical assistant professor, is serving as a reviewer for Pharmacy, an international scientific peer-reviewed open access journal on pharmacy education and practice published quarterly online by MDPI.
Dr. Pamela Moye-Dickerson, clinical associate professor, is serving as a grant reviewer for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Kevin Murnane, assistant professor, is an invited member of the National Institutes of Health Study Section 2019/08 ZDA1 IXN-O (01) R on “Development of Medications to Prevent and Treat Opioid Use Disorders and Overdose.” Dr. Murnane also co-authored a published abstract from the Experimental Biology annual meeting, titled “Serotonin 2A and Sigma 1 Receptor Antagonists Synergize to Block the Acute Toxicity of Methamphetamine,” in the FASEB Journal.
Dr. Nader Moniri, professor, co-authored a published abstract from the Experimental Biology annual meeting, titled “Redox Deficient Cysteine Residues Impair β2-Adrenergic Receptor Function” in the FASEB Journal. Dr. Moniri and Dr. Kevin Murnane co-authored another published abstract from the meeting, titled “Assessing the Neuroprotective Effects of Docosahexaenoic Acid in 6-Hydroxydopamine Induced Parkinsonism in Rats” in the FASEB Journal.
Dr. Jennifer Nguyen, assistant professor, presented “Rural Pharmacy Practice: A Literature Review” at the National Rural Health Association’s 42nd annual meeting in May in Atlanta.
Dr. Diane Nykamp, professor, co-authored “Anticoagulation in Pediatrics: DOACs on the Horizon” in U.S. Pharmacist 2019;44(5), 1-4, HS-8-HS-12.
Dr. Richard H. Martin, professor of criminal justice and homeland security, reviewed two articles for the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health: “Change in municipality-level health-related social capital and depressive symptoms: Ecological and 5-year repeated cross-sectional study from the JAGES” in May and “Impact of job demands and resources on nurses’ burnout and occupational turnover intention towards an age-moderated mediation model for the nursing profession” in April.
Jody Blanke, Ernest L. Baskin Jr. Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Law, represented the Academy of Legal Studies in Business as its past president at the annual Canadian Academy of Legal Studies in Business meeting in Halifax. He also presented a paper, titled “Legislative Responses to Data Inferences,” at the meeting.
Dr. Cheryl Chance, adjunct professor, graduated in May with a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling.
Dr. Ania Izabela Rynarzewska, assistant professor of sports business, authored “It’s not fake, it’s biased: insights into morality of incentivized reviewers” in the Journal of Consumer Marketing 36(1) and “Virtual reality: a new channel in sport consumption” in the Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing 12(4), 472-488. She co-presented a paper, with undergraduate student Max Maranda, titled “NASCAR Driver Likability Quantitative Survey,” at the Association for Marketing Theory and Practice’s annual meeting in March in South Carolina.
Dr. Behnam Kamali, Sam Nunn Eminent Scholar of Telecommunications and professor of electrical and computer engineering, presented and published an article, titled “Adaptive Modulation-Coding Schemes for Link Adaptation in Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communications Systems (AeroMACS),” at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Integrated Communications Navigation and Surveillance annual conference April 9-11 in Washington, D.C. The paper is available at IEEE Xplore.
Dr. Richard Mines, professor of environmental and civil engineering, and students Victoria Rexhausen, Jon Dietsch and Tyre Moore published a paper, titled “Residential Anaerobic Digester: Recommendation for Food Waste to Methane,” in the proceedings of the 2019 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, which was held May 19-23 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Rexhausen made a poster presentation of the paper at the conference.
Michael Sabbath, Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute and W. Homer Drake Jr. Endowed Chair in Bankruptcy Law, will serve as guest speaker at the Fifth Annual Dinner and Meeting of the W. Homer Drake Jr. Georgia Bankruptcy American Inn of Court June 14 at Idle Hour Country Club in Macon.
Karen Sneddon, professor, conducted a two-hour seminar, titled “Characteristics of Good Legal Writing,” May 23 for law students earning a Ph.D. at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Scott Titshaw, associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor of law, was quoted in a story, titled “Both Parents Are American. The U.S. Says Their Baby Isn’t,” in the New York Times on May 21.
Dr. Jennifer L. Barkin, associate professor of community medicine and obstetrics and gynecology, was invited to join the board of directors of Postpartum Support International’s Georgia Chapter.
Dr. Keisha Callins, assistant professor of community medicine, received a three-year appointment to the Joy McCann Endowed Professorship in the School of Medicine, beginning May 1. Dr. Callins was also recognized as “Doctor of the Day” by the Georgia House of Representatives on March 5.
Dr. Susan Cline, professor of biomedical sciences, presented a workshop, titled “Use of Analogies to Integrate Basic and Clinical Science?,” with colleagues from the medical schools at Case Western Reserve University, the University of California-San Francisco and the University of Minnesota during the Seventh International Conference of the Association of Biochemistry Educators May 5-9 in Tucson, Arizona.
Dr. Harold Katner, professor and chief of infectious diseases, co-authored the following articles: “Income Inequality, HIV Stigma, and Preventing HIV Disease Progression in Rural Communities” in Prevention Science 2019 Apr 6. doi: 10.1007/s11121-019-01013-5; “Alcohol-Related Intentional Antiretroviral Nonadherence among People Living with HIV: Test of an Interactive Toxicity Beliefs Process Model” in the Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care 2019 Jan-Dec;18:2325958219826612. doi: 10.1177/2325958219826612; “Experiences of HIV-related discrimination and consequences for internalised stigma, depression and alcohol use” in Psychological Health 2019 Feb 17:1-15. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2019.1572143; and “Graft-Associated Elizabethkingia meningoseptica Bacteremia Managed With Long-Term Oral Ciprofloxacin and Rifampicin” in the Journal of Medical Cases, North America 10, Mar. 2019. Dr. Katner was featured in an article in The (Macon) Telegraph on May 20, titled “Hope Center wants to help those hit by the HIV epidemic.”
Kathy Kemle, assistant professor of geriatrics, presented “Avoiding the Slippery Slope: Preventing Falls in Older Adults” and was named Physician Assistants in Hospice and Palliative Medicine President at the American Academy of Physician Assistants conference May 18-22 in Denver.
Dr. Edward C. Klatt, professor of pathology, provided the education session “Cognitive Informatics” May 7 at the Pathology Informatics Summit meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dr. Klatt also served as the judge of scientific posters presented at this meeting and provided a mentoring session for trainees in informatics.
Shirley Powell, technical director of the histology curricular support laboratory, presented a workshop on “How to Prepare Macro and Not so Macro Sections” at the Georgia Society for Histotechnology’s annual symposium May 3-5 at Tybee Island. Macro sections are tissues much larger than the usual 3-by-1-inch slides routinely prepared for pathologists for diagnosis. Whole organs, such as human brain, kidney or lung, can be mounted on slides up to 5-by-7-inches using a special sliding microtome. Smaller animals and organs can be mounted on slides 2-by-2 to 3-by-4-inches.
Dr. Kristjan Thompson, assistant professor of anatomy, published an article, titled “Cadaveric dissection in relation to problem-based learning case sequencing: A report of medical student musculoskeletal examination performances and self-confidence” in Anatomical Sciences Education. Additional authors included medical students Julian Gendreau and Jarred Strickling, as well as former School of Medicine professor Dr. Henry Young.
Dr. Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford, Carolyn Ward Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages, contributed commentaries on Psalm 46 and 150 to the Center for Biblical Preaching’s “Working Preacher” website in May.
Rick Cameron, senior assistant vice president for marketing communications, was recognized in May by The Exchange Club of Macon with its 2019 “A Friend of Exchange” award. The plaque presented to Cameron read, “Voice of Mercer Bears for your continued interest and support in past years in behalf of our organization.”
Kim Meredith, assistant director of the Center for Career and Professional Development, earned the Certified Career Counselor credential through the National Career Development Association in May.
Stefanie Swanger, career consultant in the Center for Career and Professional Development, was awarded the 2019 GACE Rising Star Award for her dedication to the Georgia Association of Colleges and Employers, including serving on the GACE Board of Directors as chair of the GACE Statewide Career Fair.
William Brogdon, research services librarian, instructor and Atlanta Swilley Research Services Coordinator, authored a review of the book Transforming Libraries to Serve Graduate Students in the Journal of New Librarianship 4(1), 249-251.