Research Alert
News — Harrisburg, PA – Welcome to your July 2024 Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU) Research Roundup! Our talented students and faculty members are busy presenting at conferences, publishing boundary-pushing research, and building fruitful partnerships with schools, agencies, and organizations. It’s been a great month for research and recognition at HU, so let’s get right to it!
- PhD Student, Rahul Awasthy, Co-Publishes Paper with HU Faculty
A former Harrisburg University PhD student and now alumnus, Rahul Awasthy, PhD, has co-published an original research paper alongside HU professors (corporate faculty member) and (Assistant Professor and Program Lead of Healthcare Informatics). The paper is entitled, , and appears in Volume 6 of the noted journal Frontiers in the Health Informatics category.
The project was born from the observation that healthcare providers and adjacent entities often operate with profitmaking, and not health outcomes, as their chief priority. “I firmly believe that business, processes, and technology should prioritize bringing value to society and humanity, rather than merely competing for wealth,” said Dr. Awasthy. “This research aims to assist healthcare providers in improving care for the critical area of cardiovascular disease patients with comorbidities.”
The focus of this data science research is on developing an AI model to create a decision-support tool for triage staff. Dr. Awasthy concluded: “The goal is to improve the operational efficiency of the current healthcare system by offering a faster and more effective approach for healthcare providers to assist individuals with acute heart failure and other concurrent medical conditions.”
- Jacqueline Kopack Featured in Summer 2024 FSBPT Â鶹´«Ã½letter
HU’s , Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, was featured in the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy () Summer 2024 Â鶹´«Ã½letter. The FSBPT is a national organization responsible for developing and administering the MPTE (National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE), providing resources for state licensing boards, and educating physical therapists and physical therapist assistants on emerging industry trends and ethical concerns, through continuing competence programs.
For the Summer 2024 Â鶹´«Ã½letter, FSBPT interviewed Dr. Kopack on her newly published textbook, .
“I wanted to create a reference text that emphasized the importance and relevance of exercise for people of all ages, while highlighting the relevance and importance of appropriate monitoring during exercise interventions and progressions, regardless of the treatment setting.”
Dr. Kopack continued, “Exercise is a useful intervention for all patients, and PTAs have the skills and abilities to develop and progress interventions that will maximize a patient’s function and quality of life. We really tried to produce a text focused on entry-level skills, while introducing and highlighting how the learner will use critical thinking to build these skills as they develop professionally.
There are several elements that make using the textbook unique and easier for the reader, such as numerous tables for various diagnoses across the phases of healing and over 800 pictures and diagrams. “Some of the chapters have quick class activities to help students understand concepts. There are case studies at the end of each chapter which assists the student to apply new knowledge learned and make sound clinical decisions.”
Wondering what it takes to publish a book? “Do it scared!” says Dr. Kopack. “Sometimes you need to just say yes, even if the task seems daunting.”
- Tonya Miller Presents Emotional Intelligence in Clinical Leadership Webinar
Next month, – Associate Professor Academic and Program Lead Doctor of Physical Therapy – will present a webinar called “” with , an organization that seeks to facilitate positive change among aging services in Pennsylvania and inspire its members to practice their trade with strong ethics, a commitment to diversity and equity, and a mind for innovation.
Dr. Miller’s webinar will concentrate on essential strategies for cultivating emotionally intelligent leaders and teams. It will explore the components of emotional intelligence as well as how team leaders can improve team morale, retain and develop top talent, and continuously improve patient outcomes. The goal of the webinar is for participants to emerge with a stronger comprehension of emotional intelligence and its significance in the healthcare workplace, and the tools required to foster this characteristic across their team and organization.
Interested parties can register in advance of the August 15 webinar. Members of LeadingAgePA may attend for free, and participants may qualify for Continuing Education participation hours, pending approval by the NAB and NCERS (National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Boards and National Continuing Education Review Service).
- Leena Pattarkine Gives Presentation at Career Ready PA Coalition
Program Lead for Biotechnology and Director for the , , was invited by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to give a presentation at the Career Ready PA Coalition, entitled “Biotechnology and Nanobiotechnology: Skills that Employ.”
“ is a PA Department of Education undertaking dedicated to state-wide networking for skills-based education in grades K–12,” explained Dr. Pattarkine. “The industry’s needs for a biotechnology and nanobiotechnology skill-trained workforce is desperate and growing. As one of the people leading efforts to strengthen these skill pipelines in Pennsylvania, the Department of Education invited me to share the work we’ve done at the (CABP) over the past 16 years.”
CABP works with schools and educators, government agencies, and industry leaders in Pennsylvania to unite biotechnology and nano(bio)technology skills under one umbrella. The program provides high-quality educational plans for high school and college students, as well as science-focused career-seekers.
“I am grateful for this opportunity to share my efforts in this field. Recognition from the Department of Education validates the CABP’s work. This request to present comes directly from the very agency that creates the educational benchmarks for skill-based education in the Commonwealth. I can’t wait to see how student experience is positively impacted by this coalition and its good works.”
- Erica Ward Receives Patent for Novel Colon Cancer Intervention
, Laboratory Manager and Safety Officer at Harrisburg University, has officially received approval from the US Patent and Trademark Office for an invention she helped develop. This newly canonized medical intervention – – is already having a positive impact on healthcare outcomes for colon cancer patients.
“This patent is the result of work at my previous employer, GI Supply (now Laborie). Our Research and Development team was working with doctors who were having difficulty removing cancerous legions in the colon. The problem with removing any cancers in the colon is needing to cut something out without damaging the surrounding healthy tissue. If there is a perforation in the colon, there is a significant risk of infection to the rest of the body. This leads to lengthier surgeries and additional hospitalization time for the patient.”
“To combat this, doctors were injecting water under the cancerous legions. But the water was leaking too fast, and they struggled to remove the cancer in time. They needed a formula that would ‘lift’ the cancer so the doctors could remove it. We developed and tested a formulation that helps doctors remove cancers faster, with greater precision, and with less risk of infection. The formulation has been FDA-approved since 2020 and is sold around the world.”
Erica continued: “It was a lot of work! And for me, personally, this is my first significant and public contribution to science and medicine. I had always hoped my efforts would help people in some way. This is by far the most substantial and far-reaching of my work. I’m proud of our team and I hope to continue to make a difference in people’s lives in the future.”
You can learn more about this newly patented formulation, including the mechanics of how it works, .
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