Category: College of Health Sciences
July College of Health Sciences For the Record
August 05, 2024 Written by CHS Staff | Photos by Ashley Barnas
For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.
Recent appointments, presentations, publications and honors in the College of Health Sciences include the following:
Awards
Iva Obrusnikova, professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Nutrition Sciences and director of the Health and Disability Lab, was awarded the 2024 Hollis Fait Scholarly Award from the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPEID). This lifetime achievement award is given annually to a highly active scholarship mentor serving on editorial boards and contributing to advancements in research for lifelong disabilities. Obrusnikova’s research focuses primarily on promoting physical activity and inclusion for those facing intellectual and developmental disabilities by understanding the variables involved in their physical function and independence to foster positive health behavior change. In the past, Obrusnikova led an innovative project to integrate therapy dogs as a method in improving social behaviors and physical activity for individuals with developmental disabilities, and now explores opportunities to implement the use of artificial intelligence.
“Our goal is to enhance physical education curriculum to educate and engage all youth in regular physical activity. By adapting our approaches to meet diverse needs, we ensure everyone can develop and maintain lifelong healthy habits,” Obrusnikova explained. “By implementing technology-based strategies, we strive to empower each individual to participate fully and independently, enhancing their autonomy and sustaining their engagement in physical activities throughout their lifespan.”
Mary Webb, a doctoral student in the Nutrition Science PhD Program in the College of Health Sciences, has been awarded an R36 Dissertation Award from the National Institutes of Health. She’s the first CHS student to be awarded an R36 grant. The competitive research grant will support Webb’s doctoral work for the next two years as she researches phthalates — common chemicals found in plastics, personal care products and household goods — and how prenatal exposure to these chemicals impacts childhood weight status. Webb, who’s working with Melissa Melough, assistant professor of health behavior and nutrition sciences, will also explore maternal dietary strategies to mitigate the harmful effects of phthalates.
“I am eager to contribute to our understanding of the effects of phthalates on cardiometabolic health, which can advise policy about their safety and use in everyday products,” Webb said.
Webb’s advisor Melissa Melough, assistant professor of health behavior and nutrition sciences, said this marks the first time a CHS student has been awarded an R36 grant.
“It’s been rewarding to help Mary develop her research plan, and I’m so proud of her achievement,” said Melough. “Not only will her work help clarify the risks of these chemicals during critical life stages, but it will also explore practical solutions.”
Publications
Jennifer Horney, professor and founding director of the epidemiology program in the College of Health Sciences, recently published research in the journal Scientometrics. “Gender and the h-index in Epidemiology” was co-authored by epidemiology program graduate students Adam Bitunguramye, Shazia Shaukat and Zackery White. The open-access article is the first-of-its-kind examination of gender and professional age bias in citation indices among epidemiology faculty.
“Women remain underrepresented in academic leadership and as full professors," said Horney. "Since tenure and promotion often depend on these types of metrics that measure the productivity of faculty, it is critical to understand the role that gender bias may play in these measures.”
To submit information for inclusion in For the Record, write to ocm@udel.edu and include “For the Record” in the subject line.
