Delaney Moore, who got her undergraduate degree in health behavior science at UD, is now pursuing her master’s in health promotion. Her research centers on preventing eating disorders and disordered eating in college athletes.

“The goal of my research is to conduct a needs assessment to identify problems among subpopulations, including sex differences, so that we can provide resources for student-athletes, from nutrition to mental health and well-being intervention programs,” Moore said.

This marks her third year participating in CHS Research Day, and she learns something new each year.

“Research Day is an amazing opportunity to connect with peers and learn about their research,” Moore said. “This year, I learned about the impact of oral contraceptives on insulin resistance, which I hadn’t considered before.” 

Often, Research Day is a time for students to shine. But this year, School of Nursing Assistant Professor Sandra Nolan, who’s in her first year as faculty at UD, also took the stage to give her 60-second poster pitch on compassion fatigue in nurses.

“Thirty percent of new nurses leave the profession in two years, and I believe we are sending new nursing students into the field with signs of compassion fatigue,” Nolan said. “If instructors don’t notice that within themselves and come up with ways to prevent compassion fatigue in our students, we aren’t solving the problem.

“We need to teach young nurses to care about themselves so that they take that value into the profession,” Nolan said.

The nearly 250 CHS Research Day attendees heard from morning keynote speaker Josiane Broussard, director of the Sleep and Metabolism Lab and associate professor of health and exercise science at Colorado State University, about her research into sleep and circadian rhythm disruption and cardiometabolic impacts.

In the afternoon, participants heard from a second keynote speaker, Kimberly Canter, pediatric psychologist and research scientist at Nemours Children’s Hospital Center for Healthcare Delivery Services and associate professor of pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson University. She discussed leveraging design and entrepreneurial thinking to accelerate clinical and community-based research.

The keynote speakers’ presentations and poster sessions fueled thoughtful conversations and aimed to spark new collaborations.

“Research Day epitomizes the vibrant and productive culture flourishing in the College,” said Farquhar. “This opportunity to celebrate and showcase our thriving research enterprise and share ideas reaffirms its status as a cornerstone of academic excellence within CHS.”