September 15, 2017

Faculty Accolades

Judy Ensslin, MS, RDN, LDN, program director of CNHP’s EAT.RIGHT.NOW., was elected to the Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Program Directors (PA-NEP-D) Executive Committee. She also presented at the National Community Action Partnership Convention on August 31, 2017. Ensslin was part of a panel entitled: “Healthy Place Settings: Using Place Based Strategies to Promote Healthy Food Choices.”

Jim DiDomenico, nutrition educator for CNHP’s  EAT.RIGHT.NOW. program, received the Distinguished Service Award from Widener Memorial School for his commitment to the students. Widener is a school for disabled students in grades K-12.  He received this award on June 16.

Ellen Bass, PhD was appointed chair of the College’s Department of Health Systems and Sciences Research effective September 1, 2017. Bass shares a joint appointment in CNHP and College of Computing and Informatics (CCI). She also holds affiliate status in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems. Bass joined Drexel University in January 2013 and from 2015-2017 served as the inaugural department head of CCI’s Department of Information Science.

Sponsored Research

Keyanna Bynum, a nursing undergraduate coop student, received funding through an NIH NINR Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health Related Research. This is a 4-year administrative supplement to the parent R01 Grant “Enhanced Ultrasound treatment of chronic wounds with monitoring of healing and quality of life outcomes.” The supplement will specifically support Bynum during her co-op where she will be conducting the long-term follow-up of our study participants under our mentorship. Rose Ann DiMaria-Ghalili, PhD, associate professor in doctoral nursing and nutrition sciences and Peter Lewin, PhD, the Richard B. Beard Distinguished University Professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems will serve as Bynum’s mentors on this award.

Publications

Nancy Gerber, PhD, ATR-BC, LPC, creative arts therapies PhD student, Kate Myers-Coffman, and alumni Gioia Chilton, PhD and Victoria Scotti, PhD have published chapters in Handbook of Arts-based Research, a seminal work edited by Patricia Leavy, PhD, who is at the forefront of arts-based research. Bringing together interdisciplinary leaders in methodology and arts-based research (ABR), this comprehensive handbook explores the synergies between artistic and research practices and addresses issues in designing, implementing, evaluating, and publishing ABR studies.

High-Impact Academic Highlights

CNHP’s new dean Laura N. Gitlin, PhD will be the next Chair of the Advisory Council to the Department of Health and Human Services for the National Alzheimer’s Project Act. She will be replacing Ronald Petersen, MD, PhD. The National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) creates an important opportunity to build upon and leverage HHS programs and other federal efforts to help change the trajectory of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). The law calls for a National Plan for AD/ADRD with input from a public-private Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care and Services. The Advisory Council makes recommendations to HHS for priority actions to expand, coordinate, and condense programs in order to improve the health outcomes of people with AD/ADRD and reduce the financial burden of these conditions on those with the diseases, their families, and society.

College Factual’s 2018 list of best colleges was just released. You can read all about their ranking methodology, but it focuses quality, student loan default rates and outcomes. Included in their list were the top programs around the country and their institutions. Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions claims the number one spot for the best nursing program in the state for a second year in a row and won the number two spot in the country. Drexel University ranks in the top 15 percent overall and 16th in the state of Pennsylvania.

Gloria Ferraro Donnelly, PhD, RN, FAAN, FCPP, professor and dean emerita, has been selected to receive the Student Nurses’ Association of Pennsylvania’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to nursing, education, and nursing students in Pennsylvania. The award will be presented during the Awards Banquet at the 65th Annual Convention and Anniversary Celebration in November.

The Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND®) Board reviewed and approved CNHP’s nutrition sciences programs and have awarded re-accreditation until 2024.

In the Media

Loretta Sweet Jemmott, PhD, vice president of health and healthy equity at Drexel University, was featured in Philadelphia Neighborhoods in an article titled Powelton Village: Cooking and Learning at Drexel University’s Dornsife Center.

Jennifer Quinlan, PhD, an associate professor in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, was interviewed for a Sept. 11 story on NPR’s “Morning Edition” about the bacteria on kitchen sponges and how to eliminate it.