The Graduate Student Association (GSA) and the Graduate College welcome the Drexel community to join us for our next Scholars Share: Conversations on Graduate Student Research to hear from current graduate students and postdocs about their Drexel experience and research endeavors moderated by a faculty or professional staff member who will facilitate questions and discussion from the audience.

For more information about Scholars Share and to sign up to present, visit the Scholars Share: Conversations on Graduate Student Research main page.

Thursday, March 3, 2022
12 - 1 p.m. ET

Virtual via Zoom

Watch the Recording 

Requires a Drexel login to SharePoint to view.

Featured Speakers:

Reflecting on benefits and challenges of research from a distance: tele-exercise for individuals with spinal cord injury

Laura A. Baehr PT, DPT

PhD Candidate, Research Fellow
Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences
College of Nursing and Health Professions

Laura Baehr, PT, DPT is a PhD candidate in the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science. She is originally from Abington, PA. She chose Drexel because of her advisor, Dr. Margaret Finley's ongoing work supporting individuals with spinal cord injury and Drexel's connection to the Philadelphia community. She is passionate about reimagining how individuals with disabilities access and experience movement in their daily lives and in exercise settings. Her career goal is to support the health of individuals with chronic disabilities by researching, educating, and delivering equitable opportunities for exercise and wellness. Laura was recently recognized as a Drexel College of Nursing and Health Professions "Person of Purpose". Additionally, she presented her original research (funded by Drexel Cell2Society Graduate Student Pilot Award) at the 2022 American Physical Therapy Combined Sections Meeting. She was awarded at Teck-Kah Lim Graduate Student Travel Subsidy Award to support her participation in the meeting.

Ethical Issues Involving people with intellectual disabilities when accessing sexual and reproductive care

Majd Oteibi MD, MAS, CCRP, FRSPH

Doctor of Health Sciences (DHSc) Student
College of Nursing and Health Professions

Majd Oteibi is a student in the Doctor of Health Sciences program and a graduate minor in maternal and child health. She is a healthcare professional, and a lifelong learner. She completed her medical degree in Moscow, Russia. She completed her clinical internship and trained as an OB/GYN in Jordan. In the US she was involved in clinical trials and had passion for learning the reasons behind the regulations in clinical research so she pursued her master’s degree from the University of California San Diego and California Western School of Law in Health Law which allowed her to bridge gap between medicine and law. Then, she completed a post-graduate training in clinical research at Harvard Medical School where she was selected as the class speaker for the 2019 graduation ceremony. She joined the doctorate program at Drexel to pursue her passion in maternal and child health to learn about reproductive care ethics for people with intellectual disabilities. She is eager to find ways to help improve reproductive medical care and access for people with intellectual disabilities. Besides being a student she is also the CEO of a med/health start-up Validus Institute Inc. based in California, which provides consulting and mentoring services to medical and research sites. She also has passion for teaching and teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses at National University in San Diego as an adjunct professor.

While studying in medical school she was in the Dean’s List and won the Dean’s Award for best student. She also won many awards for her high performance and leadership style. She was also recognized for high quality standards and compliance in clinical trials after multiple sponsor audits- in Chronic Kidney Disease in multi-center trials phases 2 and 3. At Harvard she was recognized by her peers for her outstanding leadership style. Here at Drexel she was the recipient of the Drexel’s 2021 Teaching Assistant Excellent Award.

Majd Oteibi is a member of the GSA Academic Affairs Committee on the Student Development Subcommittee. This subcommittee helps graduate students present their research. She is also the co-chair of the GSA Policy Subcommittee and a member of the GSA Service Subcommittee.

In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, listening to music, and watching movies with her husband and two teenage boys.

Can Video Telematics Provide Ecologically Valid Assessments of Age-Related Driving Changes? A Risky Driving Example

Sophia Lopes

Master's Program in Psychology
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences

Sophia Lopes is a first-generation, M.S. student in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. Originally from Woodbridge, NJ, she earned her B.A. from Kean University. She is interested in neuropsychological assessment, diagnosis, neuroimaging, and clinical intervention after neurological compromise in adult and geriatric populations. Her research interests include traumatic brain injury, dementia, cognitive aging, and activities of daily living. She currently works as a psychometrist and a research assistant in the Applied Neurotechnologies Lab at Drexel University. She was awarded the Teck-Kah Lim Graduate Student Travel Subsidy Award to support her upcoming poster presentation at the International Neuropsychological Society (INS) conference in New Orleans, LA (now virtual). In her spare time, she enjoys socializing with friends, traveling, and doing yoga.

GSA Representative:

Rolando Pena

Master's of Public Health Student in Epidemiology
Dornsife School of Public Health
Student Development Subcommittee Member
GSA's Academic Affairs Committee

Rolando is an MPH in Epidemiology student in the Dornsife School of Public Health. He earned a B.S. from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). He is interested in infectious diseases, vaccines, and therapeutics. There are many emerging infectious diseases for which there are no vaccines or effective treatment. Rolando is interested in determining what factors allow these diseases to be resistant to treatment, and how they might possibly affect a population’s health. His career goal is to become a field epidemiologist and investigate outbreaks, and coordinate and implement interventions to ensure the health and safety of the public. Rolando is also a member of the GSA Academic Affairs Committee on the Student Development Subcommittee. The subcommittee helps graduate students present their research, as well as promote interdepartmental collaboration.

Professional Staff Moderator:

Darin Dunston, BFA

Assistant Director, PhD Programs and Interprofessional Education
Academic Affairs Committee Administrative Liaison
College of Nursing and Health Professions

Darin Dunston, BFA, is Assistant Director, PHD Programs and Interprofessional Education for the College of Nursing and Health Professions. Reporting to Dr. Rose Ann DiMaria-Ghalili, Associate Dean of Interprofessional Research and Development, he oversees the administrative, financial and programmatic affairs of the CNHP Council of PHD Directors, Academic Affairs and Faculty Advancement operations for the College.

Perhaps the most public aspect of Mr. Dunston's work is as producer of the weekly seminar and lecture series for CNHP called Tuesday Topics, which is an informal, regularly designated space designed to connect faculty, students and staff and help grow the interprofessional community within the College. Past events dating back to November 2018 can be found on the CNHP YouTube channel. Additionally, for the CNHP Post Doctoral Researcher community he produces a series of public talks called Post Doc Discussions, which are also available for viewing.

Previously he worked in CNHP as Program Coordinator for the Department of Creative Arts Therapies. Prior to that he worked as Assistant to the Director for the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts and Acting Assistant Dean for the Division of Liberal Arts at The University of the Arts. He is the founding Artistic Director for the Hear Again Radio Project, a theater company that recreates old time radio drama. Look us up on the face book. For many years, he worked as a professional actor, director and theater producer. He lives in Drexel Hill with his wife, two kids, two cats and one dog.