November 6 and 7, 2024: The College of Health and Human Development (HHD) held its second Research Excellence and Innovation Conference. This year’s title was, “Expanding Horizons: Advancing Research Excellence Through Diversity, Collaboration, and Creativity.” Hosted by Dean Mechelle Best and Interim Associate Dean David Wakefield, the two-day conference featured student, faculty, and staff research projects.

Day One:

Planning committee representatives Laurie Gelardi (Nursing) and Andrew Bartlett (Physical Therapy) welcomed the audience, with Bartlett providing an overview.

Interim Associate Dean David Wakefield welcomed participants and guests. In his opening remarks, he talked about some of the ways the conference gives students, faculty, and staff, “an opportunity to showcase the kinds of work we’re doing across the campus and really show how interdisciplinary we are across the College.” He introduced guest speaker, CSUN President Erika D. Beck.

CSUN President Erika D. Beck greeted the audience by celebrating the strengths of Health and Human Development professionals, from dancers and interior designers to medical specialists and those who help us find ways to rejuvenate. “I want to say how grateful I am for our colleagues in Health and Human Development who are actively engaged in addressing the pervasive and systemic inequities across so many dimensions of life outcomes, health outcomes, and for their work in helping to ensure that everyone is able to advance and to prosper in so many dimensions of their lives and the communities that we so proudly serve.” 

The conference was then set into motion—literally—with an uplifting dance performance, Rock and Sway, choreographed by AJ Pati, a CSUN alum who got his Bachelor’s in Kinesiology/Dance (2019) and his Master’s in Kinesiology (’21).  AJ is now Administrative Assistant for the Department of Kinesiology and also serves as adjunct faculty for the Kinesiology/Dance graduate program working closely with Dr. Victoria Jaque. The dance featured CSUN Kinesiology/Dance student dancers under the direction Kinesiology faculty Dr. Paula Thomson.

The Keynote Speaker, Andrew Spencer, President, Caribbean Maritime University, Kingston Jamaica has served as President of Caribbean Maritime since 2022, soon after being conferred with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander by the Governor General, upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Jamaica. A scholar of exceptional standing, Professor Spencer’s extensive research portfolio comprises over 50 scholarly publications.

In his talk, Spencer referenced his background in hospitality and how it has led him to expertise in collaboration among people from different places. “The future we envision is not built on isolated achievements but on the vibrant mosaic of our combined efforts,” he said.  “As we join hands in this endeavor, we expand our horizons – not just geographically or intellectually, but in how we perceive what is possible.”

Conference Host, Dean Mechelle Best expressed appreciation for the students, guests, faculty, staff, and planning committee, and spoke about a commonality she shares with Spencer in that each identifies as “a pracademic.” She went on to define the term “as a person who has a foot in the academic world and a foot in industry, and offers a special perspective on what happens around them.”

Elaborating on the Conference, Best added, “This conference really showcases the amazing things that we can do and that we are doing in this College and shows the potential for what can happen when we come together and we collaborate, and when we dream of whatever our minds can conceive and figure out ways to make those dreams a reality. And certainly, that’s what we do here on this campus and within the CSU.

“We help our students to dream; they come with their own dreams and they perhaps get expanded when they’re with us, but we provide the support to help them to achieve those dreams. So that is really important for me, that we engage with our students, that we support them, that we help them to understand that where they start is not where they will end and the sky really is the limit. And we’re just here to enjoy their ride and to help them get to where they want to be.”

Representatives for our Platinum Sponsors, Premier America Credit Union (PACU), Daisy Castaneda and Aret Guzelses took a moment to talk about the valuable relationship between CSUN and PACU with a vision toward a future with more projects together.

Day Two:

With welcomes from Dean Best and Conference Committee Representatives Andrew Bartlett and Kader Tekkas-Kerman (Nursing) the second day’s activities began.

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Meera Komarraju offered a welcome with insights about the interconnection and commonalities among the disciplines in HHD and the importance of, “research related to diet, nutrition, exercise, different types of health, different age groups, different cultural groups, and thinking of all the things that impact health, including design: these are all things that reflect diversity and innovation.”

Guest Speaker Mike Paciello, Chief Accessibility Officer, Audio Eye is pioneer in accessibility and has been an influential figure in the industry for more than three decades. He wrote the first book on web accessibility and usability (Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities), and has since achieved many notable milestones.  Paciello is also the recipient of the and 2024 HHD Heroes Award, which he would receive on the Friday following the conference.

Paciello talked about how he built a career from inspiration he got from CSUN at the Assisted Tech conference (then the Conference on Disabilities) over 30 years ago. Acting on an invitation to the conference, he found himself realizing that the work he was already doing making documents accessible for the blind could lend itself to an area where his skills were needed. These were the days when the internet was in its infancy and he realized there were no standards or practices in place that would make the internet accessible to people with disabilities.  So, there, at the conference, he began outlining standards. The growth and development of web design was, still is, affected by his influence.

With elaboration on the importance of accessibility for all in both virtual and physical spaces, he called on the audience to look for places where they can apply their talents and bring them forward because they might just have answers others don’t know they even need.

Read about Mike Paciello being honored with the HHD Heroes Award.

The Days’ Events:

Workshops, panels, presentations and posters included a variety of faculty, student, and staff research projects from a workshop on mindfulness and neuroplasticity offered by researcher, author, and international mental performance consultant Anjum Padyal, (faculty, Kinesiology); to a panel for researchers working with Human Subjects, offered by Jennifer Bloom, CSUN IRB/IACUC Regulatory Integrity Analyst with Elizabeth Dabach, Professor, Family and Consumer Sciences and Shane Stecyk, Professor, Kinesiology.

The Conference covered topics such as leadership in nursing; loneliness and mental health among elders with cognitive decline; how lighting affects cognitive performance in older adults; building sustainable homes for the homeless; the role of alcohol use in teen dating violence; the power dynamics of dysfunctional relationships; nutrition and fruit and vegetable intake among WIC participants; utilizing a wilderness setting for expressive writing; behaviors affected by climate change—and that is just a sample.

The Topics and Presentations:

Conference participants engaged in workshops on:

• neuroplasticity
• yoga and meditation
• tips and strategies for grant writing
• community wellness
• leadership

Participated in panel discussions about:

• Meeting alumni professionals to learn how they got where they are
• Energizing to engage with the community
• Community engagement for the common good

Attended presentations on:

• Leadership in Nursing
• Loneliness and mental health among elders with cognitive decline
• Interprofessional collaborations between Physical Therapists and Nurses
• Creating and building sustainable neighborhoods for the homeless
• Community wellness and blood pressure awareness
• Effects of lighting and color on cognitive performance in the aging
• The power dynamics of infidelity
• Human philosophy of endurance sport
• Nutrition among Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participants
• Addressing disparities in maternal morbidity
• Exploration of perceptions in Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) admissions
• Assessing social abuse in intimate partner relationships
• Trauma disclosure difficulties and coping
• Bilingualism in learning
• Bilingualism and lexical understanding
• Experiential reflection and professional growth
• Techniques for professionals working with people who have dementia
• Ways students can center themselves in the academic experience and communicate with advisors to get advising that is centered on their values

And reviewed posters covering topics such as:

• Expressive writing in a wilderness setting
• Coping strategies for depression
• Sepsis detection and intervention
• Breastfeeding and the effect of Augmented Reality on the pumping experience
• The role of innovative technology in assessing diabetes care in Latinx individuals
• Alcohol use and teen dating violence
• Loneliness and psychological distress
• Medication safety
• Bilingualism and learning
• Substance abuse
• Climate change, beliefs and behaviors
• Dance footwear and effects on the body
• Schizophrenia and its management
• Kinematics of dancers
• Generational resilience during covid in southeast Asian communities
• reducing central line bloodstream infections in hospitals
• Childhood coping strategies
• Health disparities

39 Conference Abstracts are available for reading: Read the Abstracts.

See the full Conference schedule.

Find out out more about the Conference Speakers and Presenters.

Conference Sponsors:

Our sponsors make events like the 2024 HHD Research Excellence and Innovation Conference possible. Without their support, we would be unable to offer illuminating and motivating events such as the Research Excellence and Innovation Conference. We are grateful for their attention, caring, and support. 

Platinum Sponsor:

Premier America Credit Union is the official credit union for CSUN, with a partnership with CSUN that keeps getting stronger. For their repeated sponsorship of our conference, we are thankful. The partnership between Premier and CSUN is designed to promote financial well-being and provide savings opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Read HHD’s coverage of the Ribbon Cutting for renaming the Matadome to become the Premier America Credit Union Arena, and the CSUN Athletics coverage as well.

Find out more about Premier America Credit Union.

Gold Sponsor:

California Rehabilitation Institute is a Gold Sponsor of our Conference. “California Rehabilitation Institute provides highly specialized care, advanced treatment and leading-edge technologies that help individuals like you rebuild your life following injury or illness.”  Find out more about California Rehabilitation Institute.

Silver Sponsor:

Dignity Health is a Silver Sponsor of our Conference. “Dignity Health is a nonprofit health care organization that operates more than 40 hospitals and 400 care centers, including urgent and occupational care, imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics. Guided by a mission to provide high-quality, affordable healthcare with compassion, dignity, and respect, our team emphasizes a patient-centered approach, integrating the latest medical technology and practices . . .  and a commitment to holistic and inclusive care.” Find out more about Dignity Health.

Bronze Sponsor:

Maral Farsi is a Bronze Sponsor of our Conference. Farsi is an alumna ’03, Health Sciences) and has been a champion of HHD for many years. Currently, she is Deputy Director of Governmental Affairs at the California Department of Public Health in the Office of Legislative and Governmental Affairs and reports to the Department’s Director and State Public Health Officer. She serves as an appointee of Governor Gavin Newsom. Get to know Maral Farsi

Watch Moments from the Conference:

2024 HHD Conference Organizing Committee:

Andrew Bartlett (Physical Therapy)
Rosalia Garcia Torres (Family and Consumer Sciences/Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science)
Laurie Gelardi (Nursing)
Hessam Ghamari (Family and Consumer Sciences/Interior Design)
Yeonhak Jung, (Kinesiology)
Rodica Kohn (Family and Consumer Sciences/Interior Design)
Patchareeya (Patty) Kwan (Health Sciences)
Christine Lamonica (Kinesiology)
Zarmine Naccashian (Nursing)
Jennifer Newman (Health Sciences)
HeeKyung Sung (Recreation and Tourism Management)
Kader Tekkas-Kerman (Nursing)

Communications:

Digital Content and Communications: Jean O’Sullivan (HHD Dean’s Office)
Social Media, Videography, and Video Production: Hemanth Suryadevara (HHD Dean’s Office)

Photography and Videography:

CSUN Intersect LA (IXLA)

F2024
Jean O’Sullivan/HHD