NYITCOM-Arkansas's First NIH Grant Publicized Widely by Local Media

Aug 04, 2020

Arkansas media outlets have widely covered NYITCOM-Arkansas’s first grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As seen in the Jonesboro Sun, AR Money & Politics, Arkansas Business, and NEA Report¸ Jennifer Yanhua Xie, Ph.D., assistant professor of basic sciences at NYITCOM-Arkansas, received a $428,400 multi-year NIH grant to investigate whether Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) can help relieve migraine headaches.

“Preclinical assessment of OMT to reduce the frequency and intensity of migraine episodes remains unexplored, hindering the widespread use of OMT to treat migraine,” Xie said in the Jonesboro Sun story. “Our project is innovative because we use a preclinical model that recapitulates aspects of migraine pathology, including well-accepted biomarkers and clinical-relevant output measures that increase confidence in translation across species. These studies will provide solid evidence to determine the possible utility of OMT for the clinical management of migraine.”

 

Balentine Comments on NYITCOM Reopening in Newsday

Aug 02, 2020

Jerry Balentine, D.O., vice president for health sciences and medical affairs and dean, NYITCOM, was interviewed by Newsday on changes to the medical school's operations due to COVID-19. Balentine notes that NYITCOM's 280 first-year medical students on the Long Island campus will split into “pods” of 20 to 25, and attend discussion groups and labs in person while practicing social distancing. Pods will attend all in-person classes together, so if one student becomes infected with the coronavirus, only members of that pod would be quarantined, not the entire college. In anatomy classes, there will be one student per cadaver rather than several.

 

ETIC Assists Firm in Developing Solution to Prevent Food Tampering

Jul 31, 2020

As seen in Long Island Business News (subscription required) and eNews Channel, the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC) assisted local firm GrubGuard in developing an innovative solution to prevent food contamination and package tampering. The firm's patent-pending hardware and software solution provides a much-needed safeguard for restaurant owners, who ultimately accept responsibility for orders delivered by Uber Eats, DoorDash, and other delivery services.

In LIBN, GrubGuard CEO Zachary Jones thanks the ETIC professionals for their help, stating, “They assisted in creating our functional electronic prototype, including the web application, which collects critical data and provides specific details of a potential packaging breach."

 

NYITCOM Biomarker Research Gains Media Attention

Jul 16, 2020

NYITCOM biomedical research has been featured in outlets such as MSN.com, News Medical, and Medical Xpress, among others. Experts believe that half of heart failure patients likely have low levels of the thyroid hormone T3 in their cardiac tissue, a hormonal imbalance that can worsen heart failure and contribute to other cardiac dysfunction. While giving patients more thyroid hormone may seem like an obvious solution, clinicians have hesitated to do this, as too much T3 could accidentally trigger arrhythmia. Now, new NYITCOM research, which was completed in partnership with experts at FuWai Heart Hospital (Beijing, China), proposes that an existing blood test for the biomarker brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) could help clinicians safely measure and administer just the right amount of T3 to heart failure patients.

“I have been rather obsessed with the need for a serum biomarker for cardiac tissue T3 levels for many years,” says Martin Gerdes, Ph.D., chair and professor of biomedical sciences at NYITCOM, who was one of the study’s researchers. “It dawned on me that the clinical literature showed a very consistent inverse relationship between serum T3 and BNP levels.”

 

Altwicker Comments on Plans to Redesign Notre Dame Cathedral

Jul 15, 2020

As seen in Architectural Digest, Matthias Altwicker, M.U.P, associate professor of Architecture, has commented on plans to modernize the Cathedral of Notre Dame's iconic spire. Following a devastating 2019 fire, former French prime minister Édouard Philippe announced that Paris would hold an international design competition to rebuild and reimagine the spire, a movement that has since been backtracked by France's current president Emmanuel Macron. As noted in the article, Altwicker sees the decision to keep the original design as a way to avoid what has been an extremely fractious public debate. However, he considers the decision a missed opportunity given “Paris’s leadership, historically, in progressive architectural thinking with projects such as the Centre Pompidou.” Altwicker also notes that there is precedent for giving historical sites contemporary redesigns, citing the Kolumba and Wallraf-Richartz museums in Cologne, Germany, as well as monuments that have absorbed different architectural styles over time, such as St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

 

New York Tech Lauds Decision to Rescind ICE Rules Aimed at International College Students

Jul 14, 2020

As seen in Newsday (subscription required), New York Tech was among the institutions that commented on the Trump administration's decision to rescind rules barring international students from remaining in the U.S. if their colleges only offered online courses in the fall due to COVID-19. New York Tech university officials are quoted as saying, “We’re delighted about the news and happy that the advocacy of higher education and government leaders helped.” 

The initial rules rolled out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would have forced international students to leave the country or transfer to another institution if their school only offered online courses in the fall. While the guidelines would likely not have impacted New York Tech students, as the university will offer a hybrid teaching model in the fall, it strongly contradicted the insitution's mission and the values of the higher education system as a whole.

 

Smashing Magazine Cites Kirk's Marketing Research

Jul 09, 2020

Research by School of Management's Colleen Kirk, D.P.S., was featured in the web developer news outlet Smashing Magazine. The article, "Removing Panic From E-Commerce Shipping And Inventory Alerts," quotes Kirk, whose analysis provides valuable insight for marketers on territorial consumer behavior.

“Have you ever felt as if another driver stole your parking spot, or you were upset when someone else nabbed the last sweater that you had your eye on? If so, you experienced psychological ownership. You can feel psychological ownership over pretty much anything that doesn’t belong to you, from the last chocolate truffle in a display case, to the dream home you found on Zillow, and even intangible things like ideas,” she says.

 

Hartford Op-Ed Urges Arkansans to Wear a Mask

Jul 02, 2020

As seen in an op-ed published in Arkansas Money & Politics and AY magazine, Christine Hartford, M.D., assistant professor of Clinical Medicine at NYITCOM-Arkansas, implores readers to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask. While many Americans feel that wearing a mask infringes upon their civil liberties, Harford reminds readers that the long-term cost of not wearing one is far worse than the temporary inconvenience it causes.

“I am truly baffled by some of what I have seen on social media,” says Hartford. “There are countless posts from individuals that react to being told to wear a mask like a toddler throwing a tantrum when they are told to do something they don’t want to do. I don’t understand it. Have they not seen the curves? Have they not heard the number of cases and the number of deaths? Have they not been worried about someone they love being affected by this virus?”

 

QS.com Highlights New York Tech's Swift Response to COVID-19

Jun 29, 2020

QS.com interviewed Nada Anid, Ph.D., vice president for Strategic Communications and External Affairs, and Nichole Barbé, M.Ed., senior director of Graduate and International Admissions, regarding the changes made to New York Tech’s operations and admissions procedures in the wake of COVID-19.

“Our institution, like all others, moved swiftly to remote, synchronous teaching, using Zoom in response to the emergency,” said Anid. “As New York City and Long Island became national epicenters for COVID-19, we continued to use Zoom for over 1,200 courses and, because of fast action by our faculty and IT staff, we were ready when our state governor asked every citizen to shelter in place.”

Barbé notes that all admissions operations were shifted online quickly and within a short period of time. “Previously planned on-campus events for prospective and admitted students were shifted to online events, including virtual information sessions, virtual admissions counseling appointments, and online meet and greet sessions with school deans and faculty,” she said.  

 

Today.com Quotes Sismondo on Infant Hiccups

Jun 23, 2020

In a Today.com story, pediatrician Hilliary Sismondo, M.D., assistant professor of clinical medicine at NYITCOM-Arkansas, discusses hiccups in babies and newborns. Just like in adults, babies have a large muscle between their abdomen and chest called the diaphragm, which can sometimes spasm. While it’s unclear exactly what causes the spasms to occur, Sismondo notes that it is often the parents who are bothered most by the hiccups.  

“Many babies will continue to eat, coo, and play while they have hiccups,” she said. “However, if you are concerned regarding the frequency of your baby’s hiccups, or if the hiccups are accompanied by additional symptoms such as discomfort or vomiting, I would consult with your pediatrician.”

Sismondo also cautions parents against unproven remedies, including gripe juice.