Zwibel Addresses Role of Healthcare Providers in eSports on The Academic Minute

Feb 01, 2019

In an NYIT Week segment of The Academic Minute, Hallie Zwibel, D.O., director, NYIT Center for Sports Medicine, who also oversees the Center for eSports Medicine, explains how eSports is changing the way healthcare providers evaluate college athletes. While the word ‘‘athlete” may not conjure images of one playing a video game, Zwibel contends that like any other sport, eSports comes with its fair share of health considerations.

“In addition to promoting exercise to address a sedentary lifestyle, [sports medicine] professionals have a responsibility to treat eye strain and wrist pain from computer use, provide postural assessments to ease and prevent neck or back discomfort, evaluate for addictive behaviors, and counsel on LED screens altering sleep,” says Zwibel. “The rise of eSports is more than a fad, and [we] have the ability to help these individuals, as we would any other athlete.”

 

Zwibel Weighs in on Cryotherapy in U.S. News and World Report

Jan 31, 2019

Hallie Zwibel, D.O., director, NYIT Center for Sports Medicine, was quoted in U.S. News and World Report on whole body cryotherapy, a growing trend popping up in U.S. gyms and spas.

As mentioned in the story, whole body cryotherapy, which essentially means cold treatment, is a procedure that exposes the body to temperatures colder than negative 200 degrees Fahrenheit for two to four minutes. While it’s been used to treat conditions such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis in Japan since the late 1970s, it’s only been used in western countries for the past few decades, primarily to alleviate muscle soreness for elite athletes. Acknowledging that the therapy is not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Zwibel cautions people with an allergy to cold or nerve issues from participating in cryotherapy, as it may worsen their condition.

 

Dong Discusses 3-D Modeling to Assess Urban Sustainability on The Academic Minute

Jan 31, 2019

For NYIT Week on The Academic Minute, Cecilia Dong, Ph.D. of the College of Engineering and Computing Sciences notes the increasing threat of extreme weather conditions, and explains how modeling tools can help engineers and urban leaders build infrastructure that can stand up to climate change. She states:

“As governments, utilities, project developers, and investors decide how to best prepare for this future, they need to be able to understand, quantify, and visualize the range of interdependent impacts of their possible choices before they have to commit. …Better investments in urban infrastructure mean that, at a future extreme weather event, we will have fewer mandatory evacuations, fewer people stranded in upper floors of tall buildings, fewer cars waiting in lines at gas stations, and a safer, more reliable supply of water and food.”

Dong is currently working with an NYIT team and other partners to develop a 3-D visualization tool that will help urban leaders simulate and visualize the consequences of preventive sustainability measures.

 

Gibb Advocates for Phage Therapy Research on The Academic Minute

Jan 30, 2019

As heard on NYIT Week on The Academic Minute, Bryan Gibb, Ph.D., College of Arts and Sciences, discusses the potential for bacteriophage therapy to treat antibiotic resistance. He notes that while phage therapy has been used successfully in Eastern European countries such as the Republic of Georgia and Poland, it has not been explored to its full potential in the U.S.

“Phages, which quickly evolve just like the mutating bacteria they fight, have a major edge over antibiotics, but their flexible nature also makes them difficult to evaluate in a traditional clinical trial setting,” says Gibb. “To overcome this challenge, the FDA would need to establish a separate approval track for phage therapy.”

 

Restivo Op-ed Publishes in Salon

Jan 29, 2019

Solitary confinement is dangerous for juveniles. It causes severe psychological harm and impedes reintegration into society, writes Emily Restivo, Ph.D., associate professor of behavioral sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, in a Salon op-ed. “It's time to put convicted teenagers in correctional facilities with people their own age, and prohibit solitary confinement for those under the age of 18,” she notes.

Solitary confinement does nothing to rehabilitate young offenders. “We need to ensure children tried and convicted as adults are placed in juvenile facilities. Once there, they should be given opportunities to socialize with other kids and receive the support services they need to one day become productive, law-abiding adults,” she adds.

 

Kim on The Academic Minute: Inclusive Architecture at DMZ Border Can Improve Inter-Korea Relations

Jan 29, 2019

During NYIT Week on The Academic Minute, School of Architecture and Design’s Dongsei Kim examines architecture’s impact on nation-state borders, and how lines drawn at different scales can be inclusive. Kim notes that by deconstructing the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) through architectural methods, architects and designers can challenge long-held assumptions and preconceived views to better understand the “other” beyond the border.

“My research examines the nature of spatial borders that define us versus them, so that architects can visualize spatial conditions of borders like the DMZ and remap them to envision new alternative futures,” he says.

 

Treister Explains How Hospitals Can Avert The Cost of Uncompensated Care on The Academic Minute

Jan 28, 2019

For NYIT Week on The Academic Minute, School of Health Professions’ Pamela Treister discusses her research on the fiscal state of healthcare. Since the 1986 passage of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, ER staff is required to treat all patients, whether or not they have insurance. As Treister explains, this has resulted in an increased volume of uncompensated care, which has caused many healthcare facilities to close and nearby centers to become overcrowded.

To ease this fiscal burden, Treister advocates for preventative treatments among undocumented immigrants, many of whom rely on Emergency Medicaid, and improved understanding of Health Savings Accounts among high-deductible insurance holders.

“Emergency Medicaid costs the nation about $2 billion each year, and one premature birth resulting from lack of prenatal care can cost the same as a dozen healthy births,” says Treister. “Primary and preventative care can avoid exacerbation of symptoms, costly ER visits, and public health crises. Reallocating federal funds to prevent and manage chronic health conditions for undocumented immigrants could greatly reduce uncompensated care.”

 

Anid Comments on High Demand for Tech Graduates in Newsday

Jan 25, 2019

In the Newsday article, “Tech Talent Shortage Squeezing Long Island Businesses,” Nada Anid, Ph.D., vice president for strategic communications and external affairs, discusses how Amazon's arrival will create an even higher demand for tech graduates. Currently, hundreds of jobs are going unfilled, and experts say the hiring problem may get worse under Amazon's plan for Queens. With the increased competition from New York City employers, Long Island firms will likely be forced to increase salaries, says Anid, who also notes an upside for smaller or medium-sized companies.

“What I see happening is an influx of companies into Long Island because of its proximity to Queens and New York City," she says. "It’s going to be this whole solar system that revolves around Amazon.”

 

Happel Shares Pespective on Physician Performance and Diabetes Guidelines in Healio

Jan 24, 2019

Comments from diabetes expert Patricia Happel, D.O., associate professor of family medicine, NYITCOM, and associate medical director, NYIT Academic Health Care Center, have been featured in the medical news outlet Healio. Happel shares her perspective on research claiming there is a “substantial gap” in primary care physician (PCP) adherence to the American Diabetes Association’s guidelines for monitoring diabetes. She notes several factors that may have affected this study, including whether patients were seen by endocrinologists, rather than PCPs, for their diabetes management. She also poses solutions to track diabetes testing, and cites NYIT Academic Health Care Center’s own success in this area.

“If a patient with diabetes has his or her condition managed by an endocrinologist, then the PCP may not be responsible for ordering the HbA1c and/or lipid panel. Many patients with type 1 diabetes, as well as type 2 diabetes, with difficulty managing blood sugar levels may rely on their endocrinologist to order and manage their testing,” says Happel.

 

CBS Features Center for Sports Medicine Concussion Research

Jan 21, 2019

In a segment that aired nationally on CBSN and locally on several network affiliates, such as New York’s WCBS, NYIT Center for Sports Medicine’s Hallie Zwibel, D.O., discusses his team’s findings that children experience concussion symptoms longer than adults. In addition to the length of symptoms in children, the study also found that strict rest, traditionally prescribed to concussion patients of all age groups, may not be as beneficial as previously believed.

“We found that more than 48 hours of strict rest actually has negative consequences. So getting children, adolescents, adults back in their activities–school, work–is actually producing better outcomes,” said Zwibel.