16
COM Outlook . Spring 2014
On February 14, the NSU Health
Professions Division coordinated its
fourth Research Day event, which at-
tracted an estimated 3,500 live and
videoconference attendees to the Davie
campus and featured 127 poster and
platform presentations.
Research Day, which is coordinated
by Patrick Hardigan, Ph.D., HPD execu-
tive director of assessment, evaluation,
and faculty development, and Kathleen
Hagen, M.M., HPD director of faculty
development, allows the seven HPD
colleges to spotlight the various research
projects that are germinating through
the creativity of their faculty members,
students, and collaborative partners.
“Research Day has helped NSU identify
gifted researchers who have made new
discoveries that have greatly impacted
society,” Dr. Hardigan explained. “The
event has also helped launch many re-
search and academic careers.”
As has been the case at every Re-
search Day, the College of Osteopathic
Medicine played an integral role in the
event, with Elliot Sklar, Ph.D., M.S., as-
sistant professor of public health, family
medicine, and disaster and emergency
preparedness, serving as the point per-
son for all NSU-COM-related oral and
poster presentations. In all, NSU-COM
students and faculty members contrib-
uted 9 oral and 11 poster presentations
to the event and collaborated with a
variety of individuals from other HPD
colleges and hospitals across South
Florida. Collaborations such as these
help to make NSU’s research activities
rich and vibrant.
Because most health professionals
hope to become clinicians once they
complete their various educational re-
quirements, Hagen sees added value in
coordinating such a vital research event
every two years. “Most students are
working toward becoming clinicians,
but if they have a chance to learn about
this other area they can get into and
broaden their horizons, I believe we can
play a role in nurturing a new genera-
tion of researchers,” she said. “They just
need the exposure to see how it’s done
and how to pursue the research path if
that’s something that interests them. In
addition, faculty members have their
own spirit of research renewed when
they get to see what their colleagues
are doing. With HPD Research Day and
the groundbreaking for the Center for
Collaborative Research, there is a real
sense of momentum for much more
research being done at NSU.”
“There are not enough physicians
doing research today, especially D.O.s,
so if we could inspire some of our stu-
dents to pursue a research career, that
would be a great outcome,” Dr. Hardi-
gan said. “If even one or two students
gain an interest in doing research based
on what they learned during Research
Day, we’ve accomplished our goal.”
During the event, a number of
students were honored for their exem-
plary research projects, including Lud-
milla Paul, a Master of Public Health
student who received a $100 Barnes &
Noble gift card for her podium presen-
tation entitled “Relationship Between
TV Watching and Attitudes Toward
Fast Food.”
Collaboration, Innovation on Display
at HPD Research Day
Research/Scholarly Activity -
Faculty and Student Achievements
Nicole Cook, Ph.D., M.P.A., assistant professor
of public health (right) congratulates Ludmilla
Paul on her award-winning presentation.
