PERSPECTIVES 25th Anniversary - Fall-Winter 2018

32 Nova Southeastern University By Jose Antonio, Ph.D., FNSCA, FISSN, Program Director Health and Human Performance Fort Lauderdale Exercise and Sport Science Looking Back at the Establishment of the HHP Exercise and Sport Science Program THESE ARE EXCITING TIMES at Nova Southeastern Universi- ty. Thanks to the transformational gift from Dr. Pallavi Patel, M.D., and Dr. Kiran C. Patel, M.D., the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences and its Department of Health and Human Performance (HHP) are poised to attain world-class status in the sport science field. With our highly experi- enced and internationally renowned faculty, small class sizes, and countless opportunities, the Exercise and Sport Science (EXSC) Program will be at the forefront of teaching and research. Perhaps, unlike other fields of study, exercise and sport science can serve as a way to bridge the gap between several areas in the medical and allied health sciences. There is a natural synergy and opportunity between the exercise and sport science field and others, such as medicine, nutrition, and athletics. Ever since the genesis of the exercise and sport science major a decade ago, our department has grown rapidly. Starting from scratch, we have grown to include more than 150 undergraduate majors. Our stellar faculty includes Monique Mokha, Ph.D., ATC, LAT, CSCS, professor, who joined the HHP department in August 2010. She was the former program director and is a renowned biomechanist. In August 2011, Tobin Silver, Ph.D., CSCS, associate professor, joined the HHP team. Silver, who is skilled in biomechanics and is a well-rounded scientist, also is erudite in exercise physiology and metabolism. In August 2012, Corey Peacock, Ph.D., CSCS, CISSN, CPT, as- sociate professor, joined the HHP Athletic Training Program. He is a strength and conditioning specialist who is widely known for his work with skilled mixed martial arts fighters. In January 2017, Lia Jiannine, Ph.D., CSCS, who brings an in- triguing focus on behavior and fitness, became our newest addition to the department. In January 2018, I became the new program director. I began working at NSU in August 2009 and serve as a leading voice in the world of sports nutrition science. Our team works closely with students to deliver on the NSU mission, which includes academic excellence, intellectual inquiry, research, and commitment to community. Howev- er, the real stars of the Exercise and Sport Science Program are our undergraduate students, who immerse themselves in the educational process, culminating in research presen- tations locally and internationally. For example, EXSC student Kourtney Kostzer worked with Mokha for two semesters implementing gait-retraining strategies in distance runners. They used 3-D motion cap- ture and force measurement to document the changes over a six-week period. Kostzer earned second place at NSU’s Undergraduate Student Symposium in 2016 for an oral presentation of the research. Later that year, a paper was published in the proceedings of the International Society of Biomechanics in sports.