National Accolades for SHMS Students At the annual conference of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, SHMS students received top honors. Shontelle Berfet, Davya Newby, Amanda Viereck, Liana Jurgensen, Jennifer Goonetilleke and Bridget Desmarais (pictured above, left to right) presented their research poster, “Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Immunizations: College Students’ Beliefs,” which was named one of the three best student posters at the 2015 conference. Their
research advisor was Associate Professor Denise Rizzolo, PhD, PA-C. Student research in the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology program also was nationally recognized. Jessica Saks received the Student Travel Award to attend the 2015 Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders, where she and her faculty mentor, Associate Professor Nina Capone Singleton, PhD, CCC-SLP, presented “Durable Links Take Shape.”
The Healing Power of Art and Poetry A trio of unexpected collaborators — two poets and a neuroscientist — gathered at the inaugural South by South Orange festival to discuss a new therapy for maladies such depression and dementia. SHMS’ Fortunato Battaglia, MD, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Interprofessional Health Sciences and Health Administration, co-presented “Don’t Take a Pill, Write a Poem,” a dialogue about the burgeoning field of neuroaesthetics. Battaglia’s research identifies ways to harness the brain’s natural response to art and poetry. “Looking at something beautiful tends to engage us and focus us more,” Battaglia says, explaining how people with brain disease or injury might benefit from a neuroaesthetic
approach to therapy. “Art appreciation and observation trigger a reaction in the brain, and we’re looking at that from a scientific — not just a social — point of view.” Neuroaesthetics is part of an even larger field of neurohumanities, which Battaglia
Master of Healthcare Administration students continue to garner national attention. Denise Buchanan received a scholarship from the American College of Healthcare Executives; Zola Felix was selected for an internship with the American Hospital Association-affiliated Institute for Diversity in Health Management’s Summer Enrichment Program; and Elizabeth Oskierko received the Upsilon Phi Delta Award from the Association of University Programs in Health Administration.
likens to a Renaissance approach. “During the Renaissance, scientists were also philosophers, architects and artists,” he says. “Neurohumanities brings all of this thinking together, leading to new, plasticity-based treatments for aging, depression and Alzheimer’s disease.” At the June 2015 festival, Battaglia presented with poets Gary Glazner, BA, the Founder and Executive Director of the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project, and Mark Svenvold, MFA, Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Seton Hall University. Battaglia is also collaborating with Diego Coira, MD, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center, on research that looks at the interplay of conventional medical approaches, evidence-based complementary therapies and brain-stimulation devices to promote well-being. — Jennifer Boscia Smith 5