Notebook AHS NEWS AND NOTES #UICBHIS
On a leading mission Anthony Faiola, a three-time Fulbright Scholar to Russia whose current research concerns biomedical informatics and human-computer interaction, was named professor and head of the Department of Biomedical and Health Information Sciences, effective July 1. Faiola was founding director of the Human-Computer Interaction Program in the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). At IUPUI, he held joint appointments as an associate professor in bio-health informatics, humancentered computing and engineering. He also served as executive associate dean of the School of Informatics
and Computing and as director of the school’s Media Arts and Science Program. “We are fortunate to have someone of Dr. Faiola’s background and experience to lead the department,” said Dean Bo Fernhall. In collaboration with a pediatric anesthesiologist, Faiola developed a health information application for use in hospital intensive care units, the Medical Information Visualization Assistant (MIVA). The app helps physicians analyze and track the large amount of data obtained when a patient is monitored in the ICU. “I’m on a mission—to build technologies that support the cognitive abilities of clinicians,” said Faiola. He continues to develop and test the software, which was patented in 2014.
#UICPT
Community through service UIC physical therapy students joined thousands all over the world in giving back to their communities on PT Day of Service Oct. 15. “A lot of what we do as physical therapists is focused on helping people in the clinic. PT Day of Service focuses on helping people in the community,” said Rich Severin, adjunct faculty member in the physical therapy department and doctoral student in rehabilitation science. The first PT Day of Service in 2015 involved more than 3,750 participants and sponsors. Since then, the national organization has grown to include chapters in 39 different countries.
Last year, UIC DPT students volunteered at the Hyde Park Food Pantry and donated over 600 bars of soap for food pantry clients from a department soapbar drive that included donations from a local soap manufacturer. PT Day of Service is a project of the nonprofit organization Move Together. The organization’s projects also include the Quique Ceron Foundation, which sends medical missions to Guatemala; StandUp Kids, which helps combat physical inactivity in children; and the Pro Bono Incubator, which helps students establish probono physical therapy clinics at their institutions.
“You find a project relevant to the community, then implement it,” said Severin, who was UIC’s ambassador in 2015 and is now co-chair of the national organization’s sponsorship committee. This year, UIC doctor of physical therapy students organized a wellness event at an Alsip senior living facility, with mobility screening, cardiovascular screening, nutrition education and group exercise sessions.
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AHS MAGAZINE
WINTER 2017
PT Day of Service participants (left to right): Evan Liu, Paul Sraders, Rich Severin, Robert Waddell, Jake Chase, Charlie Rinchiuso, Jessica Stoner and Orah Peer.