Alumni

Oct. 6, 2020

Where Empathy Meets Inspiration: Santa’s Helpers

Santa’s Helpers Many of the children Rachel Hughes works with as a pediatric physical therapist can’t play with off-the-shelf electronic toys. “A lot of them have significant motor impairments and can’t push a button to activate the toys,” says Hughes, DPT ’19. The MU Health Care Children’s Therapy Center — where Hughes has worked since she was a student — bought adapted versions of popular toys, which can cost up to five times more than the originals. Knowing the price tag, Hughes was dismayed when one of the adapted toys broke. As she took the toy apart to see…

Oct. 6, 2020

Manufacturing Opportunities

Marym Musab was drawn to her degree in nuclear medicine because it offers opportunities for patient interaction and saving lives. Musab, BHS ’20, trained in the use of radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosing and treating disease. A key feature of her education included a six-week rotation this past spring at the MU Research Reactor, which makes radiopharmaceuticals and ships them worldwide. “I was very impressed with MURR,” Musab says. “We’re always ordering these drugs, but we don’t usually see what’s involved in getting the radiopharmaceuticals out and delivered.” MURR, the country’s most powerful university research reactor, is the sole U.S. producer of…

Sep. 23, 2020

Show Me Collaboration

Alumni from several disciplines talk to students about why collaboration is important Each year the School of Health Professions gathers students from every professional program (Physical Therapy; Occupational Therapy; Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences; Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound, Athletic Training, Respiratory Therapy, and Radiography) for an Interprofessional Education Day.  Through several lectures, workshops, and activities, this event highlights how these professions in practice will rely heavily on collaboration with other disciplines, and how good communication and teamwork will be vital parts of the job in order to provide the best care for patients.  This year, due to COVID-19, the activities…

Aug. 11, 2020

What a Korean Teenage Fashion Trend Reveals About the Culture of Mask-Wearing

In the United States, trust in government has been on a downward trend for two decades and is now near a historic low. To make matters worse, distrust in government is often paired with skepticism toward the health care system, says Carolyn Orbann, a University of Missouri anthropologist who studies how culture affects the spread of infectious diseases.

June 26, 2020

Mizzou May-D

Health Sciences alumnus finds his purpose at Mizzou Frank May III came to Mizzou so he could stay close to family in St. Louis. He left with a purpose: To help improve the health and well-being of as many people as possible. At Clayton High School, May ran track, wrestled and played football, but he was injured his senior year. After surgery, his experience with physical therapy left an impression. He thought that would be a great career. But when he got to Mizzou, he realized becoming a physical therapist wasn’t exactly right for him. A public health class…