June 1, 2021
Tim Wolf selected to be next Associate Dean for Research
June 1, 2021 (Updated Oct. 22, 2021) Tim Wolf, professor and chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy, has been selected to serve as Associate Dean for Research starting Oct. 1, 2021. The few months’ overlap in titles with Judith Goodman, who will retire after the Fall 2021 semester, will facilitate a smooth transition of responsibilities and continued momentum in research activities. Through restructuring of responsibilities in the Department of Occupational Therapy, Dr. Wolf will also continue to serve as chair of the department. “Dr. Wolf is an accomplished scientist with a robust and meaningful research program,” Dean Kristofer Hagglund said.
May 31, 2021
‘Depressing’: MU study finds unequal treatment between Black and white heart patients
May 31, 2021 A University of Missouri study has revealed racial inequality in the way Black patients with advanced heart disease are treated, with potentially harmful results that can include getting kicked off heart transplant waiting lists. The study focused on the use of a left ventricular assist device, or LVAD, a mechanical pump installed in the body that helps the heart circulate blood. In some cases it can be used while a patient waits for a new heart, acting as a temporary bridge to a transplant. The MU research revealed differences between when Black and white…
May 29, 2021
Ticks multiplying in Kansas and Missouri. Here’s how you and your pet can stay safe
May 29, 2021 Kansas City summers always have a particular bite. The bad news is that ticks are becoming even more plentiful in our neck of the woods, and their seasons are growing longer, now extending into fall. “I don’t think we’re seeing new species. We still have the three to four species of ticks that we’ve had for quite some time,” said Dennis Patton, horticulture agent with Johnson County K-State Research and Extension. “But what I think we are seeing is just increasing numbers of ticks.” Well, that sucks. The good news is you can prevent becoming a blood…
May 14, 2021
MU Family Access Center of Excellence to provide mental health support to Boone County schools
May 14, 2021 MU Family Access Center of Excellence (FACE) of Boone County and Boone County school leaders signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will outline enhanced mental health support for approximately 24,000 school-aged children and their families. These services are made possible by a ¼-cent tax passed by citizens of Boone County in 2012, which created the Boone County Community Services Department’s Services Fund. The MOU between FACE and Boone County schools will allow FACE to create tailored support for children, classrooms, school buildings, and school districts across Boone County. In 2021, FACE merged with the Boone County…
May 13, 2021
Ticking upward: MU researcher studies rise of tick-borne diseases in Midwest
When Ram Raghavan heard from a former colleague at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that a 7-year-old girl had died from Rocky Mountain spotted fever as the result of a tick bite, he thought of his own daughter, also 7 years old at the time, and the potentially fatal danger posed to vulnerable populations by tick-borne diseases. Now a professor at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine and School of Health Professions, Raghavan is an epidemiologist studying how ticks, mosquitoes and other arthropods spread disease that impact people, pets and livestock over time in various geographical regions.
May 4, 2021
Students present at Undergraduate Research Forum
May 3, 2021 Congratulations to all of the Health Professions students that were able to present their research as part of the Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Forum! This event was hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research as part of Undergraduate Research Week. This forum offered undergraduates the opportunity to present their research and scholarly achievements to the Mizzou community! Names and presentation titles of all participating Health Professions students: Lauren Day and Lauren Tigner, SLHS (Mentor: Stacy Wagovich) The Use of Mental State Verbs by Preschool-Age Children Who Stutter and Their Mothers Madison Green, Public Health…
April 27, 2021
Lack of educational opportunities influence drug use for rural youth
April 27, 2021 Having grown up poor in a rural village in Zimbabwe, Wilson Majee saw firsthand as a child the lack of educational opportunities that were easily accessible and how that impacted the youth in his village. Now an associate professor of Health Sciences and Public Health in the University of Missouri School of Health Professions, Majee researches the challenges facing disadvantaged, rural youth. He found in a recent study that young people who are disengaged from their communities are much more likely to participate in risky behaviors such as substance abuse, particularly in rural areas that lack educational…
April 8, 2021
MU study finds racial inequality within heart transplant process
April 8, 2021 A new study from the University of Missouri found that Black patients with advanced heart failure were more likely to receive a left ventricular assist device, or LVAD, later in their disease progression compared to white patients, ultimately resulting in worse health outcomes. Adrianne Frech, an associate professor in the MU School of Health Professions, is a medical sociologist interested in addressing inequalities within the health care system. She was curious if race affected a patient’s ability to access newer versions of LVADs, which are implanted into the chest of a patient with advanced heart failure to…
March 24, 2021
Audio-enhanced storybooks can improve vocabulary of at-risk preschoolers
March 24, 2021 A new study by the University of Missouri has found that using interactive, pre-recorded storybooks can improve the vocabulary of at-risk preschoolers – good news for getting a vulnerable population of children ready for school. “While we are working with children who are only 4 or 5 years old, we teach them the vocabulary words they will need to know when they eventually enter elementary or middle school,” said Elizabeth Kelley, an assistant professor in the MU School of Health Professions, who collaborated with Howard Goldstein at the University of South Florida, on the project. “If we can teach…
March 22, 2021
Crisis Intervention Training reduces stigma of mental illness in prisons
March 22, 2021 Before joining the School of Social Work at the University of Missouri, Professor Kelli E. Canada worked as a community clinical social worker in Chicago. There, many of her clients struggled with mental illness and were dealing with long stints in the prison system. What she discovered was corrections officers play an important role in prisoners’ lives, but often don’t understand how to deal with behaviors associated with mental illness. With that in mind, Canada partnered with the Missouri Department of Corrections (MODOC) to study how adjusting de-escalation techniques could improve corrections officers’ interactions with inmates with mental…