Cedar Crest College

During the 33rd Eastern Nursing Research Society (ENRS) Annual Scientific Sessions, senior nurse anesthesia Doctor of Nurse Practice (DNP) students Daniel Byorick, Jr., BSN, RN, CCRN, SRNA; Anthony Hernandez, BSN, RN, CCRN, SRNA; J. Matthew Lohman, MBA, BSN, RN, CCRN, SRNA; and Hakeem Sanou, BSN, RN, CCRN, SRNA were honored with a 3rd Place Award for their DNP Project poster "Efficacy of a Multimedia Educational Module on Best Practices of Anesthesia Patient Safety." This award is given by ENRS to recognize those making valuable contributions to nursing research.

Neha Haque '24 was awarded a Junior League of the Lehigh Valley STEM Scholarship in recognition for her strong academic record, supportive letter of recommendation and her interview on her interests in pursuing a STEM field for her future.

Lara Struckman, a senior public health student, recently passed the Certified Health Education Specialist exam and will receive the CHES credential upon graduation. The competency-based exam, administered by The National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, measures the application and interpretation of knowledge in seven topic areas pertinent to health education specialists. Lara is the first Cedar Crest student to sit for the exam since the Health Sciences Department aligned the public health curriculum to meet eligibility requirements for the exam.

Lauren Crispina '21, a biology major with a minor in communication studies, presented a talk on her thesis research at the Lehigh Valley Ecology and Evolution Symposium. Her talk was titled "Assessment of microplastic presence, type, and concentration in drinking water on the Cedar Crest College campus." Lauren will be graduating on May 15 with a Bachelor of Science.

Cedar Crest College students were a powerhouse at this year's LVAIC Women's and Gender Studies Conference, which was hosted virtually by Lehigh University on April 24th. Please join us in congratulating the following students for their presentations and commendations. Caroline Roscoe (she/her/hers) - "A Few Good Women: Modern Depictions of Military Women in Film." Lara Struckman (she/her) - "Building Resilience in LGBTQ Youth with Trauma Informed Yoga" Hannah Stott (she/her) - "Life Imitating Art: Social Media, Filters and Self-Image" Carlie Gausch (she/they) - "Hermia & Helena as Protofeminists in A Midsummer Night's Dream" And those who won honorable mentions for best paper: Annie Elizabeth Kreiser (she/her) - "Liminality in Bram Stoker's Dracula," advisor, Dr. LuAnn Fletcher Amaris Sprowl (she/her) - "The Black Feminist Upgrade: An Overdue Conversation about Black Male Sexism against Black Women," advisor, Professor Elizabeth Ortiz

A group of students, under the supervision and support of Dr. Ivonne Miranda, assistant professor of education, and Jill Odegaard, professor of art and department chair, are the authors and illustrators of a personal narrative children's book. The writing and illustrations capture the diversity of experiences that exists among students. These books will be donated to a collaborating school and used as mentor texts by teachers and students. The students are listed below: Julia Pimentel '21 Cynthia Rodriguez '21 Ashley Wilson '23 Grace Dougherty '21 Paige Shingler '21 Hannah Arner '21 Kelli Player '23 Nicole Phillips '22 Jesi Cericola '23 Alexandra Infante '23 Brenna Desborough '21 Abigail Martin '23 Alyssa Garrett '22 Jessica Evans '22 Olivia Roberts '23 Shannon Lynch '21 Cecelia Tabor '21 Arielle Gallicchio '22 Isabel Pichardo '22 Suhail D'Acquisto '24 Sara Berrios '21 Mariella Fuica '21 Erin Slack' 22 Nicole Pierno '21 Autumn Bachert '22 Breena Stalter '23 Alexandria Porchik '24

Master of Science in forensic science candidate Amber Rose was awarded 2nd place for her poster presentation at the Annual Spring Symposium of the Chromatography Forum of the Delaware Valley (CFDV) on April 13, 2021. The title of her poster was "Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry of Aminoindanes, a Lesser-Known Class of Novel Psychoactive Substances." The CFDV is the oldest and most respected chromatography discussion group in the country. It is an organization of professional chemists engaged in chromatographic work who promote, educate and participate in an exchange of information and discussion of mutual interest. The virtual symposium was attended by professional chemists and students throughout the country.

During the 96th Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science, which was held virtually on Saturday, April 10, 2021, four undergraduate students in the sciences were awarded funding for their proposed research. Each student will receive $750 to support their projects. These students will then present the results of their work during the next annual meeting in 2022. The students earning these research grants, with their respective faculty advisers, are listed below: Sydney Heathcott '22 (advised by Dr. John Cigliano, professor of biology) "Trophic transfer of microplastics in a three-level food chain" Giulia Romano '22 (advised by Dr. Lindsey A. Welch, associate professor of chemistry) "Chemiluminescent Detection of Benzodiazepines Catalyzed by Ionic Liquid Metal Complexes" Talia Watson '22 (advised by Dr. Lindsey A. Welch, associate professor of chemistry) "Determination of Ideal Conditions for the Synthesis of Naphthoquinones by Catalytic Oxidation Reaction" Allison Wheelan '22 (advised by Dr. John Cigliano, professor of biology) "The Effects of Ocean Acidification and Ocean Warming on the Embryonic Development of Hummingbird Bobtail Squid, Euprymna berryi".

Thirteen students from the Department of Biological Sciences presented oral or poster presentations at the 96th Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Academy of Sciences on Saturday, April 10. The meeting was hosted virtually by York College in York, PA. Oral Presentations (*=presenter): Erica Nettles '21* and Jennifer Hayden, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology: Impact of lysine acetylation on Mycobacterium smegmatis survival in the presence of isoniazid Ashley Wilkins '21* (coauthors are alumnae Emily Bianchini '20 and Mercedes Melo '21) and Jennifer Hayden, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology: Finding novel antibiotics under our feet Kimberly Hane '21*, Andre Walther, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, and K. Joy Karnas, Ph.D., professor of biology: Quantitative PCR for forensic bodily fluid identification Melissa Culver '22*, and Andre Walther, Ph.D., associate professor of biology: Potential contamination of beer yeast through quantitative PCR with High Resolution Melt analysis Kathlyn Dias '22*, and Andre Walther, Ph.D., associate professor of biology: Identification of Replication Protein A phosphorylation dependent protein-protein interactions via Yeast Two Hybrid system Poster presentations: Khoula Jaber '23* and K. Joy Karnas, Ph.D., professor of biology: fabI gene alteration as a mechanism of triclosan resistance in Enterobacter cloacae Nicole Silva '22*, Zahaira Velasco '22*, and Andre Walther, Ph.D., associate professor of biology: Examination of growth and capsule formation in mutant strains of the oleaginous Yeast, Cryptococcus neoformans to be used in biodiesel production. Khushali Vyas '23*, Carly Wood '21*, and Andre Walther, Ph.D., associate professor of biology: The effect of Replication Protein A phosphorylation on telomere shortening in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using a PCR amplification-based protocol Razan S. Alanazi '21* and Amy E. Faivre, Ph.D., professor of biology: Potential bee pollinators on the Cedar Crest College campus in Allentown, PA Solomaya F. Schwab '22* and Amy E. Faivre, Ph.D., professor of biology: Patterns of Birds Visiting a Feeder in an Open Area on the Cedar Crest College Campus in Allentown, PA

Congratulations to Isabel Pichardo for Best of Show from Cedar Crest College in the Lehigh Valley Collegiate Art Exhibition hosted as an online exhibition with Manifold Global https://manifoldglobal.com/lvcae The juror for the exhibition was Dr. Kevin Richards, Chair of the MFA Program at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Isabel is a Junior at Cedar Crest College. Working as printmaker, using relief as her main technique. She experiments with the matrix by using other materials other than linoleum. Her work mostly inspired by childhood memories, through anecdotal accounts, pictures, or any trinkets from her childhood. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, her work is also influenced by this fact, as she recalls the vivid colors found in the architecture, flora, and fauna of the island. This inspires the color palette she utilizes in her work. The combination of both childhood memories and growing up in the island allow for her to create a reminder of her home and childhood and an avenue to share it.

The Awards Committee of the New Jersey Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (NJAND) selected Dietetic Intern, Mia Funcheon, for the Outstanding Dietetic Student Award (ODSA)-DI Category 2021. The purpose of the ODSA program is to recognize the emerging leadership and achievement of students in ACEND-accredited dietetics education programs and encourage their participation in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Mia will be recognized on the list of outstanding students in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and will receive a congratulatory letter and certificate signed by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics president. Background: Each state can recognize one student from each type of dietetics education program (Didactic Program in Dietetics, Dietetic Internship, Coordinated Program, and Dietetic Technician Program) with a maximum of four per state.

Congratulations to the following Art majors on their acceptance in the Lehigh Valley Collegiate Art Exhibition hosted by Manifold Global, an online gallery. Isabel Pichardo - Studio Art Autumn Bachert - Integrated Art with Psychology Christina Ventrillo - Studio Art Ashleigh Nagy - Integrated Art with Business Cecelia Wright - Studio Art The exhibition opens today, April 2, 2021, and can be accessed at https://manifoldglobal.com/

Senior nurse anesthesia DNP students Daniel Byorick, Jr., BSN, RN, CCRN, SRNA; Anthony Hernandez, BSN, RN, CCRN, SRNA; J. Matthew Lohman, MBA, BSN, RN, CCRN, SRNA; and Hakeem Sanou, BSN, RN, CCRN, SRNA presented their DNP Project poster "Efficacy of a Multimedia Educational Module on Best Practices of Anesthesia Patient Safety" at the Virtual 33rd Eastern Nursing Research Society (ENRS) Annual Scientific Sessions on March 25th. The theme this year was Generating Nursing Science to Meet the Needs of a Diverse Society. The DNP Project is an integral part of the academic experience at the Cedar Crest College School of Nursing, representing students' time and effort put forth to focus on evidence-based improvements on real-world health care challenges.

Amber Rose '21, Cedar Crest College Master of Forensic Science candidate, presented a virtual oral presentation at the Pittcon Conference on March 8, 2021. The title of her presentation was "Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry of Eight Aminoindanes" and was the topic of her thesis research. Her thesis committee is Dr. Thomas Brettell, professor of chemistry, Cedar Crest College; Dr. Marianne Staretz, associate professor of chemistry, Cedar Crest College; and Dr. Monica Joshi, associate professor of chemistry, West Chester University. Dr. Matthew Wood, director of the Ocean County (NJ) Sherriff's Department Forensic Science Laboratory also contributed to the project. Pittcon is a dynamic, transnational exposition and comprehensive technical conference, a venue for presenting the latest advances in research and scientific instrumentation, and a platform for continuing education and career-enhancing opportunity.

Shay Escalera, a senior social work student and president of the Social Work club introduced the college today at the NASW-PA Advocacy Day, this annual advocacy event is attended by all the accredited schools of social work throughout Pennsylvania and represents the advocacy efforts of social work in the state. Social work students were able to meet remotely with Rep. Schlossberg as well.

Nikole Orlemann, a senior social work student intern with Adoptions from the Heart, and Dr. Chelsea Toth, Director of Field Education and Assistant Professor of Social Work, were guests on the 3/18/21 Heart to Heart Podcast. The podcast Season 2 Episode 3 "Reflecting on the Field of Social Work During COVID." The episode description highlighted social workers are essential, "in honor of March being National Social Work Month, we wanted to dive further into what it's like being an essential worker and how the field of social work has been affected by the pandemic." To listen to the podcast access the website https://anchor.fm/a-heart-to-heart-afth/episodes/S2--Ep3--Reflecting-on-the-Field-of-Social-Work-During-COVID-essf2s or search Heart to Heart podcast on Spotify.

Kiera Shellhammer '21, an environmental conservation major and political science minor, completed an internship with House Representative Susan Wild. She credits Dr. Christine Carpino, political science assistant professor and program director, with helping her find this opportunity and apply. While working in Rep. Wild's office, Kiera attended constituent meetings and helped prepare communications for the public.

Jessica Haase, a senior nutrition student in the Didactic Program in Dietetics, has received the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (PAND) Diversity Scholarship. The annual scholarship is awarded to a dietetics student with a diverse background, traditionally underrepresented in the field of dietetics, who demonstrates a commitment to the dietetics profession and exhibits leadership qualities as evidenced by volunteer activities in community organizations, campus activities or other organizations.

The 2021 Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association (EPA) took place virtually this past weekend (March 5- 6). Brice Gardner '21 presented two research projects that she has been conducting at Cedar Crest under the direction of Dr. Kerrie Baker, professor of psychology, in an e-poster video format. A 3-minute video presentation of her first poster entitled COVID-19 Policies and Their Influence on Students' Educational Decisions and a 3-minute video presentation of her second poster entitled Examining the Formality of Email Communications Between Students and Professors were made available for viewing as part of the annual conference. While virtual this year, this conference continued EPA's tradition of offering lectures, symposia and posters to present new developments in psychological science, application and teaching.

The 2021 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science took place virtually the week of February 8. Kimberly Hane '21 presented research that she has been conducting at Cedar Crest under the direction of Dr. K. Joy Karnas, professor of biology, in an e-poster video format. A 3-minute video presentation of her poster entitled qPCR and Microbe Identification for Forensic Blood Pattern Analysis was made available for viewing as part of the annual conference. In addition, her presentation was part of the 2021 AAAS Student E-Poster Competition and reviewed by a panel of judges who selected her as one of the finalists in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology category. Before the meeting, Kim met virtually with the judging panel and gave a 5-minute overview of her work and participated in a Q&A regarding her study. This Zoom Meeting was recorded and broadcast at the annual conference for all participants to view. Kim was awarded the second-place undergraduate student prize in her e-poster category. She will be recognized in an ad in an upcoming issue of the journal Science and on the Annual Meeting website at http://meetings.aaas.org/.

Ashley Wilkins '21 presented a poster at the Tiny Earth Winter Symposium virtual conference on December 14, 2020. The poster entitled "Finding Novel Antibiotics Under Our Feet" was authored by Ashley Wilkins, Mercedes Melo '21, Emily Bianchini '20 and Jennifer Hayden, PhD, assistant professor of biology. Wilkins presented a long-term project initiated by Bianchini in BIO 227 Microbiology in the fall of 2018, continued by Wilkins as an independent research project and further pursued by Wilkins and Melo in BIO 227 in the fall of 2020. Tiny Earth is a network of instructors and students focused on discovering novel antibiotics in the soil, and this winter's online symposium was attended by Tiny Earth partners from across the world.

Biology major Courtney Zimmerman '22 and recent graduate Mercy Melo '21 were authors (with Dr. Allison Cornell, Penn State - Altoona and Dr. J.-F. Therrien, Hawk Mountain) on a research article published in Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. The paper "Nestling physiology is independent of somatic development in a common raptor, the American kestrel (Falco sparverius)" documents individual variation in chick development, particularly for physiological traits. Courtney and Mercy both contributed to data collection in the field, lab work, preliminary data analysis and writing of the paper.

Four Master of Education, Art of Teaching students completed and presented their capstone projects to the Education Department: Danielle Jackson, "Importance of Student Choice of Seating: Traditional Desks and Chairs and Flexible Seating Options," advised by Dr. Melissa Kamyab Danielle Wolk, "The Impact of an Attendance Mentor Program on Chronically Absent, Second-Fifth Grade Students," advised by Dr. Melissa Kamyab Victoria Lindenmuth, "How is Behavior and Teachers' Perceptions affected when Implementing Positive Reinforcement, Classroom Management Strategies Compared to Negative Reinforcement Classroom Management Strategies?," advised by Dr. Ivonne Miranda Allison Pierson, "Early Learning Educators' Perspectives of Administrative Supports: Retaining High Quality Educators," advised by Dr. Ivonne Miranda

Elyse Podgurski has assisted the Education Department Cedar Crest College with the following achievements: Designed and authored the Spring 2020 and Fall 2020 editions of the Education Department Newsletter Assisted the Office Manager in centralizing Education Department data using an MS Access database Updated promotional content for the digital signage in the Education Department hallway Created the promotional flyer and certificate for the Howard Klopp Exemplary Teacher Award Assisted faculty in compiling and reviewing data for out-of-state teaching certification requirements nationwide

Students in the MSN Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program recently presented posters at the St. Luke's 9th Annual Pulmonary and Critical Care Symposium held virtually in October. Senior NP students in Dr. Donna Martonik's class chose to present on the following current issues in healthcare: Emylio Cutiva BSN, RN, CCRN- Tele-ICU: Potential Benefits & Pragmatic Strategies; Shannon Dilger BSN, RN- The Psychological Impact of Pandemics on Health Care Workers; Sherry Evans BSN, RN, CCRN, PHRN- Development of the COACH (Clinical Observation and Critical Help) Nurse Program at Tower Health; Rianna Fornwalt BSN, RN, PCCN-ICU Delirium: Cause, Effect and Treatment; Sarah Kline BSN, RN-Benefits of Massage Therapy for Adult Patients in the Intensive Care Unit; Jennifer Lapp BSN, RN-Milrinone Treatment for Refractory Vasospasm Related to Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage; Janki Patel BSN, RN, CCRN-Intensive Glucose Control in Critically-Ill Patients; Brittany Zebro BSN, RN, CCRN- The Use of Multimodal Analgesia to Reduce Opioid Consumption in Surgical Patients.

Senior biology major Leslie Abreu and recent graduate Miranda Fetchen ('20) are co-authors on a research article published in the journal Environmental Entomology. The article, "Distribution, Survival, and Development of Spotted Lanternfly on Host Plants Found in North America" features a series of experiments that test the preference and suitability of potential host plants for the invasive spotted lanternfly. Miranda conducted one of these experiments in greenhouses on Cedar Crest Campus during the summer of 2018. Leslie worked for the US Department of Agriculture in the same year to conduct several experiments in the field. The findings will be used to make more informed pest management decisions for the spotted lanternfly.

Cedar Crest College Master of Forensic Science graduate student, Jane Berger, was the lead author on a manuscript entitled "Ultraviolet Absorption Properties of Synthetic Cathinones" which was just published in Forensic Chemistry, a leading peer-reviewed journal in forensic science. Also listed as authors: Dr. Marianne Staretz, Cedar Crest College Associate Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Matthew Wood, Director of the Ocean County (NJ) Sheriff's Department Forensic Laboratory, and Dr. Thomas Brettell, Cedar Crest College Professor of Chemistry. The publication can be accessed via the following link: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1bx2Y8nCdIyn3A

At the 46th annual meeting of the Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientists held virtually from October 14-17, Cedar Crest College won 5 of 8 student awards. Considering everything that has happened this year, this is quite an accomplishment. The award and recipients are as follows: Kimberly Hane - Recipient of the George Neighbor Memorial Scholarship; Amber Rose - Recipient of the George Chin Memorial Scholarship; Kirsten Siegfried - Recipient of the Carol De Forest Research Grant (mentor-Lindsey Welch); Alexandra Arabio - Recipient of the Peter De Forest Research Award (undergraduate division) (mentors - James Hammer, Larry Quarino); Amber Rose - Recipient of the Peter De Forest Research Award (graduate division) (mentor - Thomas Brettell).

Psi Chi, an affiliate of the American Psychological Association and American Psychological Society, is the national honor society in psychology. It is open to students with either a major or minor in psychology who have completed at least three courses in the department, have a "B" average, and a cumulative average placing them in the upper third of their class. Lifetime membership is achieved through a formal installation by invitation and is held usually in the spring and fall. President - Mercury Waguespack Vice President - Melanie Paolini Secretary - Brenna Desborough Treasurer - Jennifer Schreiner

Kimberly Hane, a senior Forensic Science and Genetic Engineering double major, has been awarded the George W. Chin Memorial Scholarship, which includes $2,000 and an Associate membership for one year in the NEAFS organization. The review committee felt she was "a well deserving candidate for this scholarship, with strong recommendations from [her] advisors, and well thought out aspirations and goals." In addition to being a strong academic, Kim is a lab assistant in the Department of Biological Sciences and has been conducting forensic DNA-based research in the laboratory of Dr. K. Joy Karnas, Professor of Biology, since her first semester at Cedar Crest. Her primary research project focuses on the use of quantitative PCR for crime scene bloodstain identification, but she has also been advancing a second study examining the use of oral cavity specific microbes to differentiate expirated and impact blood spatter. Kim has previously been awarded research grants from the Pennsylvania Academy of Science and Beta Beta Beta Honor Society to conduct these research projects, and she hopes to present her data in regional and national meetings this year. She will be applying for PhD programs in Molecular Biology and Genetics to continue her academic pursuits after graduation.