PULSE
FALL 2021
A Publication of the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions
Healthcare Heroes Train Here
Dean’s Message As I write this year’s message for the PULSE, the world is reopening after 18 months of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we were challenged like never before, the COVID-19 crisis revealed the depths of our resilience and creativity as a School. It also taught us that we can do more together than we can apart. In this edition, we highlight the collaborations we have formed within the School and with other organizations to serve our community, secure funding, and train the next generation of healthcare heroes. Our faculty and students continue to have a positive impact on our community. The School of Pharmacy has led the effort in COVID-19 testing and administering vaccines for the University. We also participated in a mass vaccination clinic with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Norfolk, VA. It was an interprofessional event that included physicians, nurses, and paramedics. The Christian Pharmacist Fellowship International student organization collaborated with a local church to address food insecurity and our physical therapy students participated in home construction projects with the Habitat for Humanity. As we endeavor to train the next generation of healthcare professionals, we have partnered with national organizations and local high schools to develop a pipeline. The physical therapy faculty, students, and alumni hosted a virtual seminar in which more than 200 prospective students signed up to participate. The seminar is a tool used by the American Physical Therapy Association to raise awareness about the profession and increase diversity in the applicant pool. Likewise, the School of Pharmacy and Washington High School developed a program to expose underserved minority students to careers in the biomedical sciences and pharmacy. I am also excited about the increasing prominence of our exceptional faculty. Dr. Wang received a new patent for precision biomarkers for prostate cancer. This was a collaborative effort with researchers at Duke and George Washington University. Drs. Treuth and Gere and students in the Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Services departments participated in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Mask Adherence Surveillance at Colleges and Universities Project. We were one of the few Historically Black Universities that participated in the study that evaluated the appropriate use of masks on college campuses. Dr. Maxwell secured funding for two contracts that will focus on mental health and childhood behavioral disorders and Drs. Harris, Santos, and Dang will collaborate with faculty at the University of Maryland School of Medicine on a funded project to develop an interprofessional workforce to address the opioid crisis. Lastly, I have never been prouder of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni as they stepped up to meet the needs of our community. I realize there is more work to do, but I commend them for their commitment to our mission to develop leaders who will improve health in all populations. With Hawk Pride
Rondall E. Allen, B.S., Pharm.D. Dean and Professor
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SCHOOL OF PHARMACY AND HEALTH PROFESSIONS 2 ‘Hard Hat Day’ a Hit with UMES Supporters
DEPARTMENT OF KINESIOLOGY
4 Outstanding Student Award and Mask Adherence Surveillance at Colleges and Universities Project
PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES 5 6 7 8 8
Can a Test Shape the Right Covid Treatment? SEPA Program Completes Another Successful Drug Discovery & Biomedical Summer Camp Hands-On Lab Session/Activity Reimagining Innovation…Degrading Chemicals in an Environmentally Friendly Manner Faculty Awarded New Patent for Prostate Cancer Biomarker
PHARMACY PRACTICE 9 9 10 10 11 12
Frontline Pharmacists Participate in COVID-19 Screenings and Vaccination Events UMES Forms Partnership with Haitian School CPFI Participates in the Adopt-A-Block Mobile Food Pantry Operation Vaccine Project…Vaccinating the Most Vulnerable A FEMA-Nominal Experience: UMES Pharmacy School volunteers Administered COVID-19 Vaccines in Norfolk, Va. Dr. Yen Dang Lands Maryland’s VIP List
PHYSICAL THERAPY 13 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 18
Pandemic Perserverance Newly Minted American - UMES Physical Therapy Student Achieves U.S. Citizenship Welcome: Stephanie McAllister and Thomas K. Pellinger PT Moves Me Ambassador Program 2021 Research Projects Social Advocacy: If It’s Physical, It’s Therapy! Department Publications & Presentations Winner-First Place Graduate Poster Presentation Continuing Education Congratulations to Our Alumni!
PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT 19 19 19 20 20 21 21
PA Faculty Secure Two Contracts on the Eastern Shore UMES PA Faculty Abstract Publication - Dr. Kamil Alzayady PA Faculty Member Elected President for the Maryland Academy of Physician Assistant 2021/2022 Cohort 2022 Hard at Work Their First White Coat Ceremony Cohort 2023 Arrives Students Celebrate PA Week
REHABILITATION SERVICES 22 Welcome New Faculty: Dr. Courtney Ward-Sutton and Héctor José Velázquez Gonzále 23 Rehab Counseling Program Gets $1 Million Grant 24 UMES and UMB Interprofessional Collaboration for Early Childhood Mental Health and Parenting
School of Pharmacy a ‘Hard Hat Day’ a hit with UMES supporters
The university provided invited guests a sneak peek at its new classroom building The University of Maryland Eastern Shore marked the half-way point of construction on its newest classroom building with “Hard Hat Day,” an event that substituted for a groundbreaking ceremony cancelled a year ago by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the $90 million structure is completed, the School of Pharmacy currently spread among six buildings, will be consolidated under one roof and feature state-of-the-art laboratories for training and pharmaceutical research. University leaders envision the three-story building being the first of two phases to create an allied health sciences complex on the east side of campus. UMES offers eight such programs, including graduate degrees in physical therapy and physician assistant studies
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and undergraduate instruction in exercise science and rehabilitation services, which long-range planning recommends be clustered together to foster greater collaboration. It was a sentiment emphasized in remarks by UMES President Heidi M. Anderson and her boss, Dr. Jay Perman, chancellor of the University System of Maryland. Because of COVID-19 mitigation protocols, UMES organized a low-key, invitation-only event that included a small gathering of university supporters and elected officials, including state Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Worcester) and Del. Sheree Sample-Hughes (D-Wicomico), speaker pro tem of the Maryland House of Delegates. “You are well aware of the healthcare
Health Professions
professionals’ shortage we have here on the Eastern Shore and the state of Maryland,” Sample-Hughes said, turning to five current UMES pharmacy students sitting socially distanced on the front row. “We need you.” It was a theme repeated by an appreciative parade of speakers invited to participate in the celebration. Afterwards, guests -- donning hard hats -- toured the first floor of the structure with 125,000 gross square-feet across College Backbone Road from the university’s Engineering and Aviation Science Complex, which opened in 2016. UMES launched its Doctor of Pharmacy program in 2010 under former President Thelma B. Thompson, who enlisted the late state lawmaker, D. Page Elmore, as an ally to help the university
nd Health Professions secure mandatory approvals and funding to create the graduate program. Dr. Carolyn Elmore, his wife, traveled from Florida to attend the event and sentimentally shared that she wished he had lived to see the fruition of one of his favorite constituent service projects. In its first 10 years, UMES’ pharmacy school has produced some 440 licensed pharmacists -- and most recently six doctorates in pharmaceutical science. One Ph.D. graduate is engaged in promising research to create a reliable test that hopefully will help physicians shape an early treatment regimen for patients starting to exhibit COVID-19 symptoms. Dr. Brandy Inkrote Taylor, an alumna who graduated in 2015, said the new building “is quite impressive. When I was here, people really didn’t know there was a pharmacy school at UMES.” “It’s encouraging to hear that the university sees the value in having the various health professions’ students working together,” she said. “It’s so
important.” In the fall of 2020, the Maryland State Arts Council announced UMES qualified for a $260,000 grant through its Public Art Initiative to help the university with coordinated aesthetics for interior décor as well as entrance plazas and sidewalks. Construction was halted for Hard Hat Day ceremonies so guided tours of the partially completed building could
be conducted safely. The building is on schedule to be completed by mid-2022, with the first classes expected to be held starting with the fall semester. Photo page 2: The new SPHP building… a work in progress. Photo top: Posters helped event guests visualize the finished building Photo bottom: The Hard Hat Day group
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DEPARTMENT OF KINESIOLOGY Marina Pereira Cruz received the 20202021 Outstanding Student Award for the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions. Marina earned the award because of her high GPA, her contributions to UMES and the community. Marina was a talented team member of the UMES Volleyball team, recruited from her home in Brazil where she also played volleyball. In the Spring of 2021, Marina was one of the students from the department who participated in the MASCUP research study. She is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, and English. Marina graduated in May 2021 with a B.S. degree in Exercise Science from the Department of Kinesiology.
The Department of Kinesiology participated in the CDC sponsored research study, called the Mask Adherence Surveillance at Colleges and Universities Project (MASCUP). UMES was one of 54 higher education institutions to assist the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a national effort to successfully respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study evaluated the proportion of people who are wearing masks at IHE (Institutions of Higher Education), measured the proportion of people who are wearing a mask correctly at IHE, and the type of mask use. This
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study informed national efforts to improve mitigation efforts by comparing findings across other participating IHE’s. By week ten at UMES, 98.1% of observations were wearing masks, with 92.2% wearing them correctly. Under the direction of Dr. Margarita Treuth, six Kinesiology students volunteered to assist with data collection in the Spring 2021 semester. These students are shown in the picture below from L to R: Nia Fisher, Marina Periera-Cruz, Malik Melhado, Stella Johnson, and Alexis Scott.
Pharmaceutical Sciences Can a test shape the right COVID treatment? UMES alum and private-sector partners think they found one that works A partnership between UMES and a Dorchester County biotech company has produced promising results for a test to guide treatment options for newly diagnosed COVID19 patients. Pending emergency authorization by the federal government, the test shows potential in helping identify effective treatment protocols while alleviating pressure on resources, including healthcare providers on the frontlines. “As soon as we get … the rigorous FDA approval and authorization process, we’ll be able to get … this test directly into the hands of labs and clinicians all around the country, and hopefully, the world,” Dr. Rob Figliozzi told WBAL TV. Figliozzi, a 2020 University of Maryland Eastern Shore alumnus, earned his doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences with a specialization in toxicology. He’s been putting human DNA samples from COVID patients through a rigorous analysis of “biomarkers,” looking for indicators that can project potential seriousness of the infection. “What we found was, that, we’re able to detect the severity of the COVID-19 disease based on these biomarkers,” Figliozzi said in an interview with WBOC TV. A year ago, Figliozzi was working with IES Life Sciences Inc. in Cambridge, Md., which had been focused on developing technology involving its research on lupus and cancer-detection when the pandemic was declared. The team of scientists shifted its attention to taking on the COVID-19 virus. Figliozzi did his doctoral research under Dr. Victor Hsia, who conducts research on the herpes virus, which shares some characteristics with the COVID version. Figliozzi’s familiarity with Hsia’s work helped guide the UMES-IES research partnership in concentrating on biomarkers to gauge how a
body’s immune system responds to the new disease. “We’re looking at individuals’ ... total immune health, and how they’re responding to this infection,” Dr. Figliozzi said in an interview with WUSA TV in Washington, D.C. “And we’re grouping them into little groups. And different groups have different severity levels.” Dr. Ronald Jubin, IES’ cofounder and its chief science officer, said the research efforts have been aimed at developing a roadmap that provides physicians more information about how to develop a customized treatment strategy. “What you’re going to get [is] … maybe two or three levels,” Jubin said in an interview with WUSA. “So, no disease, low disease, high disease.” “The doctor needs to look at and say ‘if a patient has a score of 10, or a one or a five,” he said, “they need to easily understand what that means.” IES’s chief executive officer David Spiegel has seen COVID’s impact up close. “My cousin died on a Saturday from COVID,” he said. “My mother died on the Sunday from COVID ... (the) same weekend.” Figliozzi said a challenge has been trying to measure if an infected patient’s immune system reacts favorably and causes little or no life-threatening symptoms -- or will the virus cause what is known medically as “cytokine storm.” “The virus,” he said, “is hiding from your immune system. The cytokine -- the biomarkers -- (is) being suppressed in ways, and others are being over activated in ways.” “That overreaction and under reaction is what leads to bad symptomology,” Figliozzi told TV reporters. “We need to catch people as early as we can,” he said in his interview with WBAL. “It’s really exciting.” PULSE 2021 | Pharmaceutical Sciences
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SEPA students performing pill counting during a community pharmacy session.
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SEPA Program Completes another Successful Drug Discovery & Biomedical Summer Camp Serving our Local Youth in Somerset County
SEPA students participating in a COVID-19 testing demonstration.
The UMES School of Pharmacy Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program in its third year seeks to provide hands-on drug discovery and training in methodology & tools of biomedical research to high school students in the Somerset County area. During the period from July 26 – August 6, 2021, forty-eight (48) students and four teachers from Washington High and Crisfield High Schools participated in the SEPA summer camp. Since Somerset County Schools were back to in-person learning last Spring, we were able to offer our program in-person at the Somerset County Technical High School while following all required public health measures regarding COVID-19. Being in-person was greatly appreciated by the students and was reflected in the motivation and enthusiasm to participate that the students missed during the past year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the program had a COVID-19 theme from studying the molecular structure of the virus, disease biology, clinical manifestations to strategies for vaccine development. Fifteen (15) faculty members from UMES School of Pharmacy and Health Professions (Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacy Practice, Kinesiology) and Salisbury University (see
chart on page 7) facilitated the hands-on lab activities. They were supported by three graduate students (Faith Osinaga, Rhashanda Haywood & Chad Carrig) who served as peer mentors for the high school students. The students participated in daily learning activities (two 3-hour modules/day) and completed pre- and postprogram surveys. On the last day of the camp, students shared their experiences during a capstone session and participated in a virtual cultural exchange program with high school students from a partnering University of Maryland Baltimore SEPA program (UMB-CURE). Students also made a field trip to the UMES campus, touring several buildings like the Student Services Center, Hytche Center, Engineering and Aviation Science, and School of Pharmacy. While on campus they learned about the pharmacy and health sciences professional programs and participated in a fun and engaging TV production activity. The UMES-SOP SEPA program is supported by funding from the NIH/NIGMS grant R25GM129809. For more details about the program please visit: https://www.umes.edu/Pharmacy/NIHSEPA/.
SEPA students participating in a virtual cultural exchange session with UMB-CURE program students
SEPA students participating in a TV production session at UMES
PULSE 2021 | Pharmaceutical Sciences
Pharmaceutical Sciences HANDS-ON LAB SESSION/ACTIVITY
FACULTY LEADER
Promoting healthy behaviors and disease prevention
Dr. Dana Fasanella
Covid-19 diagnosis and vaccine development
Dr. Peter Wang
Response to a pandemic: Learning about Covid-19 virus and public health through lived experience
Dr. Rich DeBenedetto
Drug discovery and development: Synthesis and identification
Dr. Patrice Jackson-Ayotunde
Opioid abuse and prevention
Dr. Khaled Hasan
Tidal Heath pharmacy operations – (Virtual visit)
Dr. Rachel Cordrey
Community pharmacy experiences
Dr. Tosin David
Going after breast cancer
Dr. Sean Vasaitis
Understanding animal behavior: Sniffy the virtual rat
Dr. Echo Leaver
HPLC/MS Chromatography-The art of separation science
Dr. Adel Karara
Understanding viral infections
Dr. Victor Hsia
Microbial infections and antibiotic resistance
Dr. Madan Kharel
Mechanisms in prostate cancer
Dr. Miguel Martin
Kinesiology and physical fitness
Dr. Margarita Treuth
Photo right: SEPA students performing a Thin Layer Chromatography experiment Photo bottom: SEPA students posing for a group picture outside Somerset Hall
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Reimagining Innovation… Degrading Chemicals in an Environmentally Friendly Manner Pharmaceutical Sciences graduate students (Cui Fang, Faith Osinaga and Himali Gujarati) have devised a protocol for the rapid degradation of agrochemicals and personal care products known to pollute our environment. A special class of these chemicals, so-called, halogenated agrochemicals, constitute a bulk of these man-made agrochemicals that are routinely released in the environment. These chemicals take a long time to degrade causing their accumulation in the environment over time, both in soil and water. Most of the degradation techniques developed thus far involve complicated
procedures, produce secondary hazardous byproducts and are costly. With the supervision of Drs. Kharel and Hsia, Pharmaceutical Sciences graduate students developed a simple, bi-products-free degradation technique that utilizes soil mineral manganese dioxide as a catalyst. Using this technique, the team was capable of degrading a variety of hazardous chemicals. This protocol offers a practical solution for the timely remediation of hazardous agrochemicals in an environment-friendly manner. The work is published in the Journal “Research on Chemical Intermediates 47, 3673–3690 (2021)”
Faculty Awarded New Patent for Prostate Cancer Biomarker
Dr. Peter Wang with his team members Dr. Siyoung Ha, Ms. Himali Gujrati, and Dr. Ali Calderon-Aparicio (from left to right), in front of their Digital Pathology Workstation.
Dr. Peter Wang, Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the School of Pharmacy, is currently leading his National Institutes of Health grant for the third year (5SC1GM127256-03, 9/1/20218/31/2022). Dr. Wang’s research work focused on developing novel diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarkers in aggressive cancers. Dr. Wang’s recent publication highlighted the differential mRNA splicing profiles, derived from a large-scale RNA-seq study, between European American and African American colon cancer
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patients (published in Surgery, PMID:34016457). In addition, a team effort by Dr. Wang and his colleagues at Duke and George Washington University on developing precision biomarkers for prostate cancers has resulted in a US patent (US10982285, issued on April 20, 2021). Dr. Wang’s current research team consists of Drs. Ali Calderon-Aparicio and Dr. Siyoung Ha (research associates with expertise in molecular cancer biology and cancer drug design), PhD student Ms. Himali Gujrati, and himself.
Pharmacy Practice Frontline Pharmacists Participate in COVID-19 Screenings and Vaccination Events The State of Maryland’s executive order authorizes that licensed pharmacists can perform COVID-19 testing. Pharmacists are one of the most accessible professions and under this legislation are allowed to order and collect COVID-19 tests to support Maryland’s long-term testing strategy. The campus has mandated that all faculty, staff, and students be tested regularly to identify COVID-19 infections. Pharmacists at UMES School of Pharmacy (SOP) have been instrumental in administering the coronavirus tests alongside nurses to hundreds of campus members. Pharmacy faculty and students have been trained in how to perform the nasopharyngeal swabs to collect the sample while donning personal protective equipment. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services have given pharmacists authority to administer COVID-19 vaccines to the public. UMES SOP has worked to provide employees and students hundreds of free flu-shots to reduce co-infections with COVID-19. Additionally, students and faculty from the School of Pharmacy partnered with Somerset County Health Department to administer the Moderna COVID-19
Alumni Ryan Fillis performs COVID-19 nasal swab testing.
Pharmacy student volunteers assist with COVID-19 vaccinations.
UMES Forms Partnership with Haitian School
vaccine to the community. The partnership allowed for several on-campus COVID-19 vaccine clinic days that a steady stream of UMES students, faculty and staff took advantage of. The UMES onsite COVID-19 vaccination clinics were staffed by members from the Somerset County health department, students and faculty from the university’s pharmacy school and counterparts from Salisbury University. People receiving the vaccine were monitored for 15 minutes after the vaccination and counseled about possible side effects. Somerset County has the lowest vaccination rates in the State of Maryland due to vaccine hesitancy with rising cases of COVID-19 due to the delta variant. However, UMES SOP’s efforts in COVID-19 testing and vaccinations have allowed UMES to continue classes in-person as campus COVID-19 infection rates have remained low. UMES SOP is committed to working with Somerset County Health Department and other health systems on the Eastern Shore to increase COVID-19 testing and vaccination rates for the medically underserved community.
UMES School of Pharmacy has formed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Episcopal University of Haiti (UNEPH) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 2020. The partnership between the two institutions began when Dr. Frank Nice, a pharmacist specialist in the breastfeeding field who has participated in over 60 medical missions to Haiti, connected the two pharmacy schools together. UNEPH was founded in 1994. It is a non-profit academic institution of the Episcopal Church of Haiti, Anglican Communion. Alongside the traditional triple mission of teaching, research and service to the community, UNEPH contributes to the personal development of its teachers and its nationals. This is done through scholarships in university centers in Haiti and abroad for Master’s or Doctorate degrees and by facilitating the professional integration of its graduates. UNEPH has seven schools in the University system including the School of Medicine where a new pharmacy program has started in 2020. The first class has CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 PULSE 2021 | Pharmacy Practice
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CPFI Participates in the Adopt-A-Block Mobile Food Pantry
Operation Vaccine Project… Vaccinating the Most Vulnerable
By Alyssa Reese, Class of 2022 The UMES Chapter of the Christian Pharmacist Fellowship International (CPFI) had the opportunity to meet the needs of the Salisbury Community during a recent service-learning event on August 28, 2021. Thirteen first and second-year Doctor of Pharmacy students joined their advisor, Dr. Miriam Purnell, for the bi-weekly Adopt-ABlock mobile food pantry outreach. Adopt-A-Block is an outreach ministry of Emmanuel Church in Salisbury, MD. As part of this program, the church “adopted” specific areas of town to deliver food and supplies to the people on those blocks and serve them in other ways too (e.g. prayer, facilitating contact with other community groups, etc.). The day starts at 8:30 am with volunteers packing 200 or more bags of food. The volunteers then split up into teams and go to four different areas in Salisbury. These areas are those with some of the highest food insecurity in the area. The volunteers then go door to door delivering these food items to individuals in the community. The students really enjoyed volunteering and hope to continue participating in this event. Shalaina Johnson, Class of 2023, stated “It was such a pleasure to be a part of Adopt-a-block. I felt a sense of
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joy when we arrived at the homes of families in need and delivered fresh produce and packaged goods. The smile on those families’ faces was enough to make a person’s heart melt. The best part of serving on Adopt-ablock was praying for those families. In my opinion, one of the greatest gifts in life is the gift of giving. In Proverbs chapter 11 verse 25 it states,” A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed”, not only was I refreshed that day I was blessed as well. “Participating in Adopt-A-Block was such a great opportunity. I really enjoyed helping the community and it gave me such clarity and insight on the need to give back. This has also given me the urge to participate in various other activities of said nature”, states Ryan Walker, Class of 2024. The Adopt-A-Block Director, Mark Thompson, stated “The students were amazing. To see dedicated young people, not from this area spend time serving, and then to hear them talk about how they want to continue is what Adopt-A-Block is all about….Find A Need..Fill It, Find A Hurt.. Heal It!!” The UMES CPFI chapter hopes to continue volunteering with Adopt-a-Block regularly this year.
I had the pleasure of working with the Somerset County Health Department as a volunteer for the Operation Vaccine Project. This project, a joint effort by the health department and the Maryland National Guard, was designed to deliver vaccinations to the most vulnerable of populations in the county, especially members of the community over the age of 65. The project consisted of canvassers traveling to selected neighborhoods in small groups and traveling door-to-door to have conversations about the pandemic, address concerns, and offer COVID-19 vaccines. If an individual was unvaccinated, they were given the option of having a unit from the National Guard dispatched to their neighborhood to administer the vaccine in the comfort of their own home. Education materials were also disseminated that included information regarding the vaccines and how/where CONTINUED NEXT PAGE
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to receive more information if interested. I am a lifelong resident of Somerset County. I have witnessed firsthand the disconnect between public health initiatives offered by the local health department and the lifestyles in my community. As an aspiring community pharmacist, I will be interacting with members of my community daily. This experience with the health department was enlightening, and it allowed me to determine deficiencies in health literacy that shape the perceptions of individuals within my hometown. This exposure as a canvasser allowed me to improve my communication skills, gave me a better understanding of various lifestyles and customs, and overall helped me to develop a more complete approach to care that will allow me to work to combat healthcare disparities. Although pharmacists are predominant on the front lines of micro-level public health, the promotion of population health provides the foundation for optimal therapeutic outcomes. Volunteering for this project allowed me to gain an inside perspective on the mission and efforts of public health at its core of operation. I look forward to more opportunities to promote wellness within my community. This volunteer opportunity was made available to UMES pharmacy students as a result of an ongoing public health partnership between Dr. Lana Sherr, Assistant Dean for Professional Affairs at UMES School of Pharmacy, and Ms. Sharon Lynch, Director of Health Planning and Prevention at Somerset County Health Department. The goal is to look for opportunities in the community to help improve vaccine access and vaccine equity in lowincome neighborhoods.
A FEMA-nominal experience UMES pharmacy school volunteers administered COVID-19 vaccines in Norfolk, Va. By Randi Wright, Michelle Yang & Dr. Hoai-An Truong
When most people think of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes spring to mind. As the COVID-19 pandemic raged across the globe, FEMA’s approach to public health crises expanded to a much broader inclusion of healthcare professions. Starting in late March, the agency collaborated with the Department of Defense, U.S. Public Health Service, U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard to coordinate mass vaccination efforts across the country, with one such clinic operating 120 miles south of Princess Anne in Norfolk, Va. The week following UMES’ 2021 spring commencement -- May 17 through May 22 -- we had the opportunity to serve alongside individuals from various professions, backgrounds and states, including pharmacists, physicians, nurses, paramedics and emergency medical technicians from various federal agencies or volunteers from the private sector. We worked as volunteer vaccinators at the mass vaccination clinic and were also assigned to visit remote sites in underserved areas of Norfolk and neighboring Hampton, Va. We went to churches, high schools and jails in those communities. Over the past 2½ months, this mass vaccination effort delivered more than 75,000 inoculations in the Tidewater, Va. area,
including 310 vaccines that we were able to administer. This FEMA deployment provided us ample opportunity to address patient care in a public health emergency response setting in a variety of ways. As immunizers, we encountered and worked to reconcile vaccine hesitancy and trypanophobia -- “fear of the needle” -- through providing education and demonstrating compassion. As members of the pharmacy profession, we contributed to the vaccine preparation, quality control and administration of the two-step Pfizer vaccine, as well as the singledose counterpart produced by Johnson & Johnson. This has been such a rewarding experience, not only from the benefits delivered to the community, but also through the connections with pharmacy colleagues from across the country we made along the way. FEMA’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mission broadened our understanding of what it means to provide patient care on a national scale during a public health emergency. This FEMA deployment provided a hands-on opportunity to take knowledge and skills from the classroom and apply them in the real world -- and underscored pharmacists’ role and contributions to “population health” during a global pandemic. PULSE 2021 | Pharmacy Practice
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Dr. Yen Dang Lands Maryland’s VIP List
The Maryland Daily Record’s VIP (Very Important Professionals) List recognizes Maryland’s leaders who are 40 years old or younger based on their professional accomplishments, community service and a commitment to inspiring change. They are selected by an outside panel of judges, including previous winners and business leaders. This year, Dr. Yen Dang, Associate Professor and Director of Global Health at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy, will be selected to receive the award for her COVID-19 relief efforts. Dr. Yen Dang earned her pharmacy degree at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and completed two years of residency training at Temple University School of Pharmacy. She holds certifications in tobacco cessation from the University of Pennsylvania, public health at the University of Maryland College Park, and leadership and management from Harvard Business School and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She also facilities international exchange programs and medical missions for students and faculty to build on their humanitarian efforts. Her pharmacy journey began by creating programs that focused on management, screening, and health education for low-income, uninsured minorities to reduce mortality from preventable diseases. Since 2014, Dr. Dang has created two CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
approximately 50 students. These students will obtain a Bachelor’s of Pharmacy degree. Although Haiti’s primary language is Haitian Creole, French is spoken at the University level. Learning English as a second language would advance the medical and health sciences student’s ability to travel internationally and work in other English-speaking countries for more employment opportunities. Dr. Yen Dang, Director of Global Health, says that “Haiti is an underdeveloped country with a string of disasters including two major earthquakes, cholera epidemic, and recently a presidential assassination in the middle of a pandemic. These factors make it the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. If we can help provide opportunities for their younger generation, UMES is happy to provide them with resources to better their lives and communities.” The partnership allows for UMES to provide English instruction
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pharmacotherapy clinics at Chesapeake Healthcare in Princess Anne and Pocomoke, Maryland. She manages complex patients with chronic disease states and provides services free-of-charge to a low-income population. She also mentors pharmacy students on rotations to build their patient care skills in medically underserved communities. Additionally, she has collaborated with local health departments to develop screening, treatment, and referral programs for patients with chronic diseases across Maryland. Dr. Dang has worked on initiatives aimed at reducing health disparities in hypertension, diabetes, tobacco, and opioid dependence on the Eastern Shore. Dr. Dang is also active with policy and legislation among the health agencies in the State of Maryland. She was appointed to serve on the Statewide Advisory Commission on Immunizations, the Maryland Medicaid Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, and the SARS CoV-2 Vaccine Technical Advisory Group where she makes recommendations that impact the health and safety of the public at large. She is an active member of Maryland Pharmacist Association (MPhA) and the Federation for International Pharmacists (FIP). She was recognized by The Daily Record as “Maryland’s Top 100 Women” and “Maryland’s Leading 50 Women” in 2019. Dr. Dang states, “COVID-19 has really defined my career, as I’m sure it profoundly impacted all healthcare providers. I was able to help fight COVID-19 on the frontlines through treating patients with COVID-19 infections in the hospital, performing COVID-19 nasal swab testing, and administering COVID-19 vaccinations. It was a mixture of emotions to see families heartbroken from having loved ones dying from COVID-19 to seeing the hope and relief in people’s faces when they receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This pandemic has taught me the value of pharmacists as healthcare providers and reminded me that I entered this profession to first and foremost serve the public. During the pandemic, I served on the Maryland SARS-COVID-19 Vaccine Taskforce and made recommendations about COVID-19 vaccine eligibility and safety to the public. Through this, I look at the number of people I’ve interacted with and hope to think that I was able to help them return to normalcy.” to Haitian students through the use of the Mango Languages— an online platform that provides instruction in over 70 languages which includes English as a second language instruction. This is facilitated through the Centers for Foreign Language Instruction (FLIC) and International Education (CIE) under Director Phillip Broussard. FLIC identified UMES students eager to hold virtual English conversation discussions with UNEPH students. Mr. Broussard states, “while the virtual exchange has been temporarily delayed due to the geopolitical situation in Haiti, FLIC and CIE look forward to helping revive the initial synergy established at the outset of the partnership as soon as possible. FLIC and CIE see this partnership as a great opportunity to enhance scholarly exchanges in areas of the world that need it most, and looks forward to working with the School of Pharmacy to make the relationship with UNEPH an enduring and beneficial one for both students and faculty.”
Physical Therapy Pandemic Perserverance
In March of 2020 the COVID 19 pandemic hit and most of the country quickly locked down. However, here at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the Department of Physical Therapy continued to move forward with teamwork and flexibility. The quick actions taken by the Department of Physical Therapy faculty and staff ensured that safety would be the number one priority. Faculty members quickly learned new teaching techniques so that students could continue their doctoral training and move toward an on-time graduation. During the Summer of 2020, with flexibility and unwavering dedication from all team members, the Class of 2020 was successfully placed at clinical sites and fulfilled their requirements for degree completion. Clinical practicums changed from half day weekly sessions to a week of full day sessions at the end of the semester. Faculty adapted and the program implemented enhanced on-line learning strategies so that courses could continue according to the normal progression. Students returned to campus for in-person laboratory sessions during the fall of 2020. Personal Protective Equipment was issued to everyone in order to safely operate and effectively teach the required skills. COVID-19 testing was performed on a regular basis while simultaneously adhering to current CDC guidelines. The Department of Physical Therapy persevered and thanks to the deeply dedicated and resilient faculty and staff members, the class of 2020 graduated on-time with a smaller in-person ceremony.
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Newly minted American
UMES physical therapy student achieves U.S. citizenship Jan. 6, 2021 will go down in American history as the day democracy faced one of its stiffest challenges when citizens angry about 2020’s presidential election results stormed the Capitol. Akanni Salako, a third-year student in UMES’ physical therapy program, was ineligible to vote for president this past November, but earned that right Jan. 5 -- the day he took and passed the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ civics test. A two decade-plus journey was over. “It felt like I could start my life,” he said. Salako, 28, emigrated from Nigeria with his parents when he was four. “The average person who met me didn’t know I’m an immigrant,” he said. He grew up in the suburbs of Bowie, Md. in Prince George’s County. “There were a lot of things I couldn’t do,” he said. “Like driving. I didn’t have the proper paperwork. In the back of my mind, it always felt like there was something looming over my head.” After graduating from Bowie High School, Salako attended Chesapeake Community College in Wye Mills, Md., where he played basketball and earned an associate’s degree. From there, he enrolled at Virginia Union University in Richmond, majoring in biology and earning a scholarship to play basketball, where at 6-3 he played guard. Salako immersed himself in life at a private, historically black institution, joining Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., serving on the university’s “royal court” and holding the title of Mister 1865. He also earned induction into the National Scientific Honor Society. He graduated from Virginia Union in 2016 and took a year off -unsure what he wanted to do next. During that year, he became a certified personal trainer and started his own business, Salako Fitness. He also turned his attention to studying for the Graduate Record Examination and finding the best fit for his desire to parlay his interest in fitness into a career. UMES emerged as his choice because it “is a good value … and there’s more of a clinical application to what we’re learning.” During his interview to gain admission, Salako impressed Dr. Michelle Sanfilippo, an assistant professor who serves as UMES’ clinical education director, with “his infectious smile, mature demeanor - and
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distinct height.” In the back of Salako’s mind was the Obama administration’s executive order that created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration policy. “It changed my life and started the transition to becoming a citizen,” he said. He said he has encountered those who believe immigrants “make trouble, steal our jobs. They’re just trying to find a livelihood trying to make something of themselves.” As he studied to pass the citizenship test this past fall, he kept reminding himself that “being an immigrant … doesn’t make me any less important. I have things I can contribute if given the opportunity.” “There are a lot of questions you know the average American doesn’t know,” he said. “I studied for three days; it was easy. The way I study, I have a method down.” Salako’s clinical rotations have included a stint at an acute care hospital, where he worked with patients who had orthopedic and neurological challenges as well as those who suffered strokes and traumatic brain injuries. “He has been an excellent addition to our program,” Sanfilippo said, adding that he “is the student who constantly assisted classmates when they needed assistance with hands-on content in the acute care course during the 2019 summer semester.” Classmate Evann Slaughter said, “he’s always there if you need him, but also works so hard for his business. It’s a wonder how he manages to fit everything in.” “He never fails to give anyone in need a helping hand -- without hesitation -- while still managing his health, academics and his business,” classmate Kylie Archibald said. Long-term, Salako’s goal is to be a self-employed physical therapist, combining the training he’s received as a UMES graduate student with what he’s learned being a personal trainer. He called his first semester at UMES a more academically intense experience than “everything I learned as an undergraduate.” “I was challenged,” Salako said, “but I feel I’m prepared” to graduate in September. “Now, there’s nothing that can stop what I’m trying do now,” he said.
WELCOME Stephanie McAllister, PT, DPT, OCS Assistant Professor Dr. McAllister began teaching with the Physical Therapy Department at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in the fall of 2020 and transitioned to a full-time faculty member in the summer of 2021. Prior to this, she provided clinical education opportunities to physical therapy students for over 10 years. Dr. McAllister earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in 2008 from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and has worked in a variety of clinical settings that include hospitalbased acute care, acute and subacute rehabilitation, long term care, home health, and outpatient services. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. McAllister developed an outpatient clinic that is both on-site and mobile in order to improve access to health care for patients/clients in underserved areas. Dr. McAllister is a board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist and a member of the APTA as well as the Orthopedic and Education sections. She continues to provide physical therapy services and pro bono consultations to patients/clients in the community. Her research interests include community-based wellness programs, musculoskeletal injuries associated with water sports, and improving physical activity for all populations. PT Moves Me Ambassador Program Advisors, educators, or influencers play a major role in guiding prospective students to the profession of Physical Therapy. The American Physical Therapy Association launched the Physical Therapy Moves Me student recruitment campaign and ambassador program to make it easier to reach the next generation of physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. For our program, Autumn Smith (Class of 2022) is the student ambassador and Dr. Cynthia Gill is the faculty advisor.
Thomas K. Pellinger PhD, ACSM CEP & EP-C, NSCA CSCS Associate Professor Dr. Pellinger joined the Department of Physical Therapy faculty in the summer of 2020. Prior to his UMES appointment, he worked for 9 years as a Professor, then Program Chair, of the Master of Science in Applied Health Physiology program at Salisbury University. Dr. Pellinger earned his Ph.D. in Human Physiology from the University of Oregon, where his research focused on the relationship between postexercise blood flow and metabolic regulation. In addition to his responsibilities as a Research and Teaching Fellow, he also served as the Testing Coordinator at Oregon’s Bowerman Sports Science Clinic, where he evaluated and assisted a variety of high-level athletes. Prior to starting his doctoral program, he worked as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist, then Clinical Coordinator at Beaufort Memorial Hospital, where he oversaw the Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Employee Wellness, and Weight Management programs. Currently, Dr. Pellinger is exploring the impact of non-invasive interventions on leg blood flow and functional capacity in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). In addition, he and his colleagues are investigating the impact of various factors, including exercise, on arterial stiffness in humans. Dr. Pellinger is a member of the American Physiological Society, American College of Sports Medicine, National Strength and Conditioning Association, and Clinical Exercise Physiology Association.
PT Moves Me Ambassador Program
The PT Moves Me Ambassador Program is designed to: • Raise awareness of the profession of physical therapy • Recruit the next generation of physical therapists and physical therapist assistants • Increase diversity within the applicant pool, and ultimately the profession PULSE 2021 | Physical Therapy
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2021 Research Projects: Comparing Acute: Chronic Workload Ratios in Recreational Runners. Yasmine Darrehmane, Kayleigh Kinnelly, Sara Shaw, Ethan Wolff Advisor: Katherine James. Presentation: Poster 2021 UMES Graduate Studies Research Symposium
Social Advocacy: If It’s Physical, It’s Therapy!
Physical Activity Interventions and Depression Outcome Measures Commonly Used for Individuals with Congestive Heart Failure: A Systematic Review. Raquel Davis, Annelise Brumbley, Shantell Enonuya Advisor: Michael Rabel Presentation: Poster 2021 UMES Graduate Studies Research Symposium The Benefits of Incorporating Powerlifting into Exercise Programs: A Narrative Review. Conor Walsh, Rebecca Johnson, Akanni Salako Advisor: Michael Rabel Presentation: Poster 2021 UMES Graduate Studies Research Symposium The Impact of Shoe Wear on Trunk and Lower Extremity Muscle Activation: A Systematic Review. Kylie Archibald, Evann Slaughter, Margaret Lenz, Miguel Pereyra Advisor: Michael Rabel Presentation: Poster 2021 UMES Graduate Studies Research Symposium The Timed Supine to Stand Test in Older Adults: A Systematic Review. Nicholas Barbely, Shannon Collins, Christopher Kunkel, Alexandria Ramos Advisor: Dennis Klima Presentation: Poster 2021 UMES Graduate Studies Research Symposium Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Disease Progression: The Usefulness and Limitations of Functional Outcome Measures. Students: Sheila Amini, Margaret Blount, Emily Hawkins, Paige LeVora, Kevin O’Donoghue, Zach Robertson, Natalie Speth, Chris Tingle, & Sam Yim Advisors: Dr. Michelle J. Sanfilippo, Dr. Mary E. Layshock and Dr. Leslie P. Keniston Presentations: Poster 2021 UMES Graduate Studies Research Symposium & Poster APTA CSM February 2021 (Virtual) The Impact of a One-Day Comprehensive Interdisciplinary Bone Health Workshop on Bone Health Knowledge and Self-efficacy In Physical Therapists. Students: Ariana Maxwell, Michelle Poulopoulos, Abbey Sauber, Maria Stratakos Advisor(s): Cindy H. Gill, Mary Layshock Presentation: 2021 UMES Research Symposium, Poster Presentation; Winner of Graduate Poster contest
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To promote physical activity with masks and safe social distancing, the DPT first-year students initiated a social advocacy annual tradition by exercising the local dogs at the Wicomico County Humane Society. Our first-year students also participated in home construction with Habitat for Humanity. During the Fall and Spring Semesters, UMES DPT students learned to adapt many sports for their patients to effectively return to their prior level of recreation.
Department Publications & Presentations During the 2020-2021 academic year, the faculty continued to attain scholarly achievements despite the pandemic’s impact on conference and presentation schedules. Below is a summary of the faculty’s accomplishments in publication, presentation, and poster dissemination activities. Peer-Reviewed Publications: • Christopher Prosser, Yoseph Mamo, James Heimdal, Tao Gong & Michael Rabel (2021) Facilitators of African American male PGA members, Sports in Society, DOI:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2021.1889514 • Gimblet CJ, Pellinger TK, LaManca JJ, Ortlip AT, Vance MM, Shepherd M, Moore AT, Staudmyer TB, Townsend ZM, and Werner TJ (2021) Effects of Acute Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation on Arterial Stiffness and Muscle Oxygen Saturation in Young Men. Adv Ortho and Sprts Med: AOASM-146. • Klima, D.W., Rabel, M. Mandelblatt, A. et al (2021). Community-based fall prevention and exercise programs for older adults. Current Geriatrics Reports, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13670-021-00354-w • Hood, E.W. & Klima, D.W. (2021). Poststroke effects on power production in older adults. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 37(1), 2-6, doi:10.1097/TGR.0000000000000296 • Klima, D.W. & Davey, A. (2021). Screening gait performance, falls, and physical activity among Benedictine and Trappist monks. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health. 12, 50132721990187. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2150132721990187 Oral and Poster Presentations: • Niehaus, V, Klima, DW. The effects of Home-based Balance Program Following Deep Brain Stimulation for a Bilateral Upper Extremity Druginduced Tremor: A Case Report. CSM Virtual, March 2021. • Pellinger, TK. Experimental Biology, National Meeting, 2021. The Effects of a 11-Week Resistance Training Program on Arterial Stiffness in Females. (Oral Presentation 4/29/21) • Layshock, Mary E., Gill, Cindy H., Students: Andaya, Czarmaine, Deems, Sydney, Findle, Megan. Do Physical Therapists in Maryland Know About Myotonic Dystrophy? A Preliminary Analysis. APTA CSM Virtual, February 2021. • Sanfilippo, Michelle, Layshock, Mary E., Keniston, Leslie P. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Disease Progression:The Usefulness and Limitations of Functional Outcome Measures. APTA CSM Virtual, February 2021. Invited Presentations: • Keeping our Seniors Moving and Engaged During the Pandemic Dennis Klima, PhD, PT, MS, GCS, NCS, Mary DiBartolo, PhD, MBA, RN-BC, CNE, FGSA, Edmund G. Beacham 48th Annual Conference: Current Topics in Geriatrics (Virtual); Johns Hopkins Medical Institution, March 24, 2021 • “What are you talking about? And do I really need to know this?”: Tools of Engagement so you don’t get these questions Mary E. Layshock, PT, DPT, GCS, LaShawn D. Nastvogel, Ph.D., CSCS. NSCA-CPT, Lombuso S. Khoza, Ph.D. UMES Innovatoins in Teaching & Learning Conference, May 21, 2021
Winner-First Place Graduate Poster Presentation Presentation 2021 UMES Research Symposium The Impact of a One-Day Comprehensive Interdisciplinary Bone Health Workshop on Bone Health Knowledge and Selfefficacy In Physical Therapists. Ariana Maxwell. Michelle Poulopoulos, Abbey Sauber, and Maria Stratakos Advisor(s): Cindy H. Gill, Mary Layshock Presentation: Poster Presentation PULSE 2021 | Physical Therapy
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Continuing Education The Department is dedicated to the ongoing initiative of offering quality continuing education seminars and workshops at affordable costs. The 2020-2021 seminars and workshops included Spasticity: An update in Clinical Management, Pain Neuroscience Education and the GAPP workshop. Another seminar, The Pelvic Floor: The Missing Link to Low Back and Hip Dysfunction is scheduled for the upcoming academic year. Spasticity: An Update In Clinical Management On-line seminar, May 18, 2021 A two-hour virtual seminar, approved by the Maryland Board of Physical Therapy Examiners for 0.2 CEU’s provided participants with a review of proposed mechanisms for spasticity development among patients with a variety of upper motor neuron conditions with Angela Davis, PT, DHSc. Examination procedures focused on those salient outcomes measures which can be utilized to measure spasticity in a variety of clinical settings. Treatment options were presented, including best practice recommendations for stretching, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, aerobic exercise, serial casting, and technology-assisted treadmill training. The continuum of medical interventions were explored, including oral and injected medications therapies, along with efficacy and side effects most commonly encountered in rehabilitation. Pain Neuroscience Education & Its Application to Manual Therapy On-line seminar, March 2, 2021 This two-hour virtual seminar provided the participant with an introduction to Pain Neuroscience Education, with Briana Fedorko, PT, DPT, TPS. The neurological changes involved in the progression from acute to chronic pain states were discussed and appropriate patient education strategies highlighted. Treatment techniques for the hypersensitive and allodynic patient were also reviewed, as well as, how these techniques can be integrated with manual therapy. GAPP WORKSHOP June 2021 The 25th annual Gross Anatomy Pre-matriculation Preparation (GAPP) workshop taught by Dr. Cynthia Gill since 1998 was held this summer in June. The workshop prepares future physical therapy, physician assistant, medical, and dental students for the pace, content, and volume of a health professional gross anatomy course. The workshop has both lecture and laboratory components in which students study the anatomical structures and functions of the thorax and lower extremity using cadaver dissection. The Impact of a One-Day Comprehensive Interdisciplinary Bone Health Workshop on Bone Health Knowledge and Self-efficacy In Physical Therapists. Ariana Maxwell. Michelle Poulopoulos, Abbey Sauber, and Maria Stratakos Advisor(s): Cindy H. Gill, Mary Layshock Presentation: Poster Presentation
Congratulations to our Alumni! The Department would like to congratulate the following alumni on their outstanding achievement of becoming Board Certified Clinical Specialist (2020 and 2021). We recognize the commitment and hard work that was required in order to achieve specialist recognition. The mission of The American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties is “to advance the profession of physical therapy by establishing, maintaining, and promoting standards of excellence for clinical specialization, and by recognizing the advanced knowledge, skills, and experience by physical therapist practitioners through specialist credentialing.” https://specialization. apta.org
Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopedic Physical Therapy Laura Kaufman 2021 MacKenzie Worthington 2021 Jonathan Kretsch 2020
Laura Kaufman ‘18
Kevin Levi-Goerlich ‘18
Makenzie Worthington ‘17
Natalie Snyder ‘18
Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Geriatric Physical Therapy Mary Layshock 2020
Mary Layshock ‘12
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Kevin Levi-Goerlich 2021 Natalie Snyder 2021 Patrick Miller 2020
Brian Lloyd 2020
Brian Lloyd ‘16
Physician Assistant PA Faculty Secure Two Contracts on the Eastern Shore Maryland Department of Health – Behavioral Health Administration Contract Behavioral Health in Pediatric Primary Care (BHIPP)/COVID Emergency Response aims to support primary care providers in assessing and managing mental health concerns in their patients from infancy through the transition into young adulthood.
Johns Hopkins and Kennedy Krieger Early Childhood Curriculum Dr. Maxwell will serve as the Site Principal Investigator
The Kennedy Krieger Institute Tele-education Curriculum is a multi-level curriculum on neurodevelopmental and behavioral disorders of childhood for medical and allied health.
UMES PA Faculty Abstract Publication Dr. Kamil Alzayady
Title: Molecular Characterization of Barley Virus G from Switch grass and Construction of an Infectious Clone
Abstract: Barley Virus G (BVG) is a plant virus belonging to the genus Polerovirus (family Luteoviridae), with a potential threat to grain and biofuel crops from the Gramineae family. Despite a recent report of BVG, infection transmission remains unexplored. In order to characterize and determine the biological and molecular aspects of plant viruses, molecular characterization and construction of infectious clones are key. In the present study, we aim to characterize and determine the biological and molecular aspects of BVG by constructing the viral infectious clones. BVG has 5620 nt single-stranded RNA. We amplified two overlapping PCR fragments (fragment A with 3.9kb and fragment B with 3.3kb) for each viral genome and cloned them into an intermediate vector pCR4. After restriction enzyme digestion and ligation using the unique combination sites both fragments were assembled to have the entire virus sequence in the pCR4 vector. Sequence analysis showed the full-length genome of BVG. The full-length cDNA clone of BVG will be inserted into the pCB301 binary vector under the control of enhancing 35S, ribozyme and NOS terminator. At present, we are optimizing protocols for biolistic bombardment using the BVG infectious clone to study virus-host range as a part of biological characterization.
Mr. Sparta will serve as the Training Director
PA Faculty Member Elected President for the Maryland Academy of Physician Assistant 2021/2022
President Elect: Tim Sparta Vice President: Erin Bernhard Secretary: Karen Hartke Public Relations Director: Jill Heckendorf CME Director: Jennifer Gularson Legislative Director: Brandon McMullen Membership Director: Avia Esposito AAPA Delegates: Jennifer Grover, Tara Mahan, Nguyen Park, Rick Rohrs, and Christina Wojnarwsky Student Representative: David King (University of Maryland Baltimore/Anne Arundel PA Program) PULSE 2021 | Physician Assistant
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Cohort 2022 Hard at Work
Their First White Coat Ceremony
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Cohort 2023 Arrives! All 19 students were greeted and welcomed by Dr. Anderson, Dr. Allen, and the PA Program Faculty and Staff
Students Celebrate PA Week (October 6-12)
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Rehabilitation Services Welcome New Faculty Dr. Courtney Ward-Sutton Originally, from Raleigh, North Carolina, Dr. Ward-Sutton holds a B.A. in Psychology from Bennett College for Women, M.A. in Psychology from North Carolina Central University, and a Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Counseling and Counselor Education at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Most recently, Dr. Ward-Sutton has finished a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the Advanced Rehabilitation Research and Training (ARRT) Program, situated within the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Research and Capacity Building for Minority Entities at Langston University. Although her clinical experience has been diverse, her primary research interests include assistive technology, multicultural issues in counseling, and behavioral health addictions. With over seven years of experience in rehabilitation counseling as an advocate, practitioner, and educator, Dr. Ward-Sutton has successfully played a central role in developing grants, presented at over 30 state, national, and international conferences, and published several peer-reviewed journal articles on research findings. Dr. Ward-Sutton is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) and currently serves as a 2020-2021 National Association of Multicultural Concerns (NAMRC) Board Member.
Héctor José Velázquez Gonzále Héctor José Velázquez González, PhD, MSS, LRC, CRC is a Puerto Rican Clinical Psychologist and Rehabilitation Counselor who excels in the areas of human behavior and graduate-
techniques, and supervising internships at graduate level. His research interest are in prevention of suicidal behavior and in psychosocial aspects of chronic illness and
level teaching. His academic-professional training was
disabilities. Also, he stands out as a speaker at
spent at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto
national and international events and in the academic
Rico (PUCPR) where he obtained a doctorate in
activities in university and professional spaces in
Philosophy in Clinical Psychology, a Master’s degree
Puerto Rico, Colombia, El Salvador, Milan, Lisbon,
in Social Sciences with a specialty in Rehabilitation
Rome and Mexico. He has published in peer-reviewed
Counseling, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Educational Sciences with a specialty in Early Childhood. He has five years of experience as an Associate Professor teaching
journals, such as Duazary Magazine, Pensando Psicología Magazine and Informes Psicológicos Magazine. Recently, he participated in the publication of the book: Suicide and other self-destructive
psychiatric rehabilitation,
behaviors in college students in Colombia
human development, research
and Puerto Rico: actions, interactions and
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meanings.
REHAB COUNSELING PROGRAM GETS $1 MILLION GRANT U.S. Department of Education funding will support graduate student stipend
Dr. William Talley
Dr. Bryan Gere
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s graduate program in rehabilitation counseling is getting an infusion of $1 million from the U.S. Department of Education. UMES will use the federal funding over the next five years to produce “well-qualified personnel available to provide vocational, medical, social and psychological rehabilitation services to people with disabilities.” The money will underwrite stipends for roughly 14 graduate students annually, which Dr. William Talley is hopeful will be viewed as an incentive to choose UMES as the place to pursue a master’s degree. Talley, the department chairman, and faculty colleagues Dr. Bryan Gere and Dr. Leslie Santos, collaborated on writing the grant proposal. “Without properly trained rehabilitation counselors and mental health professionals,” Santos said, “Maryland and surrounding areas will continue to struggle with a shortage of culturally-competent and well-trained providers to work with people with disabilities.” “Those in under-served populations and minority groups will continue to lack access to adequate rehabilitation and mental health services,” she said. “We are proud that with this grant, we will be able to contribute to minimizing these disparities.” Talley, a UMES faculty member for two decades, said the grant from the Rehabilitation Long-Term Training - Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling program ranks among the largest his department has ever received. Talley noted UMES’ counseling rehabilitation program “is wellprepared to provide competitive training in counseling designed to expose students to the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to become highly competent rehabilitation counselors and counseling professionals. UMES offers the only nationally accredited graduate program in rehabilitation counseling on the Delmarva Peninsula. Talley, Gere and Santos are now focused on identifying and recruiting qualified recipients for the first stipends by early 2021.
Dr. Leslie Santos
UMES’ grant proposal pledged the university would make a concerted effort to identify people with disabilities, minorities and individuals from traditionally underserved populations. Prospective stipend recipients include women as well as people from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. The Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling degree at UMES is a two-year, 60-credit program that meets the standards of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs and the Council on Rehabilitation Education, which merged in July 2017. Gere, a UMES alumnus who returned to his alma mater two years ago to teach, said the good news about the grant comes at an opportune time. “With the pandemic, people are finding it hard to come to school,” Gere said. “We’ll be better able to provide funding and support, especially for people who might be thinking about making a career change.” Graduates of rehabilitation counseling programs assist people with disabilities to achieve their personal, career and independent living goals. Public and private vocational rehabilitation agencies, substance abuse settings, Social Security Administration, prisons, schools and insurance companies employ rehabilitation counselors. Students who graduate from UMES’ program meet the educational requirements of the Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists in Maryland and surrounding areas. “This … allows them to apply to become a Certified Rehabilitation Counselors, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors and Licensed Clinical Alcohol & Drugs Counselors.” For Gere, a junior faculty member, writing a successful grant application is an important accomplishment. “I was ecstatic,” he said when the university received confirmation. “We’re trying to recruit more students and retain existing students. This should be of great help.” PULSE 2021 | Rehabilitation Services
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UMES and UMB Interprofessional Collaboration Lands $500K for Early Childhood Mental Health and Parenting Program
Picture (left to right): Dr. Santos, Harris, and Dang are the principal investigators of the project.
With Maryland ranking fifth nationwide in opioid use by pregnant women, increasing awareness to reduce stigma through cross-sector education and the dissemination of prevention interventions is needed to break down the “siloing” of services for children and families. A collaboration between the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore provided by the State Opioid Response Grant for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and Parenting Programs hopes to advance efforts to cross train an interprofessional workforce. Ultimately, the goal of the academiccommunity partnership increases awareness, knowledge, and access to resources, strategies and interventions needed to positively affect the lives of young children and families dealing with opioid use. The project focuses on implementing the delivery of the evidencebased two-generational prevention and mental health intervention Mom Power (MP) in residential addictions facilities, providing virtual support and training, including fidelity and live coaching, to a total of at least 25 participants. MP is an attachment-based group model for mothers and children age 0-5 which aims to enhance sensitive and nurturing parenting, reduce mental health problems, and promote
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positive parent-child relationships among mothers with opiate or stimulant use, and families impacted by opiate or stimulant use. Additionally, the project develops partnerships and collaborations with other institutions of higher education within the state for the purpose of multiplicative expansion of a highly skilled early childhood workforce trained in the above peer recovery models. Drs. Lakeisha Harris (Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research), Leslie Santos (Assistant Professor of the Department of Rehabilitation), and Yen Dang (Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice) will be developing an interprofessional curriculum for healthcare undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Additionally, a State Opioid Response Parenting Program Learning Collaborative to expand awareness and prevention efforts and strengthen cross-sector collaboration to improve outcomes for young children and their families in Baltimore, Frederick, and the Eastern Shore of Maryland will be implemented for workforce development. The project is expected to run until September 2022 for $500,000 in funding by the Maryland Department of Health.
List of Administrators Dr. Heidi Anderson President Dr. Nancy Niemi Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Rondall E. Allen Dean, School of Pharmacy and Health Professions Dr. Timothy Gladwell Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Assessment, School of Pharmacy Dr. Lana Sherr Assistant Dean for Professional Affairs School of Pharmacy Dr. Kawanda Williams Assistant Dean for Experiential Education, School of Pharmacy Dr. Sean Vasaitis Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, School of Pharmacy Dr. Tiffany Maxwell Department Chair, Physician Assistant Dr. Mike Rabel Department Chair, Physical Therapy Dr. Margarita Treuth Department Chair, Kinesiology Dr. William Talley Department Chair, Rehabilitation Services Dr. Victor Hsia Department Chair, Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy Dr. Miriam Purnell Department Chair, Pharmacy Practice and Administration, School of Pharmacy
ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF PHARMACY AND HEALTH PROFESSIONS The School of Pharmacy and Health Professions is committed to preparing graduates who are able to collaborate with other health professionals in an effort to eliminate health disparities to achieve health equity. Our commitment is consistent with the university’s mission of meeting the health care needs of the Eastern Shore, the state, the nation, and the world. The School of Pharmacy and Health Professions consists of six academic departments: Kinesiology, Pharmacy Practice and Administration, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, and Rehabilitation Services. Undergraduate programs include Exercise Science, Rehabilitation Services, and Rehabilitation Psychology. Graduate programs include masters’ degrees in Physician Assistant Studies, Rehabilitation Counseling and Pharmaceutical Sciences and doctoral degrees in Physical Therapy (DPT) , Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD), and Pharmacy (PharmD). The curricula for our programs are dynamic and progressive in order to meet the current and future needs of the health care system. Our students are trained with other health professions students, which helps them to understand the value of interprofessional practice. Also, our low student-to-faculty ratio provides more opportunities for student engagement which is critical to the learning process.
VISION The University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy and Health Professions will be the preeminent institution recognized for developing leaders who improve health in all populations. This magazine is a publication of the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions. To update your mailing information, send an email to pldouglas@umes.edu or call 410-651-8327. For more information about the School, visit our website www.umes.edu/shp. Publication design: Debi Rus, Rus Design, Inc.
MISSION The mission of the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions is to prepare health care professionals and advocates to lead change in health care through interprofessional education, research, and service on the Eastern Shore, in the state, the nation, and the world.
New Pharmacy and Health Professions Building
COMING IN SPRING 2022 We welcome your continued support and your first-time gifts of time and funding to advance the contributions of our alumni, students, faculty and staff. We provide several ways you can engage with and donate to the School and the program of your choosing. • Online donations are made at https://app.mobilecause.com/form/ttKoEw?vid=bni0c
Choose from several giving options in the drop down menu:
• Pharmacy Scholarships • Pharmacy Dean Priority Needs Fund • School of Pharmacy and Health Professions • Mailing address:
UMES Division of Institutional Advancement | J.T. Williams Hall, Suite 2104 | Princess Anne, MD 21853
We also want to stay up to date on what you are doing, your achievements and your significant life events. Please call, e-mail or use this link to share your news with us. https://www.umes.edu/IA/AlumniFriendsUpdateForm/ We look forward to hearing from you soon.