Interdisciplinary health sciences conference presents research and awards

The 2014 biennial Interdisciplinary Doctoral Research Conference was held on Friday, July 25 from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the Health and Human Services Building. The conference, which originated in 2004, provides a venue for interdisciplinary health sciences doctoral students who have completed the required academic course sequence to make formal presentations on their research practicum studies. The student whose presentation is judged the strongest by a panel of judges receives the Pisaneschi Prize for the Best Scientific Presentation. Current students and alumni are also invited to present posters on any aspect of their research, and they are eligible to receive the R.C. Wardley Award for the Best Scientific Poster.

This year’s Pisaneschi Prize was awarded to Josh Scott, a third year doctoral student and occupational research consultant for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for his talk “Variation in Wildland Firefighter Hazardous Carbon Monoxide Exposure by Fuel Model, Fire Activity and Region.” Among its impacts, this research has the potential to significantly influence work place practices and administrative controls that would reduce hazardous exposures for wildland firefighters. The 2014 R.C. Wardley Award was presented to Jennifer Harrison, third year doctoral student and School of Social Work faculty member, for her co-authored poster “Maternal Ethnicity, Age, and Income Characteristics Associated with Breastfeeding.”  Implications of this research include the development of culturally humble and stakeholder-led breastfeeding education and promotion to younger and poorer mothers. 

Left to right back row: Kieran Fogarty, Kirk VanderMolen, Jennifer Harrison, Ed Roth, Berta Griffin-Stover, Raju Chowdhary Left to right front row: Nicole Bradford, Anne Riddering, Molly Bathje, Sharon Long, Monica Kwasnik, Josh Scott, Amy Curtis and Nicki Nelson.