Occupational therapy graduate students Roya Rezadoost and Madeleine Ruff sang a Spice Girls song at a recent benefit concert for the Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee. The concert was hosted by Dr. Natalie Michaels, associate professor of occupational therapy. She also partook in the festivities by performing original songs as well as hits from Whitney Houston and Pat Benatar.
Other musicians present included Jim Martin who sang some soft country, including Glen Campbell and songs he’d written, and Rick Michaels, who sang a song by Billy Currington.
The College of Sciences and Mathematics hosted its annual Science Undergraduate Research Symposium (SURS) yesterday, headed by keynote speaker Dr. David Wright. Wright is currently a professor of chemistry and the director of Laboratories for Innovations in Global Health Technologies at Vanderbilt University. He has a B.S. in Chemistry from Tulane University and a Ph.D from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research employs inorganic chemistry, nanotechnology and material science to solve real-world problems. He recently presented his research at a TEDx event in Nashville.
According to Wright, there were 500 million clinical cases of drug-resistant malaria in 2016. This means that “a Titanic a day of kids are dying from a disease that is absolutely curable.” He said that this problem is caused by misdiagnosis and subsequent over-treatment of the disease.
He asserted, then, that the key to treating this problem is a more efficient diagnosis protocol. “What we really need are better tools!” he said. His group aims to solve typical diagnostic problems like supply issues, lack of equipment and minimal record-keeping by developing and implementing low-resource diagnostic tests for malaria.
His team has come up with three viable solutions to these problems using every-day objects, including a redesign of the standard Rapid Diagnostic Strip Test using origami techniques and a cell phone app. He mentioned that “origami has been the inspiration for all kinds of science,” like arterial stints, car airbags and DNA studies. They also devised a model for creating a simpler, more effective testing device using only small beads and a piece of glass from the inspiration of coffee rings on a dining room table, as well as a “glow stick test,” that uses pre-existing, inexpensive and mass-produced toys. All three of these tools can be used to detect a variety of infectious diseases.
The crux of Wright’s research is the development of life-saving medical tools while keeping costs low by adapting and capitalizing on pre-existing technology. His work emphasizes that “all we have to do is open our minds to the possibility of the usefulness of everyday objects.”
Wright’s keynote address was a precursor of the evening’s Science Undergraduate Research Symposium, which is held each fall and gives students in the College of Sciences and Mathematics an opportunity to present their research. Approximately 50 poster and 20 oral presentations were offered by students in biology, psychological science, honors, chemistry, physics, biochemistry and molecular biology, neuroscience, environmental science, math and computer science.
One year after the announcement that Belmont is sponsoring Ken Burns’ upcoming documentary, “Country Music,” another interesting link has been made to the notable documentarian.
Alumnus Tom Mitchell (’72) was featured in a news clip that was used in Burns’ recently released documentary, “The Vietnam War.”
Photo taken by Mitchell in Vietnam
Mitchell served in the front lines of the Vietnam War as a forward air control in the United States Marines. While being interviewed by a reporter overseas, he never dreamed that his service would be broadcast almost 50 years later. When asked about the clip, Mitchell remarked, “You probably wouldn’t recognize me [now], but you would recognize my gravelly, old Southern voice.” When the reporter asked him what he thought of “all of this,” all that Mitchell could say was, “I just want to get out of here and go to school.” Just a few years later, he enrolled at Belmont.
Mitchell, a Purple Heart recipient, met his wife at Belmont and graduated cum laude with a business degree shortly thereafter. They still live in middle Tennessee. When asked about the Vietnam War, he had only this to say: “Like many of the men that served in Vietnam, it made me grow up. I wouldn’t take anything for the experience, but I would not do it again.”
The clip of Mitchell can be seen in Episode 6, “Things Fall Apart,” of “The Vietnam War.”
Belmont University bundled up on Monday evening, Nov. 27, to host its third annual Blizzard on the Boulevard, an event celebrating the beginning of the Christmas season across campus. Held before the Battle of the Boulevard, Belmont’s annual basketball game played against Lipscomb, the celebration included snow machines, holiday treats, Christmas carols and Santa himself.
Students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members gathered around the Christmas tree on Belmont Boulevard to kick off the night’s activities, including cookie decorating and face painting. Attendees demonstrated their Christmas spirit by donating spare change to Ms. Cheap’s Penny Drive, the 9th annual event benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank.
The Blizzard on the Boulevard is an annual event put on by the University Staff Advisory Council and co-sponsored with Athletics, the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership Development, Sodexo and the Student Government Association.
Current associate dean of academic affairs for Ole Miss School of Pharmacy to head Belmont’s program starting Feb. 1, 2018
Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications
Dr. David Gregory, current associate dean of academic affairs at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, has been named as the new dean of Belmont University’s College of Pharmacy. Gregory will succeed founding dean Dr. Phil Johnston, who was recently promoted to a new position as Belmont’s vice provost for academic affairs. Gregory, a native of Nashville, will begin his new position on Belmont’s campus Feb. 1.
Belmont Provost Dr. Thomas Burns said, “As the founding dean of Belmont Pharmacy, Dr. Phil Johnston brought tremendous success and professionalism to the college throughout his decade-long service, and I am grateful that his new position enables all academic areas of the University to benefit from his experience and approach. Securing his replacement required a thorough national search of top candidates, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with the appointment of Dr. David Gregory. His familiarity with Nashville’s healthcare community and his extensive credentials as a practicing pharmacist and educator make him a perfect and seamless fit for our program. Moreover, his commitment to developing compassionate caregivers who will excel at pharmacy practice gives me immense confidence in the future of Belmont Pharmacy.”
Gregory added, “I am honored to be joining the team at Belmont to continue to advance the profession of pharmacy in an ever changing healthcare marketplace. Belmont’s focus on faith and service aligns well with my personal mission to develop pharmacists that are highly knowledgeable and have a transcendent cause in the care of their patients.”
As the chief academic and executive officer for Belmont’s College of Pharmacy, Gregory will be responsible for the programmatic leadership, financial management, personnel administration and planning and development for the approximately 300 students and 29 faculty who make up the college.
In his current role as an associate dean at Ole Miss, Gregory’s responsibilities include leadership of approximately 800 students in both the pre-professional and professional degree programs of the School of Pharmacy along with strategic and visionary planning in the ongoing development of policies, programs, curriculum and clinical practice that align with the educational mission of the School. He oversees daily operations regarding key infrastructure components related to human resources, purchasing, financial management and student support services, and he creates an academic environment of excellence that fosters student growth both professionally and personally while increasing the visibility, advancement and recognition of the School of Pharmacy.
Gregory earned a bachelor’s of science and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Mississippi. Prior to joining Ole Miss in 2013, Gregory spent a significant portion of his career in Nashville with positions of increasing responsibility with Vanderbilt University Medical Center. From 2008-2013, he served as VUMC’s director of pharmacy for education, drug policy, research and clinical pharmacy services within the Department of Pharmaceutical Services. During his time in Nashville, Dr. Gregory also contributed time to the Belmont College of Pharmacy External Advisory Committee.
In addition to his professional duties, he also currently serves as an accreditation surveyor for the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and is a member of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Workforce and Education Council. He received the 2009 University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, the 2011 Belmont University College of Pharmacy Professional Stewardship Award and the 1997 Vanderbilt Hospital Pharmacist of the Year Award, among other accolades.
About the Belmont College of Pharmacy Situated in the health care capital of the world, Belmont University’s College of Pharmacy is dedicated to rigorous and purposeful teaching, scholarship, service and leadership. The College develops pharmacists prepared to meet the demands of an evolving and contemporary practice as 95 percent of spring 2017 graduates recently passed the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination. With five areas of specialized concentration including pharmacotherapy, information management, pharmacy management, pharmacy missions/public health and a PharmD/MBA program, students have the opportunity to tailor their education to their unique passions. Faculty dedicated to student success, state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories, simulation rooms, drug information center and a student-run, working pharmacy combine to create a collaborative educational space where students can learn skills while further developing their pharmacy interests.
As part of this semester’s Home School Science Discovery Program, Dr. Steve Murfree, biology professor, once again hosted “Experiments in Animal Behavior.” This session, designed for grades 4-8, immersed students in the application of the scientific method in order to learn about beta fish. Each group of students designed and conducted a unique experiment after learning about beta fish behavior through designed experiments.
The Home School Science Discoveries program, a community outreach program in the College of Sciences and Mathematics, was started in response to Dr. Murphree’s long-running summer day camp, Beetles, Bugs and Butterflies. The program is open to home schooled students of various ages, and due to limited space, participation is on a first-come basis.
Kappa Pi, Belmont’s International Art Honor Society, in conjunction with the Art Department and Belmont’s Reformed University Fellowship, hosted their annual chili bowl sale last week. This year, the art students contributed their work to a Christmas Art Sale. The proceeds of the sale were split between the artists and Kappa Pi to support the awards for the Annual Student Art Exhibition in the spring.
Students were able to decorate their own chili bowls, eat chili and take the bowls home. According to Caitlyn Henneberry, president of Kappa Pi, “We were very excited about how well these changes were embraced by the art department and the community! The sale happens each year around early November, and it is always so much fun!”
Bill Bradley, the microphone technician for several Nashville studios, recently shared his expertise with Belmont’s chapter of the Audio Engineering Society Student Section at Ocean Way Studio. Bradley’s work is focused in the Mic Shop just outside of Nashville.
Dr. John Maslyn, professor of management in the Massey College of Business, recently published a research study titled “When organizational politics matters: The effects of the perceived frequency and distance of experienced politics” in the Management and Social Sciences journal Human Relations. Colleagues from Wichita State University and University of Colorado-Denver co-authored the research.
The multi-sample study examined the effects of the frequency and psychological distance of positive and negative conceptualizations of perceived politics within work organizations on employees’ positive or negative judgments of such actions. Findings revealed that both positive and negative forms of organizational politics can be judged favorably by employees depending on the frequency, distance and purposes behind the political behavior and suggests that employees’ understanding of the workplace as a political environment helps them understand others and function successfully.
The Jack C. Massey College of Business hosted the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Belgium, Mr. William De Baets, and the President of the Belgian American Chamber of the South, Mr. Anton Mertens, earlier this month. The visit was coordinated by Dr. Christophe Van Linden, Belmont assistant professor of accounting and also a native of Antwerp, Belgium. Other participants included Dean J. Patrick Raines, Dr. Jeffrey Overby and Dr. Marieta Velikova. The group discussed Belgian-U.S. economic and political relations in addition to Belmont’s recent signed memorandum of understanding with the University of Antwerp. The Belgian visitors were on a trip to explore areas of opportunity and collaboration with Nashville and Middle Tennessee and had participated in a roundtable at the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce earlier in the day.
Occupational therapy graduate students Roya Rezadoost and Madeleine Ruff sang a Spice Girls song at a recent benefit concert for the Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee. The concert was hosted by Dr. Natalie Michaels, associate professor of occupational therapy. She also partook in the festivities by performing original songs as well as hits from Whitney Houston and Pat Benatar.
His team has come up with three viable solutions to these problems using every-day objects, including a redesign of the standard Rapid Diagnostic Strip Test using origami techniques and a cell phone app. He mentioned that “origami has been the inspiration for all kinds of science,” like arterial stints, car airbags and DNA studies. They also devised a model for creating a simpler, more effective testing device using only small beads and a piece of glass from the inspiration of coffee rings on a dining room table, as well as a “glow stick test,” that uses pre-existing, inexpensive and mass-produced toys. All three of these tools can be used to detect a variety of infectious diseases.
