Featured Stories
Students Bring Telemedicine to Kenya
Twelve Penn State students wanted to improve the health of people living in rural Kenya, so they traveled there in summer 2009 to introduce the idea of telemedicine. The students went as part of a project known as Mashavu (which means “chubby cheeks”—a sign of good health—in Swahili, Kenya’s native language). The group tested health care kiosks that can be used to send health care information to doctors in other locations, who then respond with advice.
“Going into Africa, I really expected that we’d have to win over people’s trust, and we did have to,” said Sara Fucci, a Health Policy and Administration major who went on the trip. “But I think one of the most amazing parts of the experience was how accepting people were and how much they wanted us to help. It made me realize how much of a difference we could make there.”
Read more about telemedicine in Kenya.
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Insect Deli Serves Meal Worms, Crickets, and Global Nutrition Awareness
Those ants on a log aren’t raisins; they’re real ants. And they’re much healthier than a bag of chips or candy. At the annual Great Insect Fair, hosted by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, one professor and several students in the Department of Nutritional Sciences cooked and served delicious insects and tried to make it clear why people all over the world are eating bugs.
Read more about the Insect Deli.
Increasing Diversity in Research
This summer, forty-one students participated in the program at Penn State, and four of those students worked with faculty in the College of Health and Human Development. The focus of SROP is to complete a research project—students become protégés under a faculty member, learning about their mentor’s research and also pursuing a topic of their own. The program also provides students knowledge and guidance on how to apply to graduate school.
Read more about the Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP).
Student Overcomes Near-Fatal Accident
Very few people have been as close to death as Katie Sharkey, and survived. Now, years after her terrible accident, Katie is filled with determination, optimism, and hope.
"I used to cry every time I passed the scene of the accident, just thinking about it," explains Katie. "Now, I look back at April 7, not as the day I almost died, but as the day I lived."
Read more about Katie’s story.
Helping Heal Wounded Warriors
Recreation can improve a person's physical and mental well-being, but people with disabilities or injuries often get excluded from recreation programs. "Wounded warriors" (people in the military with injuries or disabilities) can face further challenges during rehabilitation, as recreational programs are often used for rehabilitative purposes.
Faculty and alumni of the College of Health and Human Development are working to solve this problem. Using funding from the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army, they have created a course for military recreation program managers. The course teaches how people with disabilities think and feel, and some fail-proof methods to help modify existing recreation programs to include all people-regardless of mental or physical disability-ensuring everyone can receive the programs' benefit.
Zinc Pioneers: Mapping the journeys and impact of one little but important mineral
The human body loves zinc. In fact without zinc, humans wouldn’t be able to grow, make babies, feed babies, or fight diseases; over 300 biological functions in the human body rely upon zinc. Even though zinc is incredibly important for our survival, our current understanding is very limited. Only a handful of researchers across the world work on the biology of zinc at the molecular level, and one of those few groups works in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, under the guidance of Dr. Shannon Kelleher, assistant professor of nutritional sciences.
Read more about Zinc Pioneers.
Improving Communities through Tourism
Tourism can be leveraged to benefit communities, but this requires community involvement in all stages of the tourism initiative, from development to implementation. Dr. Duarte Morais and his colleagues recently worked with a Tanzanian community to establish several tourism development strategies, which will improve the local community's livelihood and well-being. The group organized the building of a pottery kiln and booth for a local women’s co-op, and they created a training program for local mountain guides.
Enriching Children’s Lives with Food
Family, friends, and food were brought together at one children's camp this summer. Cook Like a Chef, a collaboration between Penn State Outreach and the College of Health and Human Development, teaches children age 11 to 13 how to cook and gives them the opportunity to experience new foods, with guidance from Anne Quinn Corr, instructor in nutritional sciences and seasoned chef.
Read more about the Cook Like a Chef program.
Students Embark on a Summer-Long Research Exchange Program in Germany
This summer, four graduate students in Penn State’s College of Health and Human Development embarked on a summer-long research exchange program to the University of Jena in Germany.
While there, the students are networking and collaborating with some of the world’s leaders in human development and psychology. Part 1 | Part II
Capstone Project Leads to Valuable Experience
Transitioning from the classroom to the corporate world can be difficult for students. However, students in the Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.) program get an up-close view of the corporate world they are about to enter. As part of the M.H.A. capstone experience, students undertake a semester-long group project in which they take on real-world challenges proposed by companies in the health care industry.
Read more about the capstone experience.
Summer Camps Help Children Fight Obesity
When school’s not in session, it can be difficult to find ways to keep kids off of the couch. Summer camps, however, prove to be a much healthier alternative to TV. Not only do summer camps provide fun, engaging activities for kids, but kids at summer camps meet or exceed the amount of daily physical activity recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.