The Oregon State College of Health had a strong presence at the 2024 Gerontology Society of America (GSA) Scientific Meeting in Seattle, Washington last week.

The conference showcased the incredible work of current students, recent graduates and faculty, highlighting their contributions to advancing gerontology research.

The Faculty Staff Fitness program recently celebrated 40 years of providing quality fitness programming for the OSU community.

With more than 30 classes each term—from Aqua Zumba to Cardio Weights and the Adaptive Exercise Clinic—FSF offers something for everyone, regardless of ability. FSF is more than just a fitness program; it's a place to embrace wellness and build lasting connections.

Professor Chunhuei Chi was interviewed about pharmacy closures and their impact. Hear his interview "Prescription for disaster: The retreat of pharmacies in Oregon" on KLCC.

Professor Megan McClelland contributed to six publications in 2024 on topics related to childhood education, executive function and school readiness.

Megan is the Katherine E. Smith Professor of Healthy Children and Families at Oregon State University, where she also serves as the endowed director of the Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families in the College of Health.

Health promotion and health behavior MPH student Asia Brown (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) contributed to Ask Your Relative's recent publication, “Ask Your Relative: A Mixed-Method Analysis of the Sexual Health and Healthy Relationship Q&As Submitted by American Indian and Alaska Native Young Adults.” DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-20550-5

Findings from this study may help create additional culturally tailored resources for Native youth.

Mentored by COH instructor Teresa Ashford, Julia Notz, ’24 (then an undergraduate), developed a podcast related to human sexuality called Lets’ Talk About…, which placed second for Multimedia Story of the Year in the Best Podcast category with the Associated Collegiate Press! Julie had taken Teresa’s human sexuality course and reached out to her to serve as her mentor. Julia also presented her project on campus at the Spring Poster Symposium.

Professor Bradley J. Cardinal was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (Sports and Exercise Science [Honoris Causa]) from Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand, during the university’s annual commencement ceremony held October 7-10.

For nearly 25 years, Brad has worked with faculty, staff and students at Kasetsart University. In addition to faculty in Sports and Health Science, he has also worked closely with faculty in Education, Department of Physical Education, as well as other institutions throughout Thailand.

Alexandra Borstad, a clinician with more than 30 years’ experience as a physical therapist, researcher and teacher, recently joined Oregon State University – Cascades as a clinical professor and director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

Professor Sunil Khanna, director of the Center for Global Health and Robert and Sara Rothschild Endowed Chair, recently offered a daylong workshop in Botswana entitled “Empowering Change: Monitoring and Evaluation for Gender and Youth Equity in Botswana.”

Botswana’s Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture sponsored the workshop, and 79 ministry staff members from across the country participated. The workshop focused on enhancing participants’ knowledge and skills in monitoring and evaluation practices specifically tailored to promote gender and youth equity in low-resource settings in Botswana.

HDFS doctoral student Ines De Pierola was chosen as the student recipient of the Feldman Award for Best Conference Proposal, presented by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) Family Policy Section. The award recognizes Ines's proposal, titled "Employer-Provided Paid Family Leave and Material Hardship After Childbirth Among Oregon Mothers."

Professor Brad Cardinal has been recognized for his significant contributions to the field of sport and exercise psychology. A recent article published in Kinesiology Review identified Brad as an eminent researcher in the discipline.

The article also recognized two Oregon State alumni for their achievements: Fuzhong Li and Paul Loprinzi. Congratulations to all three researchers for their dedication to advancing the field.

A $125,000 grant has been awarded to Professor Roberta Riportella and a team of colleagues to train Oregon's traditional health care workers on how to communicate about the importance of adult vaccinations.

The team includes Professor Deborah John, Associate Professor of Practice Robin Maille, Senior Instructor II Katie Ahern and Oralia Mendez, MPH, manager for the Workforce Development and Community Programs in FCH.

The team aims to improve the ability of Oregon’s certified Community Health Workers (CHWs) to deliver vaccination messages to their adult clients. To achieve this goal, they will adapt the evidence-based University of Arkansas course, “How to Talk to Your [Patients] About Vaccinations,” for Oregon’s CHWs working in non-clinical community settings.