Health Beat
March 2025
College of Health newsletter
All the news that's fit to print
We encourage you to scroll through the whole page, but if you want to skip ahead to a particular section, select from the following.
Visibility
News and stories
These stories are predominately made up from the college's alumni magazine, press releases from OSU News and Research Communications, and media mentions.
John Dunn transformed higher education through his leadership, creating the IMPACT program for people with disabilities and promoting diversity. His lessons focus on listening, showing empathy and expanding access to education for all students.
Implementing injury prevention programs in high school soccer significantly reduces ACL injuries and associated healthcare expenses.
OSU’s Healthy Aging Club took action when Samaritan Village’s activity bus broke, helping secure $65,000+ in funding. Learn how students used grant writing skills to restore transportation for older adults in Corvallis.
Students
Internship spotlights
See how COH students are applying classroom knowledge, building professional networks, and testing out fulfilling careers in health and well-being.
Meet all the internship spotlight students.
Physical Therapy - DPT
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford
Cole Strober shares his experience as a physical therapy intern at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, and why he chose OSU-Cascades' DPT program.
Good News!
Good News
Our faculty, staff and students do amazing things!
They receive national, university and college honors; publish books and articles; serve on editorial boards and much more.
Did you or someone you know do something we should share? Let us know by submitting some Good News.
Candace Russo, endowed program manager in the Moore Family Center for Whole Grain Foods, Nutrition and Preventive Health, was featured in Cancer Today magazine on how vegetable gardening can help cancer survivors develop healthy behaviors.
Oregon State College of Health researchers Hyosin Dawn Kim and Brian Primack won the top two presentation awards at the 8th Annual Global Public Health Conference in Bangkok. Congrats to Dawn and Brian!
Oregon State University researchers Professor Russell Turner, Professor Urszula Iwaniec, Associate Professor Adam Branscum, Research Associate Carmen Wong, and student Aidan Fichter found that leptin, a hormone involved in energy regulation, worsens bone loss in female ob/ob mice, even at skeletal sites distant from localized inflammation. The findings, published in the Journal of Endocrinology, highlight leptin’s potential impact on bone health and its broader implications for metabolic and inflammatory conditions.
Three of our athletic training alumni are members of the National Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame. The college congratulates alumna Katie Walsh Flanagan as the newest inductee. Katie recently served as a professor and director of athletic training education at East Carolina University. Congratulations, Katie!
On March 4, undergraduate and graduate students from Oregon State University's College of Health and College of Engineering attended the prestigious Oregon Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health (GOSH) conference at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. Held biennially, GOSH is the largest occupational safety and health conference in the Pacific Northwest, drawing professionals and students alike.
Congrats to Alan Calvert (COH Marcomm) and Kelly Chandler (HDFS) on their recent engagement! #COHcouple (And thanks to Megan MacDonald for the hashtag ;-) )
Research
Publications
Check out the recent publications from researchers across the college over the past month. See if you can guess the researcher(s) based solely on publication titles:
Does alcohol consumption affect the success of bone grafts, and if so, how? This research bridges a critical knowledge gap by demonstrating that alcohol not only affects the recipient's healing process but can fundamentally compromise the quality of donor bone material itself, creating a dual mechanism that impairs healing.
This study suggests system-level interventions are needed to enhance relationships between healthcare institutions, implement clearer policies for information exchange, and design better technologies that support efficient clinician communication. These findings have implications not just for VA healthcare but for any healthcare system that requires coordination between different institutions and providers.
This research provides valuable insights into the factors influencing Veterans' resistance to switching between VA-direct and VA-purchased care, despite evidence suggesting that veterans often receive lower quality, less satisfying, less coordinated, and less timely care at non-VA facilities.
This study analyzed a large cohort of 285,235 US veterans who contracted COVID-19 to identify subgroups at heightened risk for suicide attempts or self-directed violence in the following year. Ultimately, the study highlights the long-term mental health impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable veteran populations and underscores the importance of targeted prevention efforts.
Research seminars
There were no March research seminars, so we're going to repost the two recordings from February.
The spring schedule is posted. We encourage you to attend live sessions whenever possible.
Work and the social safety net among first-time mothers: Lessons for family policy
Friday, Feb. 21
Associate Professor David Rothwell, Barbara Knudson Chair in Family Policy in OSU’s College of Health.
Public perceptions and actions related to wildfire and prescribed fire smoke: Results from recent surveys in the Pacific Northwest
Friday, Feb. 28
Daniel Chapman, interdisciplinary environmental social scientist at the University of Oregon.
Events
Mark your calendars!
April 8 Bray Health Leadership Lecture
Leadership Lessons from Medicine and Sport: Breaking Barriers, Building Futures
Join us for the 2025 Bray Lecture featuring Kimberly Harmon, MD, a pioneering force in sports medicine.
With 26 years of experience at the University of Washington, Dr. Harmon has shaped collegiate sports medicine through her groundbreaking research on sudden cardiac death in athletes and advisory roles with the NCAA, NFL, NHL, and National Basketball Players Association.
10 a.m. Forum for Students on Careers - MU Horizon Room
4 p.m. Bray Health Leadership Lecture & Reception - MU Horizon Room
April 9
9:30 a.m. Forum for Faculty & Graduate Students on Research - MU Horizon Room
April 7-11 National Public Health Week
Our inspiring Public Health Club students have organized a week of events to spotlight the power and impact of public health. I encourage you to join in, show your support, and celebrate their efforts—attend what you can and be part of the momentum!
Scroll table left right on mobile devices
| Date | Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 8 a.m. – 10 a.m. | Welcome Breakfast and Kick-off Event | Hallie Ford Center Lobby |
| Tuesday | 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. | Rural Health Panel | Hallie Ford Center 115 |
| Wednesday | 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. | Sexual Health Equity Panel | Hallie Ford Center 115 |
| Thursday | 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. | Disability Awareness Event | Hallie Ford Center 115 |
| Friday | 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Self-Defense Workshop | McAlexander Fieldhouse |
| Saturday | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Kickball for the Community and Lunch | Student Legacy Park Field 3 |
April 7-11 Graduate Student Appreciation Week
Let’s celebrate our incredible graduate students! Find a moment this week to thank them for all they do. OSU’s Office of Graduate Education is hosting a lineup of fun and meaningful events—from ice cream and bowling to professional headshots, a GTA experience workshop, and a visit from Caesar the No Drama Lama. For details, visit Office of Graduate Education Grad Appreciation Week.
April 17 48th Annual OSU Gerontology Conference
Innovations in Aging
For 48 years, the Annual OSU Gerontology Conference has offered contemporary and applicable gerontological education from a variety of disciplines and perspectives. We invite you to network with colleagues as well as local, national, and internationally-known gerontology professionals.
April 22 University-wide student success summit
The universitywide student success summit on April 22 provides an opportunity to exchange ideas and strategize about how to advance Goal 2 of PWS: Every Student Graduates. Themes of this student success-focused summit will include increasing retention and graduation rates, improving access to education, improving time to degree, innovation in pedagogy across modalities, data and analytics, and attention to work in Corvallis, at OSU- Cascades, and via Ecampus. Please save the date. Details are still TBD.
June 10 End-of-Year College Breakfast
The End-of-Year College Breakfast will be held from 8-10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 10, in the Women’s Building Gym.
June 13 College of Health’s Graduation Celebrations
The College of Health’s Graduation Celebrations will take place on Friday, June 13 in Milam Auditorium and via livestream.
Join us in celebrating our graduates from:
- Exercise, Sport, and Health Sciences at 8 a.m.
- Public Health at 10 a.m.
- Nutrition at 1 p.m.
- Human Development and Family Sciences at 3 p.m.
University Commencement will be held on Saturday, June 14.
Bonus!
Research center newsletters
- The Center for Health Aging Research's LIFE Lines Newsletter Winter-Spring 2025
- The Moore Family Center Newsletter Spring 2025
ASPIRE Children's Environmental Health Center
March is National Nutrition Month!
Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative (OPEC)
OPEC publishes useful information for families, caregivers, and professionals who support children and families.