Arcadia University

ARCADIA UNIVERSITY'S HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND (HEERF) INSTITUTIONAL PORTION REQUEST: CARES ACT

ARCADIA UNIVERSITY'S HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND (HEERF) REQUEST: CARES ACT

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: UNDERSTANDING STEM TEACHING THROUGH INTEGRATED CONTEXTS IN EVERYDAY LIFE

ADVANCING RETENTION THROUGH CAREER DEVELOPMENT, ADVISING, DATA INFRASTRUCTURE, AND INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE AT ARCADIA UNIVERSITY (ARCADIA)

PROMOTING RETENTION BY FOSTERING IDENTITY AND BELONGINGNESS IN LOW INCOME STUDENTS MAJORING IN SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES AND MATHEMATICS

RENOVATION OF ARCADIA UNIVERSITY CELL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY CORE FACILITY

ARCADIA UNIVERSITY'S HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND-STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM REQUEST

DETERMINING THE EFFECTS OF NON-INVASIVE BRAIN STIMULATION TO IMPROVE QUADRICEPS MUSCLE FUNCTION AFTER ACL RECONSTRUCTION. - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT QUADRICEP MUSCLE IMPAIRMENTS PERSIST FOR YEARS AFTER ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RECONSTRUCTION (ACLR). THEY ARE LINKED TO POOR LONG-TERM OUTCOMES INCLUDING THE EARLY ONSET OF POST-TRAUMATIC KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS (PTOA), WHICH IS THOUGHT TO RESULT FROM ALTERED MOVEMENT PATTERNS (I.E. WALKING AND RUNNING) AND PERSISTENT QUADRICEPS MUSCLE IMPAIRMENTS. DESPITE USE OF EVIDENCE-BASED POSTOPERATIVE REHABILITATION PROTOCOLS, THE PREVALENCE OF PTOA FOLLOWING ACLR REMAINS AT APPROXIMATELY 40% AFTER A MEAN FOLLOW-UP OF 15 YEARS. THUS, APPROXIMATELY 100,000 INDIVIDUALS WHO UNDERGO ACLR EACH YEAR WILL DEVELOP PTOA BETWEEN THE AGES OF 30 AND 40 YEARS, IMPOSING A SUBSTANTIAL BURDEN ON THE U.S. HEALTHCARE SYSTEM AND SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTING QUALITY OF LIFE. RECENT EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT LOWER NEURAL DRIVE, (I.E., LOWER CORTICOSPINAL EXCITABLY (CSE)), IS ASSOCIATED WITH PRONOUNCED QUADRICEPS MUSCLE PERFORMANCE DEFICITS, WHICH ARE MORE SEVERE IN FEMALES RECOVERING FROM ACLR THAN IN MALES. CURRENT POSTOPERATIVE REHABILITATION PROTOCOLS DO NOT TARGET LOWER NEURAL DRIVE, WHICH CAN BE ACHIEVED THROUGH NON-INVASIVE BRAIN STIMULATION. THUS, THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ACLR REHABILITATION. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS R15 PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE IF NEURAL DRIVE IS THE CRITICAL MISSING LINK IN ACLR REHABILITATION. TO MEET THIS OBJECTIVE, WE WILL ADMINISTER ANODAL TRANSCRANIAL DIRECT CURRENT STIMULATION (TDCS), A TYPE OF NON-INVASIVE BRAIN STIMULATION KNOWN TO INCREASE CSE. WE WILL THEN ASSESS WHETHER IT IMPROVES THREE MEASURES OF QUADRICEPS MUSCLE PERFORMANCE (IN AIM 1) AND TWO MEASURES OF CSE (IN AIM 2). IN AIM 3, WE WILL DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OBSERVED CHANGES IN QUADRICEPS MUSCLE PERFORMANCE AND CSE IN FEMALE PARTICIPANTS RECOVERING FROM ACLR. THESE AIMS WILL BE ACHIEVED USING A RANDOMIZED, TRIPLE-BLINDED CLINICAL TRIAL WITH 42 FEMALE INDIVIDUALS AFTER ACLR BETWEEN THE AGES OF 18 AND 35 YEARS. ALL PARTICIPANTS WILL RECEIVE SIX SESSIONS OF ACTIVE OR SHAM ANODAL TDCS WHILE THEY PERFORM ISOLATED QUADRICEPS EXERCISES ON AN ISOKINETIC DYNAMOMETER. THE TWO MEASURES OF CSE (I.E. ACTIVE MOTOR THRESHOLD AND THE SLOPE OF TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION (TMS) INDUCED RECRUITMENT CURVES) WILL BE DETERMINED USING SURFACE ELECTROMYOGRAPHY ON THE VASTUS MEDIALIS AND TMS. THREE MEASURES OF QUADRICEPS PERFORMANCE (I.E. PEAK TORQUE NORMALIZED TO BODY WEIGHT, RATE OF TORQUE DEVELOPMENT (RTD) FROM 0-100MS AND 100-200MS, AND TORQUE STEADINESS) WILL BE DETERMINED FOLLOWING STANDARD ISOMETRIC MUSCLE TESTING ON AN ISOKINETIC DYNAMOMETER WITH THE HIPS FLEXED TO 90° AND THE KNEES FLEXED TO 60°. STATISTICAL ANALYSES WILL INCLUDE REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSES OF VARIANCE (AIMS 1 & 2) AND PEARSON CORRELATIONS (AIM 3). FINDINGS FROM THIS STUDY WILL DETERMINE IF A FORM OF NON-INVASIVE BRAIN STIMULATION IMPROVES QUADRICEPS MUSCLE PERFORMANCE, SETTING THE STAGE FOR NEW POST-ACLR REHABILITATION PROTOCOLS. ADDITIONALLY, FOLLOW-UP RESEARCH WILL ASSESS WHETHER THE RESTORATION OF NEURAL DRIVE CORRECTS ALTERED MOVEMENT PATTERNS, AND IN THE LONG-TERM, ULTIMATELY REDUCES RISK OF PTOA.

DEVELOPING AND TESTING A MEASURE OF SOCIOCULTURAL NORMS RELATED TO INTERPREGNANCY INTERVALS IN AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS IN THE US. - PROJECT SUMMARY DESPITE THE EXISTENCE OF GUIDELINES FROM THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS RECOMMENDING AN OPTIMAL INTERPREGNANCY INTERVAL (IPI) OF AT LEAST 18 TO 24 MONTHS, NEARLY ONE-THIRD OF NON-FIRST BIRTHS IN THE US ARE CONCEIVED WITHIN 18 MONTHS OF THE END OF A PRECEDING PREGNANCY. SHORT IPI IS A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM DUE TO THE ASSOCIATED ADVERSE PREGNANCY AND BIRTH OUTCOMES, MOST OF WHICH ARE CONCENTRATED IN VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, INCLUDING IMMIGRANTS. SPECIFICALLY, AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS HAVE 1.5 TO 3 TIMES HIGHER RISK OF IPI OF LESS THAN SIX MONTHS COMPARED TO US-BORN BLACK AND US-BORN WHITE PEOPLE, RESPECTIVELY. DESPITE THE RAPID GROWTH IN AFRICAN IMMIGRATION TO THE US IN RECENT YEARS, THE POPULATION IS UNDERREPRESENTED IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH AND PROGRAMS. HENCE, THE RISK FACTORS FOR SHORT IPI ARE NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. STUDIES IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA SUGGEST THAT SOCIAL AND CULTURAL NORMS ABOUT REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND ABORTION, INFANT MORTALITY, AND SOCIAL SUPPORT INFLUENCE FERTILITY AND CONTRACEPTIVE BEHAVIORS AND PRACTICES. HOWEVER, IT IS UNKNOWN IF THESE NORMS AND PRACTICES PERSIST THROUGH AFTER IMMIGRATION AND INTEGRATION, AND WHETHER THEY PLAY A ROLE IN SHORT IPIS IN THE AFRICAN IMMIGRANT POPULATION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS R15 PROPOSAL IS TO USE AN EXPLORATORY SEQUENTIAL MIXED METHODS DESIGN TO UNDERSTAND THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL NORMS AND DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS RELATED TO SHORT IPI IN AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS LIVING IN THE US. THE SPECIFIC AIMS ARE: 1) TO DESCRIBE, USING QUALITATIVE METHODS, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL NORMS ABOUT OPTIMAL BIRTH SPACING, INCLUDING HOW CULTURAL BELIEFS AND PRACTICES RELATED TO FERTILITY AND FAMILY PLANNING, INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP FACTORS, AND STIGMA SHAPE THESE NORMS AMONG AFRICAN IMMIGRANT WOMEN AND MEN; AND 2) TO DEVELOP AND EVALUATE THE PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF A CULTURALLY-SENSITIVE MEASURE OF UNDERLYING SOCIOCULTURAL CONSTRUCTS RELATED TO BIRTH SPACING AND IPI, USING QUANTITATIVE METHODS. WE PROPOSE TO CONDUCT IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS WITH WOMEN AGED 18-49 YEARS AND MEN AGED 18-60 YEARS, BORN IN GHANA, LIBERIA, NIGERIA, OR SIERRA LEONE, LIVING IN GREATER PHILADELPHIA, HOME TO ONE OF THE MOST DISTINCT AFRICAN IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES IN THE US. A QUANTITATIVE MEASURE WILL BE DEVELOPED FROM A) QUALITATIVE FINDINGS FROM IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS AND B) A SCOPING REVIEW OF EXISTING SOCIOCULTURAL NORMS MEASURES WITH RELEVANCE TO IPI THAT MAY BE MODIFIED. THIS MEASURE WILL BE REFINED AND VALIDATED WITH A SAMPLE OF AFRICAN- BORN WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE. THE RESEARCH TEAM FOR THIS PROJECT HAS A STRONG BACKGROUND AND RELEVANT EXPERIENCE IN CONDUCTING COMMUNITY-ENGAGED RESEARCH IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, INTERPREGNANCY INTERVALS, CONTRACEPTIVE USE, IMMIGRANT RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENT AND HUMANITARIAN CONTEXTS, AND MEASUREMENT DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION. THE LONG-TERM GOALS OF THIS STUDY ARE TO 1) DEVELOP CULTURALLY ACCEPTABLE AND CLINICALLY RELEVANT INTERVENTIONS TO OPTIMIZE IPI IN AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS; 2) ENRICH THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT AT ARCADIA UNIVERSITY; AND 3) ENHANCE CAREER DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS THROUGH MENTORING IN RESEARCH.

CC* NETWORK DESIGN: TRANSFORMING ARCADIA'S NETWORKING CAPABILITY, ENHANCING FOR INNOVATION TO GROW RESEARCH LEADERS IN A TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN WORLD

COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING - CONSTRUCTION - THIS FUNDING WILL SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARCADIA UNIVERSITY'S ANATOMY RESOURCE CENTER (AARC). THROUGH AARC, WE WILL PROVIDE HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS – AT GRADUATE, UNDERGRADUATE AND HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS – WITH ACCESS TO CUTTING-EDGE ANATOMY EDUCATION THAT ALLOWS FOR HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES IN A SAFE SETTING. THE AARC INITIATIVE WILL SERVE STUDENTS (300+) IN OUR NATIONALLY RANKED PROGRAMS IN PHYSICAL THERAPY (PT) AND PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT (PA) STUDIES; MANY OF WHOM GO ON TO PRACTICE IN THE COMMONWEALTH. MOREOVER, THE SKILLS OF OUR STUDENTS ARE DEMONSTRATED DURING THEIR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE BY WORKING IN OUR CAMPUS’ INTERDISCIPLINARY PRO-BONO PHYSICAL THERAPY CLINIC. THE CLINIC SERVES NEARLY 150 PENNSYLVANIANS PER YEAR. IMPORTANTLY, THIS AARC INITIATIVE WILL ALSO DEEPEN AND EXPAND CONNECTIONS WITH OUR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMMING AND WITH REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS TO PROVIDE STEM LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AT SCALE. WE WILL OFFER SELECT UNDERGRADUATE (50-60 ANNUALLY) AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS (30-60 ANNUALLY) RARE ACCESS TO STUDY HUMAN SPECIMENS. ARCADIA UNDERGRADUATES WHO WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THE AARC WILL INCLUDE BIOLOGY AND OTHER SCIENCE STUDENTS, AS WELL AS SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION MAJORS AND SELECT STUDENTS IN ART. THIS TYPE OF OPPORTUNITY IS UNCOMMON AT THE UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL, AND ARCADIA LOOKS FORWARD TO BOLSTERING STUDENTS' PREPARATION FOR STEM AND STEAM CAREERS. WE WILL SPECIFICALLY SEEK TO EXPAND PARTNERSHIPS WITH HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE AREA. FOR EXAMPLE, CHELTENHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT (CSD) CONTINUES TO BE A VITAL PARTNER FOR THE UNIVERSITY, AND THE AARC WILL ALLOW US TO WELCOME CHELTENHAM HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR FIELD TRIPS FOR APPLIED EXPERIENCES. CSD IS AN EXTREMELY DIVERSE DISTRICT, WITH 55% OF THE STUDENTS BEING AFRICAN AMERICAN AND 27% OF STUDENTS QUALIFYING FOR FREE OR REDUCED PRICE OF LUNCH. THIS ACCESS WOULD BE A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE FOR CSD STUDENTS AND WILL SERVE CHILDREN IN TRADITIONALLY UNDERSERVED GROUPS. ARCADIA IS ALSO INVOLVED WITH 13 HIGH SCHOOLS IN PHILADELPHIA AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY THROUGH DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAMS. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS EARNING ARCADIA CREDIT THROUGH THOSE PROGRAMS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN ANATOMY AND CAREERS IN STEM WOULD ALSO BENEFIT FROM THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACCESS THE AARC. FINALLY, WE HAVE AN EMERGING COLLABORATION WITH THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY INTERMEDIATE UNIT THAT SERVES ALL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE K-12 SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTY AND WILL ALLOW FOR SHARING OF ACCESS TO AARC EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES. AARC WILL BE HOUSED AT 125 ROYAL AVENUE, FORMERLY THE BISHOP MCDEVITT HIGH SCHOOL. THE PROGRAM WILL OCCUPY 8,400 SQUARE FEET ON THE THIRD AND FOURTH FLOORS AND INCLUDE LABORATORIES, CLASSROOMS, COLLABORATION AND REFLECTION SPACES, AND FACULTY PLANNING AND PREPARATION AREAS. INVESTING IN AARC WILL CONTRIBUTE TO A STRONGER AND HEALTHIER FUTURE AS ARCADIA LEVERAGES THE FUNDING TO PREPARE EXCEPTIONALLY WELL-TRAINED MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS TO SERVE THROUGHOUT THE COMMONWEALTH. IN ADDITION, AARC IS BASED ON THE BELIEF THAT UNIVERSITY-LED OUTREACH PROGRAMS IN THE ANATOMICAL SCIENCES WILL ENCOURAGE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ INTEREST IN STEM DISCIPLINES AND HEALTH CARE CAREERS THAT WILL MEANINGFULLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE WELLNESS OF OTHERS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.

THE GRANTS TO REDUCE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING ON CAMPUS PROGRAM (CAMPUS PROGRAM) IS AUTHORIZED BY 34 U.S.C. § 20125. THE PROGRAM PROVIDES A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO ESTABLISH MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO COMBAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING ON CAMPUSES. THESE COMPREHENSIVE EFFORTS ARE DESIGNED TO ENHANCE VICTIM SERVICES, IMPLEMENT PREVENTION AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS, AND DEVELOP AND STRENGTHEN SECURITY AND INVESTIGATION STRATEGIES IN ORDER TO PREVENT, PROSECUTE, AND RESPOND TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING. THE CAMPUS PROGRAM SUPPORTS ACTIVITIES THAT DEVELOP CAMPUS-BASED COORDINATED RESPONSES THAT INCLUDE CAMPUS VICTIM SERVICES, LAW ENFORCEMENT, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, HOUSING OFFICIALS, ADMINISTRATORS, STUDENT LEADERS, FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS, AND DISCIPLINARY BOARDS, AND THAT ENHANCE VICTIM SAFETY AND ASSISTANCE AND HOLD OFFENDERS ACCOUNTABLE. TO BE EFFECTIVE, THESE RESPONSES MUST BE LINKED TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, PROSECUTORS’ OFFICES, COURTS, AND NONPROFIT, NONGOVERNMENTAL VICTIM ADVOCACY AND VICTIM SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS.    THE FUNDED INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PROJECT’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND VICTIM SERVICE PARTNERS, WILL IMPLEMENT A COMPREHENSIVE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN PROJECT ON CAMPUS.  THROUGH THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AWARD, THE COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP WILL CONTINUE TO MEET THE STATUTORY AND PROGRAMMATIC REQUIREMENTS.  IN ADDITION, THE PROJECT WILL: 1) IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COORDINATED COMMUNITY RESPONSE TEAM; 2) EXPAND OR STRENGTHEN EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT A COMPREHENSIVE PREVENTION PLAN; AND 3) ENHANCE CAMPUS RESPONSES AND DIRECT SERVICES FOR SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT AND STALKING.

ARCADIA COMMUNITY SEXUAL VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAM(ACSVPP)

UNDERGRADUATE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE

USING CELL LINES AS A MODEL FOR STEM CELL BIOLOGY IN AN UNDERGRADUATE ENVIRONMENT