Author Archives: Melissa Anderson

Frankenstein Bicentennial Continues with Roundtable on Sept. 18

The College of Humanities and the Arts served Frankenstein cookies at its fall welcome event.

The College of Humanities and the Arts served Frankenstein cookies at its fall welcome event.

San Jose State University continues to celebrate the bicentennial of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein this fall. The first event of the semester will include a panel in which speakers will present three perspectives of the fictional creature on Sept. 18, from 1 to 3 p.m., in the Hammer Theatre. The event is open and free to the public.

The roundtable discussion will be moderated by Jonathan Gill, with panelists to include SJSU President Mary Papazian on “Creating a Monster with Paradise lost”, Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature Adrienne Eastwood on “Queering the Monster,” and Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Comparative Philosophy Anand Vaidya on “What’s in Your Head? – the Moral Zombie.”

Launched last spring by SJSU’s Katherine D. Harris in collaboration with project manager Jonathan Gill and colleagues at Santa Clara University and the University of San Francisco, the series of events aims to facilitate discussions relating to technology, humanity, and ethics and how they affect our current world. The College of Humanities the Arts included a playful nod to the project at its fall welcome on Aug. 20 with Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein cookies.

Visit the project website for more details.

See the full list of upcoming events that will run through December online.

Kinesiology Lab Connects Students with Cerebral Palsy Patients and Research Skills

Assistant Professor Areum Jensen works with a clinical research participant in her kinesiology lab.(Photo: Brandon Chew)

Assistant Professor Areum Jensen works with a clinical research participant in her kinesiology lab. (Photo: Brandon Chew)

Areum Jensen first learned about the field of kinesiology from an English teacher. She was completing a bachelor’s in biology at Sangmyung University in Seoul, Korea, and had long been interested in understanding how exercise can improve health. As a child, her mother had often been ill and suffered from severe asthma. However, once her mother began a regiment of exercise – starting with one minute a day and building up to being able to compete in an amateur tennis tournament years later – Jensen became a believer that exercise could be medicine.

“I tried to figure out what I wanted to learn next,” said Jensen, who is an assistant professor in the College of Health and Human Sciences’ Department of Kinesiology. “I had an English teacher who had been a sports medicine doctor in Canada. He said I had to go to America or Canada to study kinesiology.”

Jensen applied and was admitted to a master’s of exercise physiology program at San Francisco State University. After finishing her degree, she decided to pursue a Ph.D. in medical physiology at the University of Missouri School of Medicine so that she could learn the knowledge and techniques needed to conduct clinical research. There, she first became involved with studies of individuals with neurological disorders such as autism.

At San Jose State University, she is continuing her clinical research agenda through internal grants from her college and the university, as well as the support of student researchers. Through the Undergraduate Research Grant Program, coordinated by SJSU’s Office of Research and the Center for Faculty Development, she was able to work with three students in 2017-18 and has four students engaging with her for 2018-19.

“I couldn’t do my research alone,” she said. “The clinical nature of my work means I need students and assistants. It is amazing to work together and see how motivated my students are. I am very proud.”

Jensen is quick to point out the successes and accomplishments of last year’s research team — Rachel Christensen, ’17 Kinesiology, Pooja Pal, ’18 Kinesiology, and Cory Low, ’18 Kinesiology. The students were president and dean’s scholars; received scholarships; and were recognized for scholar and service scholarships by the Department of Kinesiology and the American Kinesiology Association. The high point for Jensen as a mentor — all were accepted to Doctor of Physical Therapy programs immediately following graduation while most candidates take much longer to complete the requirements to apply for such programs.

“We were all very fortunate to have Dr. Jensen as our lab instructor in our physiological assessment course,” Christensen said. “It was easy to see her passion for exercise physiology.”

Areum Jensen, an assistant professor of Kinesiology, works with students on clinical research that will compare physiological function of control participants and participants with autism.

Areum Jensen, an assistant professor of Kinesiology, works with students on clinical research that will compare physiological function of control participants and participants with autism.

Working under Jensen’s leadership, the students explored the relationship between muscular strength, bone mineral density and balance in adults with cerebral palsy, among other relationships between physiology and function in the population. Jensen’s ultimate goal is to help populations with neurological disorders such as autism and cerebral palsy to reap the benefits of exercise. The students presented their work at the national meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in May 2018.

“It was an opportunity we all couldn’t pass up,” Christensen said, noting that Jensen served as a mentor through the undergraduate research grant application process. “I feel so much closer to my peers, and I’ve gained such a tremendous mentor in Dr. Jensen throughout this process…I love that it provided a gateway to attend conferences as well.”

Pal said she was looking to engage in research to develop skills she would need to enter a physical therapy program, but she discovered the best part of the research was working with the participants involved in the study.

“Whenever the cerebral palsy research team would go to Ability Now Bay Area in Oakland to train the research participants, they would be super enthusiastic every morning to exercise,” Pal said. “Their high spirits on most days gave all of us a happy boost.”

Christensen is attending California State University Fresno’s Doctorate of Physical Therapy program, while Pal started this fall at the University of the Pacific.

“This research opportunity helped me understand a patient-focused career in physical therapy,” Pal said. “I was able to enhance my communication and teamwork skills.”

Both graduates agreed that they made meaningful connections with professors and fellow classmates.

“The Kinesiology Department is truly an incredible department filled with faculty and staff that really want great things for their students and are willing to go above and beyond to help us reach our goals,” Christensen said. “I am extremely happy that I got to be a part of such a wonderful community at San Jose State, and I am sure I will be back.”

Jensen, who teaches clinical physiology classes, said that the research has made her more aware of including an array of information in her classes about different disorders that affect the body including neurological disorders that can strike diverse individuals.

“Before I spent a lot of time in class on cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases and cancer,” she said. “Having done research on populations with neurological disorders, I can see that those disorders were neglected and I am bringing them into the classroom and giving them a little more time.”

Trauma Transcends Generations for Refugees

Yvonne Kwan Yvonne Kwan poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. (Photo: Jim Gensheimer)

Assistant Professor Yvonne Kwan poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. (Photo: Jim Gensheimer)

Yvonne Kwan, a second-year assistant professor of Asian American studies in the Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, grew up in a working-class southern California city with a sizeable Latinx community. She said growing up, she learned little about Asian American history or culture during her K-12 education. It was not until she took an ethnic studies course in college that this first-generation Asian American began to feel connected to her cultural heritage. She changed her major from molecular biology to ethnic studies.

When she began dating a boyfriend who was Cambodian American, now her husband, she began to learn about Cambodian culture and the experience of refugees who lived through genocide to help her gain an understanding of her in-laws. But she also found a fertile area for research. Kwan’s scholarly work has provided enough insight to fill a book; she is in the process of finalizing a manuscript entitled, “Afterlives of Diaspora: Cambodian American Trauma and Memory.”

“Some children were born in refugee camps, but they are too young to remember,” Kwan said.

Her book posits that while social trauma may not be verbalized or articulated, children of survivors can still develop the capacity to both identify with and experience the pain of previous generations.

“The trauma of genocide can have an effect decades after the initial event,” she said.

Kwan’s research has found that while many of the Cambodian refugees who lived through the genocide do not talk about their experiences, the transmission of trauma happens through the silences and fragments within the family.

“For the older generation there is so much pain and a lot of these people are Buddhist so suffering is a part of life and they don’t see the point in rehashing it,” Kwan said. “The next generation is using anything they can find to fill the void. They read a ton of books or listen to other people (outside their families) tell the story.”

Since joining the SJSU campus in fall 2017, Kwan has been active on a task force that aims to provide more support for Asian Pacific Islander Desi (South Asian) American (APIDA) students. The task force, which includes faculty, staff and students, aims to determine what resources will be most helpful to students with these cultural identities as well as how to break down myths about the groups.

Both from her research and early work on the task force, Kwan said she sees a need to connect students to resources, whether it be helping them navigate academic advising or providing mental health services in a space where they feel safe.

“Students don’t always know what they need and sometimes they don’t know what to ask for,” Kwan said.

OT Student Named as CSU Trustee Scholar for 2018

Suzanne Walter

Suzanne Walter

Suzanne Walter’s rocky childhood was shaped by foster care, welfare and poverty. Knowing she would not have financial support for college, she started working and saving for her college education at the age of 12. Now experiencing her dream of higher education, she is a graduate student at San José State University studying occupational therapy, a profession that will allow her to pass down her life lessons and strengthen her community.

The California State University has selected Walter as one of its Trustee Emeritus William Hauck and Padget Kaiser Scholar for 2018. The CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement is given each year to students who demonstrate superior academic performance, personal accomplishments, community service, and financial need.

Suzanne’s empathy for others and drive to help are the core of who she is. She served a year in AmeriCorps, co-led a vocational skills program for at-risk youth, started an after-school program and for years, provided home aid to seniors. She recently accepted a leadership position on the board of the Student Occupational Therapy Association, and was invited to join the honor society of Phi Kappa Phi for earning a 3.92 GPA her first semester back in school.

MY EMPATHY FOR OTHERS AND DRIVE TO HELP ARE AT THE CORE OF WHO I AM AS A PERSON.

A career in occupational therapy will allow Suzanne to focus on helping people overcome many of the same health and personal struggles she has faced in her own life.

 

Keck Foundation Grant Establishes Freshman Research Initiative

SJSU professors will are using a grant from the WM Keck Foundation to create a freshmen research initiative. Clockwise from back left: Assistant Professor Alberto Rascón, Jr., Professor Resa Kelly, the program evaluator; Professor Daryl Eggers; Assistant Professor Laura Miller Conrad; Mallory Kato, the program manager; and Professor Lionel Cheruzel, the principal investigator on the grant. (Photo: Jim Gensheimer)

SJSU professors are using a grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation to create a freshmen research initiative. Clockwise from back left: Assistant Professor Alberto Rascón, Jr., Professor Resa Kelly, the program evaluator; Professor Daryl Eggers; Assistant Professor Laura Miller Conrad; Mallory Kato, the program manager; and Professor Lionel Cheruzel, the principal investigator on the grant. (Photo: Jim Gensheimer)

The new Freshman Initiative: Research to Engage Students (F.I.R.E.S) will launch this year and is poised to help the university advance both its research and student success missions. Enabled by a $325,000 grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation, this new program aims to engage undergraduate students in scientific research from the very beginning of their time at San Jose State University.

The team spearheading this program includes four chemistry professors from the College of Science with experimental research laboratories: Professor Lionel Cheruzel, the principal investigator on the grant, Assistant Professors Laura Miller Conrad and Alberto Rascón, Jr., Professor Daryl Eggers, Professor Resa Kelly, the program evaluator along with Mallory Kato, the program manager.

Cheruzel and his colleagues strive to usher in a research-driven educational culture by introducing first-year students to the benefits of research. In order to do so, an introduction to research course (Chem 190) will be used to foster student’s spirit of discovery and train them in the basic skills necessary to excel in a research environment.

At the end of the course, students will work directly with two professors’ laboratories in two-week research streams. During these streams, students will have the opportunity to look closely at the various research questions being investigated, perform cutting-edge research, and learn how to be part of the scientific community.

Cheruzel believes the experience will motivate these students to [continue] on in one of the various research laboratories throughout the remainder of their undergraduate career to supplement their degree.

“There are benefits to having students who can stay on for three or four years doing research,” Cheruzel said. “Some of my most productive students have come straight out of Chem 1A.”

Within each of the research laboratories, the professors have seen how engaging in lab work and publishing their findings in notable journals has benefitted their students. After applying their education to real-world problems, demonstrating a persistence to training and developing stronger connections with faculty, these research students not only leave SJSU with a bachelor’s degree but with a skillset that distinguishes them from their competition.

“They are highly marketable,” Cheruzel said, noting that many of his former students have gone on to prestigious graduate schools or started careers with prominent biotech companies.

Based in Los Angeles, the W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 by the late W. M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company.  The Foundation’s grant making is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in the areas of medical research, science and engineering and undergraduate education.  The Foundation also maintains a Southern California Grant Program that provides support for the Los Angeles community, with a special emphasis on children and youth.  For more information, please visit www. wmkeck.org.