BU ENTERS INTO ADMISSIONS AGREEMENT WITH FARLEIGH DICKINSON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PHARMACY

BU and the Farleigh Dickinson University (FDU) School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences have entered into an agreement to allow qualified students to earn both an undergraduate degree and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in seven years, saving a full year of time and costs.

The Farleigh Dickinson University program will allow BU students majoring in chemistry or health sciences into the Fast Track to Pharmacy (PharmD) program at Farleigh Dickinson following their junior year. BU students will then complete their final year enrolled in pharmacy coursework at the Farleigh Dickinson School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. That year will also serve to complete both their first year of study within the Doctor of Pharmacy program and concurrently to complete the final credits to receive their B.A. degree in chemistry or B.S. degree in health sciences from Bloomsburg University.

Candidates for admission must have a 3.3 or higher overall GPA at BU and complete all prerequisite courses with a grade of B- or better. Reserved admission is limited to a maximum of five BU students each year.

“This agreement will benefit our students who are interested in attending pharmacy school, giving them a path to save both time and money,” said Diana Rogers-Adkinson, Bloomsburg University provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. “The Farleigh Dickinson University School of Pharmacy is preparing pharmacists for the 21st century with increased roles in the health care field. We are excited to be able to partner with them for the benefit of our students.”

“We are excited to be able to provide a new opportunity for students from Bloomsburg University to gain access to FDU’s Doctor of Pharmacy program, and to open doors for students to enter the professional portion of their studies in an accelerated fashion that both saves them time and money,” said Gillian Small, university provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. “Additionally, it provides students an entry point to enter clinical practice sooner, to take on the challenges facing our health care system amidst these dynamic and changing times.”

The agreement is effective immediately, allowing current Bloomsburg University students to apply for admission.

“Access to such accelerated pathways to professional programs are very attractive opportunities to students, and we are excited to partner with FDU’s School of Pharmacy to provide this opportunity to our current and future students in the College of Science and Technology, said Latha Ramakrishnan, dean of the Bloomsburg University College of Science and Technology. “Our faculty are dedicated to support student success and I am delighted to note the collaboration between faculty in chemistry and biology and allied health departments to create such pathways for success to our students.”

About Farleigh Dickinson University School of Pharmacy

As a fully accredited program by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), FDU’s PharmD program meets the academic requirements for licensure in all 50 states. Separate from educational requirements, state licensure boards may require applicants to complete other requirements.

Professional licensure and certification requirements may vary state to state, and are also subject to change. Students should contact the appropriate licensing agency in each home state to obtain the most up-to-date information.

About Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Bloomsburg University is one of 14 universities in Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. The university serves approximately 8,100 students, offering comprehensive programs of study in five distinct colleges: College of Education, Zeigler College of Business, College of Liberal Arts, College of Science and Technology, and new Honors College.

~Retrieved from BU's News page - https://www.bloomu.edu/news/bu-enters-admissions-agreement-farleigh-dickinson-university-school-pharmacy

Three Bloomsburg University faculty members were named 2020-21 Outstanding Teaching Award recipients

    From L to R---Abby Hare-Harris, Michael Huben, Brett McLaurin

Bloomsburg, PA (07/06/2021) — Three Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania faculty members were named 2020-21 Outstanding Teaching Award recipients by the Teaching and Learning Enhancement (TALE) Center.

Abby Hare-Harris, a Stephen J. Jones Professional U Fellow, is an assistant professor of biological and allied health sciences; Michael Huben, a Stephen J. Jones Professional U Fellow, is an instructor of marketing and professional sales; and Brett McLaurin is a professor of environmental, geographical, and geological sciences. The faculty were nominated by graduating seniors from the class of 2020-21 and selected by TALE's Outstanding Teaching Award Committee.

"I am grateful to professors Abby Hare-Harris, Brett McLaurin, Michael Huben, and all our outstanding faculty members who go above and beyond in support of our students and their success," said President Bashar Hanna.

Hare-Harris' research elds are human genetics and genomics, and many of her students and advisees earn the medical genomics and counseling certicate. Student nominations emphasized that her courses are tough yet taught with care and patience to ensure every student succeeds. Her rapport with students is exceptional. One student wrote, "She is not an easy professor by any means. She promotes independent thinking and has helped me become a better student and a better person." Hare-Harris' life transformative teaching permeated the students' nominations, and her empathy helps students overcome academic and personal struggles.

Michael Huben joined BU following a career at Merck. Creating bridges between higher education and a career led students to nominate Huben for the outstanding teaching award. A nominator wrote, "Mr. Huben teaches in real-world examples and is able to relate content to everyday life, so students can understand how the lessons will look outside of the classroom." Huben's dedication is evident in mentoring students in sales competitions, coaching them on how to network and interview for jobs, and develop leadership qualities.

Brett McLaurin is a geologist specializing in stratigraphy and sedimentology. Students nominating McLaurin spoke of his exceptional ability to combine theory and practice, making every topic relevant and engrossing. One student wrote, "Whenever I had questions, the professor was available and engaged me in possible learning experiences beyond the classroom." McLaurin creates spaces where students can risk failure, learn from their experiences, and increase condence in their skills and knowledge. Engaging, caring, hands-on were constant themes in his student nominations.

"These three faculty members exemplify the hard work and dedication all our faculty make to our students in support of their academic success," said BU Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Diana Rogers-Adkinson. "What is even more remarkable is how they adapted to teaching in a virtual world for the last year, and yet, were able to make strong connections with their students. As provost, I am very proud of their work and offer my congratulations to them."

All three will receive a plaque and be awarded a professional development stipend sponsored by the BU Foundation.

Retrieved from BU's Merit Page 7/6/2021 

http://bloomu.meritpages.com/news/Three-Bloomsburg-University-faculty-members-were-named-2020-21-Outstanding-Teaching-Award-recipients/20872?utm_source=newswire&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=media_pr_emails

Graduating Nursing Students Recognized with Pinning Ceremony

BU celebrated more than 80 graduating nursing students Saturday, May 1, with a nursing pinning ceremony in Haas Center for the Arts.

The first nursing pin or 'badge' in the United States was presented to the class of 1880. This badge was created by the first Nightingale School of Nursing at Bellevue Hospital. It symbolized vigilance, mercy, and relief of suffering. The distinctive nursing pin of BU was designed by the students of the class of 1979, the first graduates of the nursing program.

The first part of the pin is its colors, maroon and gold, which represent the colors of Bloomsburg University. The second part is the Nightingale flame which signifies enlightenment, new knowledge and new experiences. The final part of Bloomsburg's nursing pin is the inscription "QUALITAE OED/CAT" which means dedicated to quality. These three parts of the nursing pin symbolize the accomplishments of Bloomsburg University nursing students. It signifies achievement, dedication and commitment to nursing.

~Retrieved from 5/3/2021 Marketing and Communications Week Ahead

Biology Professor receives Provost's Award for Excellence in Research/Scholarly Activity

Dr. Kate Beishline, assistant professor, Department of Biological and Allied Health Sciences, has received the Provost's Award for Excellence in Research/Scholarly Activity. This award recognizes the scholarly achievements of probationary Bloomsburg University faculty. Dr. Beishline was nominated for this award by the dean of the College of Science and Technology. She is one of only four recipients of the award for the 2020-2021 academic year. 

Provost Rogers-Adkinson (right) presenting Dr. Beishline's award

Dr. Beishline's current research focuses on pathways that regulate the transcription and replication of eukaryotic telomeres. Her active research program has involved both undergraduate and graduate students. Her students have presented their research at various local and regional venues.

~Retrived from March 11th BioSythesis Blog posting: https://bloomsburgbiosynthesis.blogspot.com/2021/03/dr-beishline-recognized-for-research.html;
photo supplied by Dr. Angela Hess

Biochemistry student places 1st at 84th Annual Intercollegiate Chemist Convention

Biochemistry senior, Jason Stone, was awarded 1^st place in the (Bio)Inorganic division at the 84^th Annual Intercollegiate Chemist Convention hosted virtually by Lehigh University earlier this month.  

Jason Stone, Biochemistry

Jason’s oral presentation, stemming from a recent collaborative research publication with Dr. Matthew Polinski, was presented alongside other undergraduate student contributors from Swarthmore College, Lehigh University, Ursinus College, Towson University, Messiah University, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  The college is tremendously proud of Jason’s accomplishment.

~Retrieved from consultation with Dr. Matthew Polinski, photo supplied by Jason Stone

Biology Alumna Appointed Vice President of Codagenix, Inc.

 

FARMINGDALE, N.Y., April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Codagenix Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing prophylactic vaccines and oncolytic virus therapies, today announced the appointment of biotech industry veteran Linda Maldonado as Vice President, Biologics Chemistry and Manufacturing Controls (CMC).

  Linda Maldonado, Vice President, Codagenix, Inc.

"We are pleased to welcome Linda to Codagenix's growing management team in anticipation of multiple significant growth opportunities this year, including the advancement COVI-VAC, our single-dose, intranasal, live-attenuated COVID-19 vaccine, to late-stage clinical trials," said J. Robert Coleman, Ph.D., CEO of Codagenix. "Linda has a proven track record with clinical process development, scale-up and technology transfer to GMP production that will be critical to ensuring the productivity, consistency and high quality of all Codagenix vaccines."

Codagenix utilizes its proprietary Synthetic Attenuated Virus Engineering (SAVE) platform to re-code the genome of a virus – turning the virus from dangerous pathogen into safe vaccine or solid-tumor therapeutic. Unlike other vaccine platforms that require the development and construction of supportive manufacturing in parallel, all Codagenix vaccine candidates leverage existing live-attenuated vaccine manufacturing systems to scale-up.  

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Ms. Maldonado has more than 25 years of experience in biologics manufacturing from early clinical phase to commercial operations, spanning development to commercial launch for vaccine, antibody and gene therapy processes and products. Prior to joining Codagenix, she served as Senior Director of GMP Manufacturing, Downstream and Fill Finish for Catalent Cell and Gene Therapy, where she led early-phase production for a wide variety of biologics. Before Catalent, she held positions of increasing responsibility at vaccine and therapeutic manufacturers including PharmAthene, Human Genome Sciences,  Baxter Bioscience, Progenics and Sanofi Pasteur. Ms. Maldonado earned a M.S. in Biology from East Stroudsburg University and a B.S. in Biology from Bloomsburg University. 

"This is an exciting time for Codagenix, which has seen substantial growth over the past year in concert with the rapid advance of COVI-VAC, which went from concept-to-clinic in less than nine months," Ms. Maldonado said. "As VP, Biologics CMC, I look forward to working with the management team to optimize all vaccines in development, and in particular COVI-VAC, which has the potential to address several key logistical challenges to immunization against SARS-CoV-2 at a global scale including ease of administration and scalable manufacturing."

~Article shared by BU's Marketing and Communications Department 4/14/2021

'Lights Out Columbia County' aimed at protecting migratory birds

 

Check out the article and link below as Dr. Clay Corbin contributes to a recent Newswatch 16 segment. Great work on sharing your area of expertise with the surrounding community, Dr. Corbin!

As birds prepare to migrate, commissioners in Columbia County are asking residents and business owners to help prevent those birds from flying into buildings.

Dr. Clay Corbin

Department of Biological and Allied Health Sciences

                                                                              

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — Billions of birds migrate north in the spring and south in the fall. According to the National Audubon Society, millions of those birds are killed by flying into buildings and glass windows.

Commissioners in Columbia County recently signed a proclamation in hopes of preventing bird deaths. It's called "Lights Out Columbia County." The commissioners are asking business owners and residents to reduce unnecessary lighting.

"The city glow and then the glow from bright houses confuses the migratory birds, and then they'll actually crash into the building windows, or they'll crash into the windows in your house," Columbia County Commissioner Chris Young said.

Commissioner Young had the idea for Lights Out Columbia County after Philadelphia recently adopted the program. Young says that while Columbia is a rural county, there are tall buildings in Bloomsburg and Berwick with a lot of glass.

"If we can work with them and get them to reduce the lighting, then it's going to be good for the migratory birds," Young said.

"It's a huge problem. There are several contributors of bird death in North America, and one of them is birds running into windows that have a high reflectivity," said Clay Corbin, a biology professor at Bloomsburg University.

Corbin participated in a 2014 study regarding birds flying into windows. His class collected bird carcasses from outside campus buildings.

"If we're going to have an effect on the extinction of it that's occurring, we have to act locally. I think Columbia County is a great place to do it," Corbin said.

In addition to potentially saving birds, turning down lights could potentially save energy.

"Which also helps not only your electric bill but also helps the environment," Young said.

Lights Out Columbia County runs from April 1 through May 31 and August 15 through November 15.

~Retrieved from:  WNEP website as reported by Nikki Krize, March 24, 2021

Link to article and news airing:  https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/columbia-county/lights-out-columbia-county-aimed-at-protecting-migratory-birds/523-a4d0d0c3-6fd6-4c5c-8d4d-78c47064c15e