Dean's Speaker Series
Dean's Speaker Series
The Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series features practitioners and industry leaders for insightful perspectives and engaging discussions on topics relevant to our department research and projects.
These events are open to all students, faculty, staff, and visitors.
If you have any questions about these events, please reach out to Sarah Fobes at fobes@rowan.edu.
Dr. Laura König
- Topic: "Using Mobile Technology to Understand and Improve Eating Behavior"
- Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2023
- Time: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. EST (refreshments to follow)
- Location: Rowan University, Glassboro Campus, Chamberlain Student Center, Eynon Ballroom
- Zoom Option: Link emailed to registants
About the Speaker
Dr. Laura König is Junior Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. She earned her Ph.D. in Health Psychology from the University of Konstanz, Germany. Before joining the University of Bayreuth in 2020, she was postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge, U.K. Her research interests include psychological determinants of health behaviors including eating and physical activity, the design of health behavior interventions including digital and choice architecture interventions, research participation effects, and effective science communication. Her work has been funded by the German Research Foundation and the Bavarian Ministry of Health and Care and she is the recipient of the 2022 Early Career Award from the European Health Psychology Society.
About this Topic
Eating behavior is highly complex: people make more than 200 eating-related decisions every day. Traditionally, behavioral and medical scientists studied eating behavior using questionnaires (which typically require people to average across many different occasions), or in behavioral experiments (which usually focus on single occasions in an artificial setting). Smartphones and other mobile sensors now allow to study eating behavior in daily life and in real-time, across different contexts. In addition, mobile technology can be harnessed to deliver interventions in meaningful moments, potentially increasing the effectiveness of dietary interventions. This talk will present an overview of technological and related theoretical and methodological domains in this field and provide an outlook into what to expect in the near future, with implications across a range of disciplines and settings.
Past Dean's Distinguished Speaker Seminars
March 21, 2023: Ecologically valid assessment of cognitive functioning: Toward the early detection & prevention of dementia
Jacqueline Mogle, Ph.D.
"Ecologically valid assessment of cognitive functioning: Toward the early detection and prevention of dementia."
Tuesday, March 21st, 2023
1:00 - 2:00 p.m. View Recording
About this Seminar
Dr. Mogle discusses her work using novel and innovative mobile tools to understand how people meet daily cognitive demands (e.g., remembering to take medication). She discusses methodological implications and strategies for the assessment of everyday cognitive functioning as well as the analysis of intensively collected cognitive data. She then shares new data linking these tools to the early stages of non-normative trajectories in cognitive aging such as dementia.
About the Speaker
Dr. Mogle is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Clemson University. She received her PhD in Experimental Psychology from Syracuse University and worked as an Assistant Research Professor at Penn State University, where she supported a variety of NIH funded projects focused on assessment of daily processes (including stress, cognitive functioning, and health). Dr. Mogle is an expert in the use of momentary assessment approaches, where individuals complete multiple surveys each day for several days to help us understand their real-world experiences of health and well-being. Using sophisticated statistical models, she has examined how daily stress processes relate to longer-term physiological and psychological health conditions. More recently she has focused the assessment of daily cognitive problems as an early indicator of cognitive decline that is consistent with non-normative, age-related cognitive impairments such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Her measures of the daily experience of memory and attentional lapses are now incorporated into a dozen intensive assessments studies of cognitive aging, to determine their predictive utility for detecting early signs of cognitive decline before impairments impact independent living. Her work was recently featured by the National Institute on Aging and the Methods Matter dementia podcast.
October 7, 2022: How Close is a Cure to Pain?
Christopher McCurdy, Ph.D., BSPh, PhD, FAAPS
"How Close is Cure to Pain?"
Friday, October 7, 2022
12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
View Recording
About the speaker
Dr. McCurdy is a Professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Pharmaceutics and The Frank A. Duckworth Eminent Scholar Chair in Drug Research and Development. He is also the Director of the UF Translational Drug Development Core. Dr. McCurdy completed his PhD in medicinal chemistry from the University of Georgia and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy.
Dr. McCurdy is a broadly trained pharmaceutical scientist, and pharmacist whose research focuses on the design, synthesis, and development of drugs to treat pain, anxiety, and substance abuse. For over 25 years, much of his research has focused on opioid, neuropeptide FF, and sigma receptor ligand/probe design, synthesis, pharmacological evaluation, and development. He is an internationally recognized expert on kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), which is under investigation for opioid withdrawal syndrome, opioid use disorder, and treating pain. A significant portion of his career has been dedicated to the development of novel sigma receptor ligands, in collaboration with interdisciplinary groups, to generate and optimize selective ligands that could serve as critical experimental tools. More recently, he has worked to develop these as potential medication development leads to attenuate the effects of cocaine, methamphetamine, and pain.
Most notably, Dr. McCurdy has developed a PET/MR imaging diagnostic agent for visualizing the origins of chronic neuropathic pain by interacting with sigma receptors at the site of nerve damage. The Phase 1 and 2 human clinical trials are currently being conducted at Stanford University. He has published more than 150 manuscripts and holds 6 patents. He is currently funded by multiple NIH grants and the Florida Department of Health.
In addition, Dr. McCurdy serves as a consultant to the US Food and Drug Administration’s Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee and previously served as President of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS).
October 6, 2022: Kratom 101- History, Chemistry & Pharmacology
Christopher McCurdy, Ph.D., BSPh, PhD, FAAPS
"Kratom 101 - History, Chemistry and Pharmacology ?"
Thursday, October 6, 2022
2:00 - 3:15 p.m.
About the speaker
Dr. McCurdy is a Professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Pharmaceutics and The Frank A. Duckworth Eminent Scholar Chair in Drug Research and Development. He is also the Director of the UF Translational Drug Development Core. Dr. McCurdy completed his PhD in medicinal chemistry from the University of Georgia and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy.
Dr. McCurdy is a broadly trained pharmaceutical scientist, and pharmacist whose research focuses on the design, synthesis, and development of drugs to treat pain, anxiety, and substance abuse. For over 25 years, much of his research has focused on opioid, neuropeptide FF, and sigma receptor ligand/probe design, synthesis, pharmacological evaluation, and development. He is an internationally recognized expert on kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), which is under investigation for opioid withdrawal syndrome, opioid use disorder, and treating pain. A significant portion of his career has been dedicated to the development of novel sigma receptor ligands, in collaboration with interdisciplinary groups, to generate and optimize selective ligands that could serve as critical experimental tools. More recently, he has worked to develop these as potential medication development leads to attenuate the effects of cocaine, methamphetamine, and pain.
Most notably, Dr. McCurdy has developed a PET/MR imaging diagnostic agent for visualizing the origins of chronic neuropathic pain by interacting with sigma receptors at the site of nerve damage. The Phase 1 and 2 human clinical trials are currently being conducted at Stanford University. He has published more than 150 manuscripts and holds 6 patents. He is currently funded by multiple NIH grants and the Florida Department of Health.
In addition, Dr. McCurdy serves as a consultant to the US Food and Drug Administration’s Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee and previously served as President of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS).
November 15, 2021: Biotechnology Innovation for Food Security and Environmental Sustainability in the Changing Times
Rhodora Romero-Aldemita, Ph.D.
"Biotechnology Innovations for Food Security and Environmental Sustainability in the Changing Times"
Monday, November 15, 2021
11:00 - 12:00 p.m.
November 15, 2021: Raising Public Consumer Understanding and Perception of Agricultural Biotechnologies
Rhodora Romero-Aldemita, Ph.D.
"Raising Public Consumer Understanding and Perception of Agricultural Biotechnologies"
Monday, November 15, 2021
3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
View Recording
April 23, 2021: Accessing Housing and Residential Services for Individuals with Autism and Developmental Disabilities
Lisa McCauley Parles, Esq.; Partner, Parles Rekem, LLP
"Accessing Housing and Residential Services for Individuals with Autism and Developmental Disabilities"
Friday, April 23, 2021
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Individuals with autism and developmental disabilities face numerous barriers to accessing appropriate, affordable housing and residential services. This presentation will address the pressing need for housing and residential services for this growing population as well as laws, policies and procedures that govern eligibility and access. Both New Jersey and federal funding programs will be discussed. Barriers to expanding availability to a variety of models will be addressed as well as promising developments at both the state and national levels.
