USF College of Behavioral & Community Sciences

June 14 - 20, 2020

After 12 weeks, 4 days and 7 hours working remotely and eating way too many cookies, I decided to get moving on the weekends. Here I am practicing my golf swing. -- Kelly Francis-Holmes

CBCS COVID-19 photo contest. Submit your work from home COVID-19 photos to cbcsmarketing@usf.edu. We'll post the photos in Communique over the next few weeks, then vote on our favorite photos at the end of the Summer semester.
Collecting Resources on Anti-Racism

Last week in the Dean's message to the college, she outlined several initiatives to support our anti-racism efforts and to foster development of our leadership team. If you would like to contribute to the resource materials for this effort (links to opinion pieces, videos, webinars, books, documentaries, films, lectures, and podcasts, etc...), please send the resource links to Patty Cleveland (clevelan@usf.edu). Once we have a structure in place, a link will be sent to faculty, staff, and students to utilize these resources with the goal of enhancing our growth and development as a college. Thank you for your assistance!

COVID-19 Update

We invite you to share your COVID-19 stories in Communique. Let us know how you are coping with working remotely. Submit your photos and captions to cbcsmarketing@usf.edu

As always, you should refer to the official USF coronavirus webpage for the most up to date information. 

Stay safe

Research Roundup

Jerome Galea (SW)
WHO EQUIP: Ensuring Quality in Psychological Support
Sponsor: World Health Organization & Socios en Salud Sucursal Peru
8/1/2019-12/31/2020
Amount: $200,000 (USF component: $12,000)

The goal of this project is to test a platform for training and supervision of mental health and psychosocial support helpers (particularly non-specialist providers) by applying the platform to helpers who will deliver WHO low-intensity psychological interventions and related non-WHO psychological interventions. This platform, entitled Ensuring Quality in Psychological Support (EQUIP), is an online resource being developed to include materials for evaluating core and specific competencies, training and training remediation for learning and attaining core competencies, and implementation guidance on designing and conducting competency-based trainings and supervision. The research will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, perceived utility, reliability, and validity of the EQUIP platform and its materials in seven (7) countries: Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Peru, Uganda, Zambia and Ethiopia. Video

Joseph Walton (CSD)
Developing a Novel Therapeutic for Treating Tinnitus
Sponsor: Cognosetta, Inc.
12/15/2019-6/30/2020
Amount: $87,200

Tinnitus, or "ringing in the ears", is a hearing condition that effects over 25 million Americans. There is currently no effective cure or FDA approved medication for reducing tinnitus. The condition can occur in any segment of the population, but disproportionately impacts older Americans over 55, and Military Service Member. The number of people with tinnitus is rising due to an increase in noise exposure and an aging population. Patients with tinnitus exhibit changes in brain activity, particularly in brain regions that process sound. Ion channels regulate brain activity, and thus represent potential drug targets for this condition. Increasing evidence suggests that one ion channel, the large conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channel, may be utilized as a target for disorders characterized by dysregulation of brain activity, including tinnitus.

Pamela Aeppel (MHLP)
Family Finder Train-the-Trainer
Sponsor: Florida Department of Children and Families, Office of Child Welfare
5/4/2020-6/30/2021
Amount: $223,500

Children and youth lose vital connections when they are removed from their families and placed in foster care. Significant adults, to whom the child was attached, are frequently "lost" to the child when they are placed in foster care. These relationship losses are experienced as an emotional barrier to maintaining a sense of worth and belonging for many children and youth. This project will develop a Train-The- Trainer curricula for statewide child welfare professionals and provide technical assistance. Implementation of this model strives to renew important relationships. Even if a permanent placement is not possible with a significant adult, identified by the child, the contact, connection and continuity for the child or youth to someone important to them is an essential goal for child welfare casework practice.

David Eddins (CSD)
NIH NIDCD R01: Pediatric dysphonia: Multidisciplinary advances to improve voice quality outcomes
Sponsor: National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders
6/1/2020-5/31/2025
Amount: $2,326,580

Childhood voice disorders can have profound influences on communication that in turn impact physical, cognitive, and emotional development. Surprising to many, the prevalence of pediatric voice disorders is high, yet systematic bench-to-bedside research targeting pediatric voice assessment is severely lacking. This innovative proposal seeks to advance our knowledge of the basic properties of pediatric dysphonia and to develop and improve laboratory methods and clinical protocols for quantifying pediatric voice quality (VQ). We use a theoretical framework combining principles of auditory perception and VQ to establish the unique aspects of pediatric VQ and to develop of novel ratio-level scales ideal for clinical use as diagnostic and as outcome measures. The success of this proposal is bolstered by the uniquely-qualified expert team. The scientific team includes Drs. David Eddins, Supraja Anand, Erol Ozmeral, and Jeffrey Williams at USF and Rahul Shrivastav at the University of Georgia. The expert pediatric voice clinical team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is led by Dr. Alessandro de Alarcon and includes Drs. Barbara Weinrich, Susan Baker Brehm, and Lisa Kelchner.

ASSL.cbcs.usf.edu

CSD Faculty Supporting Malawi College

Dr. Steven Surrency is partnering with the burgeoning Communication Sciences and Disorders department at the African Bible College of Malawi. During this summer, he is teaching a foundational linguistics course in order to support the young program. Malawi is among the world's least developed countries. Its economy depends largely on development support and partnerships such as this one.

Criminology Faculty Receives Associate Editor Invitation

Joan Reid, PhD, has received an invitation to become an associate editor for Victims & Offenders: An International Journal of Evidence-based Research, Policy, and Practice.

CBCS HerdFunder - #BullsUnited in Action Launched

On Wednesday, June 10th, the college launched our HerdFunder for the CBCS Scholarship Fund (#530017) as part of the #BullsUnited in Action campaign. As we know, these are trying times for all, including our students, who without scholarships may not be able to continue their studies.

To expand our reach and spread awareness, it would be great if you could share this information with others and post on social platforms; and please consider contributing yourself. Any contribution, regardless of the amount, will go towards CBCS participation in the Faculty & Staff Campaign.

Here is a link to our fund page: https://usf.to/CBCS

Please remember to share. Your support as faculty and staff is invaluable!

CBCS In the News

Tampa Bay nursing home residents dealing with isolation during pandemic
WFLA(NBC)-Tampa
a problem being repeated in nursing homes across Florida. Lindsay Peterson with the University of South Florida's School of Aging Studies says the impact of isolation is very real on nursing home residents.

City Leaders Discuss Tampa Protests
Bay News 9 and other stations-Tampa
Lorie Fridell professor of criminology at usf and founder of fair and impartial policing. so fair and impartial...

Where New York Real Estate Stands on Police Amid Black Lives Matter Protests - The Real Deal
The Real Deal
Bloomberg administrations. Lyndsay Boggess, a criminology professor at the University of South Florida, called "law and order"...

Tampa Police release street and body cam videos showing arrest of 17-year-old 'umbrella girl' protester
Creative Loafing Tampa
to have Dr. Lorie Fridell, a professor of Criminology at the University of South Florida, re-train officers in the Fair &...

Empowering Voices in the Suncoast Community
WWSB(ABC)-Sarasota
our next guest is a criminology professor at usf sarasota manatee campus and the author of several books dealing...

For dementia patients and their families, isolation during the pandemic is a heavy burden
National Geographic
says Lindsay Peterson, a gerontologist at the University of South Florida. Quarantining such a vulnerable population is...

10 Investigates asked Tampa Bay law enforcement for the race breakdown in their departments, here's what they said
WTSP(CBS)-Tampa
I know full reform will take time," Shelly Wagers told 10 Investigates' Jennifer Titus. Wagers is a criminal justice professor at the University of South Florida.

Adding News/Events/Publications to the CBCS Website and Newsletter

If you have news/events, or recent/upcoming publications you would like posted on the CBCS website and/or newsletter, please send the details and any attachments to CBCS Marketing. (CBCSMarketing@usf.edu)

Be sure to include all pertinent information in the format you would like to have posted (title, date, times, location, event description and contact information). Please provide your information in editable digital text format.

Articles included in the CBCS Communique may be disseminated to USF Media outlets and/or beyond.