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ChristianaCare ranked as 81st best hospital in the United States and the only health system in Delaware to make the list For the fifth consecutive year, ChristianaCare has earned a spot in Newsweek’s exclusive list of the World’s Best Hospitals – United States, recognized for consistently being at the forefront in care, research and innovation. “Receiving this honor year after year is a testament to the work ChristianaCare caregivers do each day to create health together so that every person can flourish,” said ChristianaCare President & CEO Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH. “At its core our mission is a simple, yet profound, one. We take care of people. And I am so proud of everyone in this organization for what five-straight years of being called one of the World’s Best Hospitals says about the exceptional quality of the care we provide.” Headquartered in Wilmington, Del., ChristianaCare ranked 81st in the United States in the annual list that ranks 2,300 hospitals in 28 countries. “ChristianaCare has gained a global reputation thanks to our unwavering focus to provide expert, high-quality care,” said Kert Anzilotti, M.D., MBA, chief medical officer at ChristianaCare. “This award belongs to all our caregivers, who continuously seek new knowledge, are true to their word and are committed to delivering exceptional care to every patient we serve.” Compiled by Newsweek and the global data firm Statista, the lists are based on the following data sources: Recommendations from tens of thousands of doctors, health care professionals and managers across the world. The survey asked participants to recommend hospitals in their own country as well as in other countries. The survey did not permit recommendations of the health professional’s own hospital. Patient surveys originating from publicly available data that included areas such as their general satisfaction with the hospital and their satisfaction with their medical care. Hospital quality metrics such as data on the quality of care for specific treatments, data on hygiene measures and patient safety, and data on clinician-patient ratios. The Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROM) surveys, which are standardized, validated questionnaires completed by patients to measure their well-being and quality of life. The recognition by Newsweek echoes other quality recognitions that ChristianaCare has received during the past 12 months: For the third consecutive year, Healthgrades named ChristianaCare one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for 2023. Healthgrades also ranked ChristianaCare as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for five service lines: cardiac care, coronary intervention, joint replacement, spine surgery and gastrointestinal surgery. For the seventh consecutive year, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives named ChristianaCare a Most Wired Health Care Technology Leader. U.S. News & World Report rated ChristianaCare as the No. 42 hospital in the nation for obstetrics and gynecology and a High Performing Hospital for Maternity. U.S. News & World Report also rated ChristianaCare as high-performing in orthopedics. For the second consecutive year, Forbes ranked ChristianaCare as one of the Best Employers for Diversity and Inclusion in the United States. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation gave ChristianaCare’s Christiana Hospital and Wilmington Hospital the top score in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s most recent Healthcare Equality Index.
Georgia Southern University opens doors to Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center
Georgia Southern University’s Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center officially opened its doors with a grand opening and ribbon cutting on June 19. Coinciding with the Center’s Juneteenth celebration, the public was invited to attend the afternoon festivities at 13040 Abercorn Street in Savannah. The ribbon cutting saw many local dignitaries in attendence, including Savannah Mayor Van R. Johnson, Georgia Rep. Carl Gilliard, Georgia Sen. Derek Mallow and Chatham County Chairman Chester Ellis, as well as Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Executive Director Victoria Smalls, Gullah Geechee historian and preservationist Queen Quet and Georgia Southern Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Carl Reiber, Ph.D., offered opening remarks. “This is a monumental occasion,” said Maxine Bryant, Ph.D., director of the Gullah Geechee Center. “To celebrate our grand opening on the nationally recognized Juneteenth is extremely meaningful. We will simultaneously honor the freedom of enslaved Black Americans and the Gullah Geechee culture that has preserved more African traditions than any other group.” The Gullah Geechee people of Coastal Georgia are descendants of enslaved Africans from plantations along the lower Atlantic coast. Many came from the rice-growing region of West Africa and were brought to the Americas for their agricultural and architectural knowledge and skills. The enslaved Africans were isolated on the Sea Islands. This isolation enabled them to create and maintain a unique culture steeped in remnants of Africa. This culture became known as Gullah Geechee and is visible in the people’s distinctive arts, crafts, foodways, use of waterways, music, dance and language. Much of the Gullah Geechee community today, which is estimated to be a population of 1 million, can speak the African Creole language or tell the stories of their ancestors who are credited with influencing southern and American culture. Local Gullah Geechee artists and the McIntosh County Shouters showcased their talent at the event. The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center, established in 2019, honors myriad contributions made by Gullah Geechee people, provides educational resources for the public, promotes scholarship and research, and serves as a model for national reconciliation and reparations. It is part of the Gullah Geechee Corridor, which stretches across 27 counties in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida. If you're interested in learning more about Georgia Southern University’s Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center - then let us help. Simply reach out to Georgia Southern's Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.
Solving sargassum: Florida Tech researchers exploring ways to make seaweed useful
Sargassum, a type of large brown seaweed, has been in the news lately, with a massive blob that’s visible from space and threatening ocean life. University research funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could address the issue, while also helping solve another problem in our water. Toufiq Reza, an assistant professor of chemical engineering in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering and Sciences, along with research students Cadianne Chambers, Swarna Saha, Savannah Grimes and Josh Calhoun, were part of the research paper, “Physical and morphological alteration of Sargassum‐derived ultraporous superactivated hydrochar with remarkable cationic dye adsorption.” The paper was published in the May edition of Springer Nature’s Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery journal. The paper is part of a three-year, nearly $400,000 EPA grant to examine different uses of sargassum. It explains that the team can produce biochar from sargassum that can filter water. Though the team has tested model dye in this paper, they plan to extend their research for other applications including harmful algal bloom remediation and nutrient recovery in the future. While sargassum has been around for centuries (Christopher Columbus is credited with the first written account after he encountered it in 1492), and you’ve probably seen bits of brownish seaweed on the beach – it sometimes smells like rotten eggs – the quantities in the ocean and washing up on shores are a more recent phenomenon. There are multiple reasons behind the increased amount of sargassum, including global warming that intensifies sargassum production and nutrient runoff making its way to ocean water and overfertilizing the seaweed growth. More sargassum is expected to show up on Florida shores in the future, inspiring the team to explore more positive uses of the abundant seaweed. “In the next couple of years, we’ll be seeing much more sargassum coming into our way. It’s not a common practice to utilize sargassum,” Reza said. “We go to a beach and then we see a little bit of sargassum just dried out. That doesn’t bother us that much, but when it started to come as a foot-tall sargassum wave, that’s where it gets more alarming.” Sargassum in the lab is labor intensive. Because it contains salt from the ocean, it is washed with tap water first, then put in a freezer for preservation. Next, it goes through hydrothermal carbonization, a thermochemical process that uses heat and pressure to convert biomass and organic waste (such as the sargassum being used) into solid hydrochar. Lastly, the solid char goes through pyrolysis, where it is heated in a high-temperature, oxygen-free chamber into a biochar that is used to filter water. For Swarna Saha, a first-year doctoral student, her goal as a researcher is to identify an environmental problem and come up with a sustainable solution. Having grown up in Bangladesh around textile factories that generate dyes that pollute the surface water, she was inspired to work on solutions that improved water quality with biochar. “I came in the project when we were experimenting on dye adsorption and saw how a tiny amount of biochar changes the color of the water,” she said. “For me, seeing the results made me the happiest. When we saw that our biochar is effective, that is the biggest achievement for me. That made me happy.” Cadianne Chambers, a second-year doctoral researcher, was motivated by her home country of Jamaica and its massive issues with sargassum. Chambers has heard accounts of fishermen unable to go out to sea because of the sargassum buildup. A popular destination for summer vacation, Jamaica is facing serious environmental and economic problems with waves of sargassum. “A team in Jamaica saw that article and they reached out to us, and they’re trying to cultivate sargassum. They want us to teach them how to make export-quality hydrochar and biochar, which could help solve their environmental problem and generate revenues,” Chambers said. “So, everything is just connecting nicely and I’m hoping to continue our collaboration with them. If it’s something that I can go home and put my PhD research to work and help the community, that would be really satisfying.” Looking to know more about sargassum and the ground-breaking research taking place at Florida Tech? Then let us help with your coverage and questions. Toufiq Reza is an assistant professor in the biomedical and chemical engineering and sciences department at Florida Tech. He's available to speak with media about this topic - simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.
We've all been there. A relationship ends and the rebound begins. Now since the beginning of time it seems everyone from friends, family and advice columnists have had different opinions and perspectives on how each of us should approach 'the rebound.' And earlier this month, The Atlantic decided to connect with Georgia Southern's Amy Hackney, Ph.D., a psychology professor, to weigh in with her expert opinion. “Rebound relationships” have a terrible reputation. A romance ignited shortly after another ends seems chaotic—like an opportunistic ricochet rather than an intentional search for compatibility. After a breakup, people are commonly told to take their time grieving before they start dating again. And people dating someone who’s fresh off a breakup are told to be wary—of being used as a distraction, or being treated carelessly by someone fumbling through their own heartache. But research doesn’t seem to support the idea that rebound relationships are inherently toxic or doomed to fail. When someone fresh from a split starts dating, it’s true that they might not be totally over their ex. But new relationships can help people move on from old ones. In one study of participants recovering from breakups, those who’d found a new partner were more confident in their own desirability, more trusting of other people, and less likely to say that they still had feelings for their old partner. Another examined rebounders who’d been in their new relationships for a year and a half on average. The quicker those subjects had jumped into that rebound, the higher they rated on measures of well-being and self-esteem. Amy Hackney, a psychology professor at Georgia Southern University, found something similar when she investigated what helped college students get over breakups. “The sooner they began dating someone new, the faster that they felt that they had recovered from that prior relationship,” she told me. Although that might conflict with conventional wisdom, she thinks it fits with basic social psychology: A partner provides validation, care, and companionship, and when they go away, there’s no reason someone else can’t take their place. Perhaps that sounds unromantic, but according to Hackney, it’s healthy to be reminded—promptly—“how many people we really can have fulfilling relationships with.” As Neil Sedaka would sing 'Breaking up is hard to do' and so too is getting back into the dating game. If you're a journalist looking to know more about this topic - then let our experts help. To connect with Amy Hackney — simply reach out to Georgia Southern's Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.
Michael Huggins, Ph.D., will join Georgia Southern University on August 1 as the Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. “I am excited to welcome Dr. Huggins to our academic leadership,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Carl Reiber, Ph.D. “Dr. Huggins has a distinguished career filled with research, service and mentorship. He will be a valuable partner as we move forward with our leadership goals. He brings with him the working knowledge of how to lead a College, along with the foundations needed to advance our research mission.” Huggins comes to Georgia Southern from Tarleton State University, where he has served as a dean since 2020. He led three academic departments with nine undergraduate degree programs and three master’s degree programs. While serving as dean at Tarleton State, Huggins established a $15 million College of Science and Mathematics (COSM) fundraising initiative. He also led efforts to improve COSM First-Time-In-College (FTIC) retention rates resulting in an improvement from 67.3% COSM FTIC retention for the Fall 2019 cohort to 71.7% retention rate for the Fall 2021 COSM FTIC cohort; a 6.5% improvement in just two years. “I am excited to join the Georgia Southern team,” Huggins said. “I look forward to working with the faculty and staff to develop initiatives that support the growth of the College of Science and Mathematics and to ensure the success for all students during their time at the University and beyond.” Huggins holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of West Florida, a Ph.D. in Chemistry from University of Nevada, Reno and completed his postdoctoral at University of Texas at Austin. He is also a graduate from the Harvard University Institute for Management and Leadership in Education. To connect with Michael Huggins or to learn more about Georgia Southern University — simply reach out to Georgia Southern's Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.
Georgia Southern University names David Owen as new dean of the College of Arts and Humanities
David Owen, Ph.D., will join Eagle Nation on July 1 to serve as the new Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities (CAH). “I am pleased to welcome David to Georgia Southern as the next generation of leadership for the College of Arts and Humanities,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Carl Reiber, Ph.D. “David brings with him a wealth of knowledge and understanding in analytical and philosophical foundations that will prepare our students for vital roles in their professional communities.” Owen comes to Georgia Southern from the University of Louisville, where he has served as the interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences since 2020. Among his many achievements, he transitioned the college to a new enrollment-based budget model, led the development of a three-year retention plan, and led morale improvement efforts among the College. While interim dean, Owen oversaw a budget of $62 million, including $4.8 million in funded research grants and a fundraising campaign that raised $4.3 million in 2021-2022. Prior to becoming interim dean, he was the chairperson of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Louisville. He is a three-time alumnus of the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. “I am truly excited to be joining Georgia Southern as dean of the College of Arts and Humanities,” said Owen. “In my meetings, I found the faculty and staff of the College to be extraordinarily talented, and deeply committed to student success. The importance of the arts and humanities to a vibrant civic culture has never been more clear, and I look forward to working with the faculty and staff in CAH, Provost Reiber, colleagues from across campus, and alumni and friends of the college to advance the impact CAH has on students’ lives, on the wider community, and on civic culture.” To connect with David Owen or to learn more about Georgia Southern University — simply reach out to Georgia Southern's Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.
Pioneering UConn Researcher Regrows Human Bone Using a Biodegradable Implant
A pioneer in the field of regenerative engineering, UConn's Dr. Cato T. Laurencin is charging toward his goal of regenerating a human limb by the year 2030. In a step toward reaching that goal, Dr. Laurencin and his team have detailed their success in regrowing bone using a plant-derived molecule in a recent study published by PNAS, marking a major step toward affordable, safe bone regeneration and growing replacement limbs. Dr. Laurencin discussed this impressive breakthrough this week with Hearst Connecticut Media: Most bone fractures heal reasonably well with care. But in severe breaks, where sections of bones are missing, or in crush injuries bones don’t always heal very well. In those cases, self-grafts or donated grafts of healthy bone from other, non-broken bones can be used to help close the gaps. But bone grafts don’t always take. Since about 2001, recombinant bone morphogenic proteins have been used to help stimulate bone growth in injuries where bone wouldn’t otherwise heal but their use has limits. While they work on long bone fractures, like those in your limbs, they’re not used on more complex bones. In some experimental treatments with fractured pelvises, recombinant bone protein caused bone tissue to form outside the skeleton. Forming bone tissue outside the skeleton is one of the more troubling side effects of this treatment. Bone tissue engineering seeks to get around this by developing implants that use adult stem cells to direct the growth of new bone across breaks that bones could not heal on their own. Some of this work involves building custom implants designed to mimic the missing bone to guide bone healing. Others attempt to deliver the bone protein in an implant, stopping it from leaving the injury area, to prevent side effects. These bone treatments are also expensive. In a meta-analysis from 2006, researchers found that they cost more than standard care for severe fractures. But UConn team took a different approach, using the drug forskolin, a molecule derived from a plant in the mint family. Forskolin triggers cells to make something called “cyclic AMP” a messenger molecule that is normally made in response to hormones. This messenger molecule turns on a wide variety of cell functions depending on what cells in which locations it stimulates. “We were intrigued by being able to find some natural material that people were already consuming in quantity,” said Dr. Laurencin, “But obviously there’s a difference between ingesting it and putting it on one location, like a bone site.” Dr. Laurencin’s team created a biodegradable plastic implant impregnated with forskolin, testing this on rabbits. The implants guided the creation of new bone tissue after 12 weeks. If you're a journalist looking to know more about this groundbreaking research taking place at UConn, let us help with your questions and coverage. Dr. Cato Laurencin, CEO of the Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering at UConn, is available to for interviews. Simply click on his icon now to arrange a time to talk today.
• Professor Patricia Thornley has led a Department for Transport advisory paper • Advises decarbonisation will need low-carbon fuels alongside electrification • Calls for continued investment in this area. A leading energy expert at Aston University has advised government to invest in low carbon fuels - as well as electric - if it wants to reach its 2050 net zero ambition. Professor Patricia Thornley has led a Department for Transport (DfT) advisory paper on low carbon transport fuels. The paper advises that decarbonisation of the UK’s transport systems will need the government to support the use of low-carbon fuels alongside widespread battery electrification where possible. Professor Thornley and the other members who sat on the Scientific Advisory Council examined the challenges and opportunities of developing and using different fuels and their potential impact on the wider energy system. The authors highlight that low carbon fuels such as those made from agricultural waste can deliver reductions in carbon emissions, helping to meet the government’s 2050 net zero ambition. As a result, they state that continued investment in this area is crucial. The paper also states that at this point it’s not yet clear if low carbon fuels will support just the transition to full electrification of the UK’s transport systems or will be a long-term solution. Professor Thornley who is director of Aston University’s Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI) and the Supergen Bioenergy Hub said: “Successful decarbonisation of transport systems in the UK will require flexible and adaptive government strategies that support the use of low-carbon fuels alongside widespread battery electrification, where that is possible. “The optimal mix of low carbon fuels vs battery electrification in transport will depend on many different factors, some technological, some supply related, and others linked to the capacity of the UK to generate low carbon electricity. “We urgently need to better understand and manage the airborne emissions that can still be present with low carbon fuels (including hydrogen). That might result in us prioritising different fuels or propulsion systems in different applications or even different parts of the UK. “Agreeing that prioritisation would allow us to prioritise appropriate next generation of infrastructure to support the UK’s net zero ambitions.” Back in March 2022 the Council was asked to provide guidance to the DfT which is currently developing a low carbon fuels strategy. The report, Low carbon transport fuels: DfT Science Advisory Council position paper was published on 5 June and provides an independent advice on the role of low carbon fuels in reducing transport systems’ greenhouse gas emissions.
Aston University wins £1.8m to boost West Midlands low carbon markets
• Aston University and local industry to develop technology to convert organic material into commercially valuable products • Sawdust, diseased trees and dried chicken litter among what can be transformed into sustainable bioproducts • West Midlands companies are invited to join a cluster to develop new low carbon products for growing markets. Aston University is to receive £1.8 million to transform the West Midlands into a powerhouse of low-carbon product development and commercialisation. The University will be building on its existing research facilities to lead the region’s Biochar CleanTech Accelerator as part of the West Midlands Innovation Accelerator. The project was set up with the aim to secure export contracts for low carbon products worth over £200 million, to be made by a regional industrial cluster. It is hoped that the development of a low-carbon business cluster in the West Midlands will open up new domestic and export markets to help rebuild the region’s engineering and manufacturing status. Biochar, a sustainable form of charcoal, can be used as a soil and plant growth enhancer. It stores carbon in the ground, so there are fewer greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Other products such as oils can be used as low carbon fuels for boilers and engines and the liquid by-product can be used for low carbon weedkiller, fungicide and plant growth. Aston University’s innovative technology is installed at its urban biochar demonstrator in south Birmingham. The project is based on the strengths of the University’s Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI) and its Centre for the Circular Economy and Advanced Sustainability (CEAS). Tim Miller, director of engagement at EBRI, said: “This new development has the potential to rebuild product development, engineering and manufacturing in our region. “The project aims to commercialise knowledge, facilities and the results of long-term university research for the benefit of the environment and our regional economy. “Using the University’s existing expertise and facilities we have the potential to launch new technology-based opportunities as they emerge and mature, The Biochar CleanTech Accelerator is part of the West Midlands Innovation Accelerator which was first announced in the government’s 2022 Levelling up White Paper and started this spring. It is funded through a share of a £100m from Innovate UK, to be divided by three regional innovation accelerators over the next two years. Launched by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in March 2023, it will target investment on projects enabling new solutions around Medical and Clean Technologies, to further reinforce the region’s position at the frontier of the UK innovation revolution. The University will also play a key role in two other projects in the West Midlands Innovation Accelerator. Companies interested in joining the cluster can get further information at https://www.aston.ac.uk/biochar-cleantech-accelerator or emailing biochar@aston.ac.uk
Aston University to host one-day workshop around healthy workplaces
Experts will present their recent research focused on healthy work and workplaces The event is being hosted by the Healthy Work Research Unit at Aston University It will take place on Friday 30 June in Conference Aston in Birmingham. The Healthy Work Research Unit at Aston University is hosting a one-day workshop focusing on healthy work and workplaces on Friday 30 June at Conference Aston in Birmingham. The event will bring together four experts who will present their research and insights in the field of promoting wellbeing in various professional settings. Attendees will be able to gain knowledge about areas impacting wellbeing and potential strategies to support healthy work practices. The programme will include sessions on problematic substance use in healthcare, police working practices and improving NHS staff wellbeing in paediatric critical care. Dr Simon McCabe, a senior lecturer in work and organisation at Aston Business School and head of the Healthy Work Research Unit, said: “This event is a unique opportunity for professionals and enthusiasts alike to gather and delve into the realm of promoting well-being in diverse professional settings and understanding some of the problems we are currently facing. “We have assembled a panel of four distinguished experts from our university and beyond who will be presenting their groundbreaking research and invaluable insights. “Their contributions will provide attendees with a scintillating discussion of some of the issues we face in this area, and touch on practical strategies to foster healthy work practices and cultivate work environments that are conducive to personal and professional growth.” Participants attending in person will have limited availability, with only 30 seats available. However, an additional 100 places are open for online participation via MS Teams. To sign up for a place, click here.