The Academic Minute for 2015.11.30-12.4

Catch up with The Academic Minute from 11.30 – 12.4

Monday, November 30
Montserrat Rabago-Smith – Kettering University
Antioxidants
Dr. Montserrat Rabago-Smith is an Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan. She is currently collaborating with Dr. Lihua Wang and Dr. Veronica Moorman in an attempt to specify the potential preventative relationship between catechins in green tea and cardiovascular disease.

Tuesday, December 1
Alvin Shrier – McGill University
Cardiac Arrhythmia
Dr. Shrier lab is interested in ion channel function and cardiac dynamics. We study the molecular mechanisms that underlie the quality control and regulation of hERG and TRPM7 channels, respectively. We also use optical dyes to image the conduction of the cardiac impulse in patterned cultured cardiac myocytes that we analyze and model using nonlinear mathematical techniques. The aim is to understand the origin and termination of abnormal rhythms that occur in the heart and other excitable systems.

Wednesday, December 2
Lewis Davis – Union College
Racial Solidarity
Lewis Davis is a Professor of Economics at Union College, where he teaches courses that investigate how economics interacts with culture, politics and ethics.  His research addresses a broad range of topics, including economic growth, income inequality, political economy, intellectual property rights, individualism, social solidarity and envy.  Prof. Davis has over twenty peer-reviewed and edited articles, with recent publications in the Journal of Economic Growth, European Economic Review, and the Journal of Comparative Economics.  Prof. Davis serves on the editorial boards of the Eastern Economic Journal and the Review of Economics and Institutions.  Prof. Davis has a PhD in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BA in Mathematics from Davidson College.  For more information, please visit his webpage:  http://muse.union.edu/davisl/.

Thursday, December 3
Claudia Hilton – University of Texas Medical Branch
Exergames
Dr. Claudia Hilton is an associate professor in the Occupational Therapy Department at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. Through her career, she has had extensive experience as an occupational therapist, as a faculty member and as a researcher.  Her research examines issues that limit activity participation by children with autism spectrum disorders. Participation in activities is how children develop an understanding of the expectations of society and gain the physical and social skills needed to function and flourish. It plays an important role in a child’s social development and influences his or her long-term mental and physical health. Upon reaching adulthood, an alarmingly low percentage of individuals with autism, even with average or nearly average intelligence, are employed, get married, or achieve enough independence to live alone. The expected outcome of Dr. Hilton’s research is to better prepare individuals who have autism to become productive adults living meaningful and satisfying lives.

Friday, December 4
John Mayberry – University of the Pacific
Math & Sports
The work by John Mayberry, an associate professor of mathematics at University of the Pacific, and Pacific’s water polo coach, James Graham, is changing the way coaches look at game strategy. They are analyzing key performance indicators in college and international water polo matches and learning plenty along the way.