TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Donald Staffo, Elizabeth Caver and Litia Godinet were awarded for their excellence in research at the second annual Stillman Research Symposium, which was recently held in the Cordell Wynn Humanities and Fine Arts Center on the College campus.
Dr. Staffo was presented with the Faculty Research Award for a lifetime of contributions to his field. He has authored 10 books, 117 scholarly articles, and a health and fitness column that appeared in 21 newspapers and three national magazines. In 2013, he was inducted into the National Association for Sport and Physical Education’s (NASPE) Hall of Fame.
Promising Researcher Awards were presented to Caver and Godinet. This award goes to students whose oral or poster presentations are judged to be creative, innovative, and demonstrating strong potential for future research.
Caver was awarded for her oral presentation, Alcohol addiction linked to Dopamine synthesis pathway: Fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster a model system. She collaborated with Karen Salanquit, Dr. Mary Jane Krotzer, Dr. Janis O’Donnell and Dr. Anathbandhu Chaudhuri.
Godinet, who was awarded for her poster presentation on the overweight epidemic among American Samoans, worked with Laquita Clifton, Dr. Mary Jane Krotzer and Dr. Anathbandhu Chaudhuri.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Mary Jane Krotzer, assistant vice president for academic affairs. Dr. Krotzer serves as the Principal Investigator for the LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation), MERIT (Mentored Experiences in Research, Instruction, and Teaching), and MHRC (Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center) collaborative grant programs with the University of Alabama at Birmingham. For 12 years, she served as the Pre-Health Professions Advisor, assisting many students in gaining entry into medical, dental, optometry, pharmacy, and chiropractic schools.
The day-long symposium featured a diversity of topics including links between the adipokinetic hormone and the circadian clock; the effects of dopamine on the reproduction of fruit flies; factors that play a role in accepting or declining an ethnic identity; the Influence of media on the self-worth of African-Americans; the effects of dopamine on the reproduction of Drosophila melanogaster; the poetics of pathology; and solutions for safe patient handling and movement.
“The Stillman Research Symposium, which was the brainchild of Dr. Peter Millet, recognizes, celebrates and encourages research amongst faculty and students,” said Dr. April Kendrick, an assistant professor of psychology and chair of the conference planning committee.
