Adapt and persevere:
Students find new ways to succeed
The student experience in 2020 was unique in the history of Penn State. Though many traditional hallmarks of student life were altered by our inability to gather in large groups, students and the larger Penn State community supported each other to forge bonds and build a better world. Once again, our students have shown resilience, tenacity, and the ability to work together. WE ARE…
Student Experiences During COVID-19
Language, culture, and pesticides: how to protect farmworkers
Farmworkers in the United States are exposed to pesticides, machinery, and other potential hazards. Researchers are working to provide the protective equipment and the health literacy needed to improve farmworkers’ well-being.
Expeditions: nature, adventure, and personal growth
Research shows that exposure to nature has benefits. Expeditions—immersive trips into nature—challenge participants’ capacity, endurance, and decision making. In doing so, expeditions improve self-confidence, planning, and teamwork.
Using artificial intelligence to evaluate newborn health
Much can be learned about the health of both a mother and her newborn by examining the placenta. Penn State faculty developed and patented software to evaluate a placenta with only a photograph, and they are working to improve and disseminate their innovation to people who need it.
In the Media: Understanding how humans meet their water needs
Asher Rosinger works to understand how humans meet their water needs and how this relates to health, the environment, and more. He has received extensive media coverage and professional recognition for this work.
Human Development and Family Studies degree helped Wholesome co-creator develop her entrepreneurial spirit
Entrepreneurship is often associated with emergent technology and raising money, but one recent Penn State graduate turned her entrepreneurial spirit toward helping people create a sense of well-being and community.
Protecting Children
Penn State researchers are working to protect children from sexual abuse. Facilitators have educated hundreds of parents and thousands of children across Pennsylvania using the ‘Smarter Parents, Safer Kids’ and ‘Safe Touches’ programs. Learn how to help keep children safe from abuse.
HHD faculty members named Distinguished Professors
The College of Health and Human Development celebrates three members of its faculty who have recently been named distinguished professors. The title of distinguished professor, bestowed by Penn State’s Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, recognizes outstanding academic contribution to the University.
Building resilience from childhood abuse
For some abused children, trauma is embedded throughout their lives, while others do not experience negative health outcomes. New research from Human Development and Family Studies examines how childhood sexual abuse does—or does not—impact the hormone cortisol in adults.
COVID-19 pandemic affects outdoor recreation
Research led by Penn State’s Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management shows that 20 percent of Americans began regularly participating in outdoor recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic, while 13 percent of Americans stopped.
Can parks reduce inequity?
Parks offer space for physical activity, enjoyment of nature, connection with other people, and wildlife habitat. Andrew Mowen of recreation, park, and tourism management examines how parks can also help address social and racial inequities.
Helping children grow up healthy
Twenty-eight percent of two- to four-year-olds in Pennsylvania have overweight or obesity. Learn how researchers in Penn State’s Center for Childhood Obesity Research teach parents the skills to help their children maintain a healthy weight.
Supporting LGBTQ+ people becoming parents
Each year there are 400,000 children in United States’ child welfare system, but in many places, potential LGBTQ+ foster and adoptive parents are rejected because of their sexual and gender identity. Samantha Tornello works to support prospective LGBTQ+ parents.
Protecting mountain gorillas by empowering people
When Edwin Sabuhoro worked as a ranger protecting the endangered mountain gorilla, he saw local people as a problem. Today, as a researcher, he sees them as the solution and the future of conservation.
Athletic Training Club offers community and experience
The Student Athletic Training Club, for students pursuing a career in athletic training, offers community and networking, as well as the opportunity to support dancers in the THON athletic training room.
Teaching mindfulness to help navigate change
Through ‘Windows of Opportunity’, researchers are helping teachers and students become more mindful and compassionate. These techniques help calm the mind, ease stress, and you can benefit from them as well in your daily life.
Saving lives as a matter of policy
When an ambulance carries someone to an emergency room, that person is unlikely to think about health care legislation. Those laws, however, sometimes mean the difference between life and death. Read how Charleen Hsuan is working to improve ER care.
How literacy can unlock a voice
Nate is a 5-year-old boy with Cerebral Palsy. He cannot speak or point reliably. With assistance from researchers in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Nate is learning to read, something that most children with speech disorders never get to do.
The need to refuel: How to protect female athletes
Penn State researchers are studying ways to decrease the harmful impact of the Female Athlete Triad, a syndrome that afflicts many girls and women who exercise regularly or participate in sports. By being mindful and accepting of one’s body, women can prevent this syndrome.
Improving the health of rural gay men
Gay men fare worse than their straight counterparts in many aspects of mental and physical health. Joshua Rosenberger is developing ways to support gay men to reduce stigma and improve health outcomes.
Testing the Alzheimer’s test
Older Black Americans are two to three times more likely to suffer Alzheimer’s than their White counterparts. Alyssa Gamaldo wants to understand why.
