Research and Innovation: August 2024

Physician Assistant students recently conducted vision and hearing screenings for third- through fifth-grade students at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater High Point. Pictured at right is Jennifer Felder, a physician assistant student, adjusting a girl’s headphones for a hearing test.

HIGH POINT, N.C., Sept. 5, 2024 – Members of the High Point University community frequently conduct, publish and share research and creative works in a variety of ways. Below is a recap of recent research and innovative initiatives.

Physician Assistant Students Provide Free Vision and Hearing Screenings

Fourteen physician assistant students recently conducted vision and hearing screenings for 48 elementary school students at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater High Point. Community Collaboration for Children, Inc. (C3), a nonprofit, multiagency collaborative dedicated to supporting children and families in need, coordinated the screenings at two club sites and will follow up with the children’s parents if their screenings indicate a need for more in-depth evaluation.

The screenings provided PA students with their first opportunity to work with pediatric patients, said Jennifer Felder, a physician assistant student from Orlando, Florida.

“I was excited to get that experience and have that interaction with the kids,” said Felder. “It really is important to get out in the community and build that relationship, because I’m new here as well. I want to start making those connections early. That way I’m more equipped and prepared to go out in the community to help with what they need.”

Dr. Michele Jedlica, assistant professor of physician assistant studies, said a child’s ability to see and hear in the classroom is fundamental to them achieving academic success.

“If vision or hearing deficits are detected, they can be corrected or accommodations can be made in the classroom,” said Jedlica. “The PA students at HPU have the opportunity to apply new skills and enjoy the experience of interacting with children in our community. Our PA students were assisted on their academic journey, and now they are helping others.”

Having a child’s vision and hearing tested during the summer provides an important window of time for further follow-up exams if the screenings indicate a potential medical issue, said C3 President Vicki Miller. C3 will contact the parents and offer free exam services, transportation to the medical office and glasses, if warranted.

“The HPU PA students learn the little nuances of how children react to ‘doctors,’” Miller said. “I’ve overheard conversations where the PA students use phrases the children don’t understand then are quickly able adjust to the child’s level of knowledge. Mainly, I see the PA students eager to make sure the children have a positive experience. Their warm encouragement as the child goes through the screenings just does my heart good. It’s a feel-good experience for PA students and children. They will be great PAs with children.”

Physical Therapy Students Assist Adaptive Surfing and Skating Event

Nearly 40 HPU Doctor of Physical Therapy students recently joined more than 120 athletes and 550 volunteers to participate in an annual two-day adaptive surfing and skating clinic at Carolina Beach, North Carolina.

Teaming up with Ocean Cure and Life Rolls On, nonprofit partners who host adaptive events on the East and West Coasts, presented an opportunity for physical therapy students to get hands-on skills in the adaptive sporting community for a third consecutive year. HPU’s Congdon School of Health Sciences provided the largest group of physical therapy students at the Aug. 3-4 event.

“Students were engaged in a variety of volunteer roles to help support this amazing day of surfing from registration check-in and team coordinators to in-water volunteers who helped transfer athletes to and from the surfboard and keep them on the surfboards while in the water,” said Dr. Rebecca Medendorp, assistant professor and director of clinical education in the Department of Physical Therapy. “At the skate camp, their roles were to help navigate athletes around the skate park and ensure both fun and safety while athletes tried new and daring things on ramps, popping wheelies and performing tricks they never tried before.”

Dr. Renee Hamel, associate professor and director of students in the Department of Physical Therapy, enjoyed sharing with her students the opportunity to improve the quality of life for people living with various disabilities.

“Seeing the athletes succeed and smile while also seeing the students’ excitement, light bulb moments and staying in tune with their ‘why’ is incredibly special to witness and be part of,” said Hamel. “This year, 37 volunteered their time and energy to cheer on the athletes and help them onto and off surfboards.”

Mackenzie Edwards, a Class of 2025 DPT major, said learning how to best meet the needs of patients and work with athletes of all abilities to achieve goals in and out of the water was extraordinary.

“My fellow classmates and I collaborated in teams to learn how to best use water-safe adaptive equipment, assist athletes into the water, transfer athletes on and off their surfboard and assist with positioning each athlete to comfortably ride waves,” Edwards said. “The camp was an incredible way to experience just how important adaptive sports are and highlights the role physical therapy plays when setting patient goals with optimal outcomes in mind.”

Students also cheered on Zack Johnson, an athlete with a thoracic level spinal cord injury from a diving accident who they treated all summer in Hamel’s advanced neuro selective course. Students were able to see how their interventions and Johnson’s hard work came together “in an incredible smile and a successful ride of a wave,” Hamel said.

Historical Gaming Society Studies Major Battle

HPU students, faculty and alumni who participate in the History Department Historical Gaming Society recently returned to campus to simulate a battle based on the Franco-Prussian War in the Fellowship Hall at David Hayworth Chapel.

Dr. Frederick C. Schneid, the Herman and Louise Smith professor of history, returned from his year serving as the visiting Charles Boal Ewing Chair in Military History at the United States Military Academy at West Point and hosted the July 19 reunion.

The History Department Historical Gaming Society, established more than 20 years ago, meets weekly during the school year to study battles and play a variety of games from different periods of history.

“Wargaming is a method of experiential learning, a method of exploring the strategies, operations and tactics of different periods of history, beyond reading about them,” Schneid said. “Wargaming also reinforces HPU Life Skills by emphasizing teamwork, critical thinking, leadership and decision-making skills.”

Alumni traveled from as far as Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., to participate in the simulation. Many alumni continue to remain engaged with HPU and support the history department after graduation through generous donations, Schneid said.

“The opportunities that High Point University’s History Department gave me throughout undergraduate years and since have just been amazing and made it hard for me not to come back for everything Dr. Schneid puts on,” said Matthew Bienstock, a Class of 2015 history alumnus who worked as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Defense. “As someone who went to law school, I would say the way Dr. Schneid and the History Department teach gives you an advantage going into graduate education.”

Dan Keith, a Class of 2020 HPU history alumnus who works at the Pentagon as an intelligence analyst for Latin America, said the reunion was his first visit to campus since 2021.

“We have certain people who have driven five to six hours to come here for this and haven’t seen each other in three or four years. It originally started small but just turned into something a little bit bigger than we expected,” said Stephen Wilson, a Class of 2020 history alumnus who earned his master’s in communication and business leadership in 2021.

 Faculty Explores Climate Change Impacts on Clouds and Plants in Landmark Review

Dr. Nicole Hughes, an associate professor of biology and plant ecophysiologist, published her latest review article, “Clouds and plant ecophysiology: missing links for understanding climate change impacts,” in the prestigious journal Frontiers in Forest and Global Change.

The article provides a comprehensive examination of how changing cloud patterns associated with human disturbance and climate change influence essential plant-based processes like carbon and water cycling. The review draws upon a decade of research by Hughes and her HPU research team focused on cloud systems around the world and funded by the National Science Foundation. Collaborators include researchers from Wake Forest University and Universidad del Rosario in Colombia.

“Most people don’t think about clouds when they think about climate change, but cloud patterns are shifting, and that has important implications for plants, including the ones we depend on for food,” said Hughes.

Decades of data show clouds are decreasing over land in many parts of the globe, including much of South and Central America, Europe and parts of North America while increasing over others, such as India, the Horn of Africa and Saudi Arabia. Hughes said some of this is due to changing climate patterns, while other changes are associated with human activity. For example, deforestation contributes to decreases in clouds in the Amazon.

“Fewer trees mean less moisture being transported from the soil back into the atmosphere, and fewer clouds as a result,” said Hughes.

Deforested land is hotter than the forests it replaces. Warmer air must rise higher in the atmosphere to allow condensation, which can leave upland forests vulnerable to drying out. Hughes and her collaborators have shown that spur firs absorb much of their water directly from clouds.