Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences

🎉👟 Congratulations to Samuel Vessat, an HHS senior majoring in selling and sales management, for earning two trips to the NCAA Outdoor Championships podium in the 400-meter and 4x400 meter relay for Purdue Track & Field!

Purdue HTM - White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management

Vessat Shows Out to Lead Purdue’s 3 Podium Finishes at NCAAs EUGENE, Ore. – Purdue Track & Field’s Samuel Vessat earned two trips to the NCAA Outdoor Championships podium in the 400m and 4x400m, while Praise Aniamaka took eighth in the triple jump. Chidozie Kalu added an Honorable Mention All-American honor in the triple jump.Accumulating 11 points on Fri...

At just 13 years old, Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth organized her first conference with the intent of helping enhance processes in her church. Now a distinguished professor in the Purdue University Department of Human Development and Family Science, MacDermid Wadsworth has focused her career on making a greater impact.

With her research looking at the relationship between work and family life and the systems in which families operate, MacDermid Wadsworth’s work has shaped programs, policies and practices for individuals and families. She has also amplified her work as director of the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University and former director of the Center for Families at Purdue University.

From programs to practice, Purdue HDFS distinguished professor reflects on creating lasting change for families – News | College of Health and Human Sciences At just 13 years old, Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth organized her first conference with the intent of helping enhance processes in her church. Now a distinguished professor in the Purdue University Department of Human Development and Family Science, MacDermid Wadsworth has focused her career on making...

The Purdue Institute for Cancer Research (PICR) has received a five-year National Cancer Institute T32 training award to establish the Purdue Interdisciplinary Cancer Research Training (PICRT) program, a doctoral program designed to prepare scientists for the collaborative, cross-disciplinary challenges of modern cancer research.

Led by Dorothy Teegarden and Danzhou Yang, the program establishes Purdue University's first NIH-funded doctoral training initiative specifically dedicated to cancer research. Teegarden is associate director of cancer research training and education at the cancer institute at the PICR and a professor in the Department of Nutrition Science. Yang is a PICR member, associate dean for graduate programs in the Purdue College of Pharmacy, and the Martha and Fred Borch Chair in Cancer Therapeutics and Distinguished Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology.

Read more about the PICRT: https://cancer.research.purdue.edu/stories/picr-receives-nci-award-to-train-the-next-generation-of-interdisciplinary-cancer-scientists/

👚 Fast fashion refers to rapidly produced, trend-driven clothing designed and discarded at a rapid pace.

Jiyun Kang, associate professor in the Division of Consumer Science within the Purdue HTM - White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and her PhD students focus on understanding human-centered fashion retail and luxury systems and consumer behaviors.

“I think there is a significant gap between the intention and behavior because fashion trends are so fast. It’s changing so quickly,” explained Jiarui Li, one of Kang’s PhD students.

Purdue retail behavior experts: Rethinking the fast fashion system through behavioral science – News | College of Health and Human Sciences Fast fashion refers to rapidly produced, trend-driven clothing designed and discarded at a rapid pace. This behavior has put a strain on the global environment.

to last month's study abroad experience in Italy led by Jill Gulker, clinical assistant professor in the Purdue University Department of Psychological Sciences. Gulker developed this new study abroad program in Rome, Italy, centered on cultural neuropsychology. It was a global practicum in brain, behavior and culture for the students.

🧠 Why do some people escape Alzheimer’s disease despite carrying its hallmarks?
A new study by Priyanka Baloni, assistant professor in the School of Health Sciences at Purdue University, and graduate student Purba Mandal reveals that preserved mitochondrial energy metabolism may be the key to cognitive resilience in the face of Alzheimer’s pathology.

The brain’s hidden resilience: why some people escape Alzheimer’s Disease despite carrying its hallmarks Published in Communications Biology — A new study reveals that preserved mitochondrial energy metabolism may be the key to cognitive resilience in the face of Alzheimer’s pathology.

🕵️‍♀️ We're launching a new series busting some common health-related myths. First up is:
𝗠𝗬𝗧𝗛: 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁.
Tasha DeWitt, clinical assistant professor in the Purdue School of Nursing, busts this myth for us. She says, "Reading in low light may cause eye strain and temporary fatigue, but it does not cause any lasting damage to your vision. Your eyes contain muscles that work harder in poor lighting to help you focus, which can lead to discomfort, headaches and tired eyes, but the effect is entirely reversible once you rest. No research has found a link between dim light reading and lasting vision problems, such as nearsightedness or deteriorating eyesight over time."

🎉Congratulations to Pianpian Cao on being named an honoree of the Ralph W. and Grace M. Showalter Research Trust to support her groundbreaking project, “Building a National ZIP Code-Level Environmental Exposure Database for Lung Cancer Risk Modeling.”

This innovative research will develop the first harmonized, longitudinal ZIP code-level database of environmental lung carcinogens across the United States and integrate these exposures into lung cancer risk prediction models. By incorporating factors such as radon, air pollution and industrial exposures alongside traditional smoking-based criteria, the project aims to improve the identification of individuals at elevated risk for lung cancer.