“This partnership reflects ����vlog’s deep commitment to serving the public good through impactful, community-based collaboration,” said President Jonathan Koppell. “We are proud to expand our myriad of partnerships with Essex County and grateful to County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo for recognizing what is possible when academic expertise of our Department of Public Health is aligned with Essex County’s forward-thinking leadership. Together, we are building a model for how universities and local governments can work together to strengthen public health infrastructure, train the next generation of professionals and improve the well-being of the communities we serve.”

Dean Ron Werner-Wilson of �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s College for Community Health added, “We are committed to teaching, research and service that promotes equitable healthcare and wellbeing in New Jersey and beyond. As the Dean of the College, I am delighted that this Academic Health Department partnership with the Essex County Office of Public Health Management will enable us to join our individual commitments to public health, multiplying our impact on Essex County residents, while building our students’ skills and expertise.”

“Montclair State always has been a great partner with us and their involvement and presence in the community is second to none. Combining the talent and resources of both our institutions will enhance the outreach and service we provide to our residents, develop innovative approaches to enhance wellness and preparedness and create a pipeline to develop future public health officials,” DiVincenzo said.

“County Executive DiVincenzo understands the importance of public health and I appreciate the guidance and support he has given as we have worked to create a public health program that responds and can adapt to the needs of our diverse community. Joining with Montclair State brings two public health powerhouses together in a relationship that will benefit our residents,” said Maya Harlow, Essex County Public Health Officer and Director of the Essex County Office of Public Health Management.

The agreement formalizes an existing working relationship between the two entities and strengthens their shared commitment to serve the public, foster research initiatives and share resources when needed. By working more closely together, the County and University will be able to create a coordinated approach to preventing disease, promoting wellness and public health education and preparing for emergencies. The combination of practical experience by the County’s public health officials and academic insight from the University’s teachers and students is an opportunity to improve outcomes, create innovative approaches to promoting public health and serve as a model for community-centered public health practice.

In addition, the agreement creates a workforce development pathway for ����vlog students to gain real-world, research and data analysis experience by interning with the Essex County Office of Public Health Management. Interns would be involved in data collection and analysis, assist with existing public health programs and outreach initiatives, and participate in public advocacy and emergency preparedness in cooperation with Essex County. The University would ensure students meet academic requirements and understand the health department’s policies and procedures.

The Essex County Office of Public Health Management had a major role in organizing and administering Essex County’s highly successful COVID-19 testing and vaccination program during the pandemic. Through a partnership with RWJBarnabas Health, Essex County also has established a successful mobile outreach program and student vaccination clinic initiative.

The ����vlog Department of Public Health, in the College for Community Health, has worked for decades to train the public health workforce of NJ, with alumni in public health leadership roles across the state and the region, to address a wide range of public health needs. These have included responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, maternal and child health challenges in the state, tobacco and substance use reduction, and more.

Discover More at Montclair

Prospective Students and Parents: Plan your visit��and��take your first step��in . Learn more about the Department of Public Health in the College for Community Health.
Journalists:����DzԳٲ�������Media Relations for assets or to schedule an interview on this topic.

When Melissa Spigelman’s best friend was diagnosed with cancer, it changed everything. Watching her endure life-saving but brutal treatments sparked a mission in Spigelman — to discover more compassionate, innovative ways to treat aggressive cancers. Now, as a ����vlog graduate with a master’s degree in Molecular Biology, she’s combining cutting-edge research, faculty mentorship and scholarship support to reimagine cancer care.

Her journey into science began with the spark of an exceptional high school biology teacher. That early inspiration led her to fall in love with biology – but she wasn’t sure where it would take her. At the time, the only clear paths she saw were in medicine, but she knew she didn’t want to be a doctor.

Then, her best friend was diagnosed with cancer.

As Spigelman watched her friend undergo the harsh treatments that ultimately saved her life, she found her calling: cancer research.��

“She’s okay,” Spigelman says, “but at what cost?”��

That question fuels her every day, driving her to seek out more compassionate, non-invasive treatments for aggressive cancers.

Spigelman has competed in the Mario M. Casabona Future Scientists Program. Moments like this have helped her inspire the next generation of scientists. (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)

Finding Her Place in the Lab – and the World��

As a high school senior taking AP Biology, Spigelman was invited by a friend to observe the Montclair lab headed by Biology Professor Carlos Molina. Normally reserved for upper level students, she was the youngest person there. At first, she felt overwhelmed.

“As a high school student, I felt like, wow, what am I doing here? This is kind of crazy, but I just kept reminding myself, you’re here to learn; it’s okay that you don’t know everything right now, you’re just learning, you’re soaking everything up. So, I tried to be a sponge.”

She decided to attend Montclair as an undergraduate studying Biology. Over time, she earned a spot not only as a contributor, but as a leader, working in the lab and earning her bachelor’s degree in 2023. She decided to continue at Montclair to earn her master’s.��

“She basically runs my lab,” says Molina. “For the last nearly three years, she’s been handling all aspects of the lab. She takes care of the other students and has even trained them, works on her own research and is doing all of the experiments. It’s unbelievable.”

Through her other work moderating the University’s Women in STEM Summit, presenting at the American Heart Association HSI Scholars�� program, and competing in the Mario M. Casabona Future Scientists Program, Spigelman is paving the way for other aspiring scientists who are more introverted by nature.

“Going to Japan taught me that I can study anywhere, and now I feel a lot more confident. I’m going to be applying to PhDs this year. Now I just feel like I can live anywhere and I’ll be fine. I’ll be okay. I don’t have to limit myself.” (Photo courtesy of Melissa Spigelman)

She recalls a particularly difficult moment during her time abroad in Japan, where she traveled to continue her research on zebrafish through a prestigious National Science Foundation program.��

“It was very difficult lab work,” she recalls. “It was work I had never done before. So there was about five weeks of continued failure. It was really bad, and I felt really guilty about it, because I’m being paid to be there by the United States, and I’m not succeeding. And, science takes time, right? But I felt I was an imposter. I felt like, ‘Why have I been selected out of all of these great scientists if I can’t even get these cells to live,’ and, because of the 13-hour time difference, I didn’t have the same support system that I had at home.”��

Eventually, it was her mom who gave her the most pivotal advice.

“Meli, just go into it, and lead with your heart. Show them how much you care — it is okay if you make a mistake.”

She controlled what she could, and, eventually, it worked.

The perspective she has gained through her presentation skills, publishing papers and doing research internationally have made her something of a darling on social media, where she has co-authored a podcast titled

“That has been really beautiful for me to experience, the amount of high school students who message me and tell me, ‘I’ve never met a female scientist before, and I really like what you’re doing.’ It’s those moments when people reach out and tell me how much I’ve impacted them that really get to me, because I did have to grow into this position where I felt comfortable just saying yes to these opportunities. And I’m thankful that me saying yes has inspired others, too.”

In the lab, what began with taking care of fish and preparing DNA samples grew into full-scale genetic experimentation. Spigelman works on identifying natural tumor-suppressing proteins and testing their effects by genetically modifying zebrafish — an innovative model for cancer research. (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)

What’s Next?

For Spigelman, the next year will be about continuing to build on all she’s accomplished at Montclair. She’s been hired to continue to work in the lab and for the Dean’s Office at the College of Science and Mathematics, before she takes the next step on her journey and enters a PhD program.��

In the meantime, “I want to rest and get into positive routines that involve eating, sleeping and exercising. I think in science, it’s often encouraged to really push through and keep working, which I’ve been doing and I love doing. But it’s time to take a rest, and I’m happy that I still get to do research.”

“I’m really happy to have the opportunity to stay at Montclair. I’m so thankful for the chance to keep impacting the community, and I hope to publish at least one more paper. I hope to host another Women in STEM Summit, and I hope to continue working to make sure that people know that Montclair is a great place to go, especially if you’re a first-generation college student like me.”

The University will celebrate its graduates at Commencement exercises on Wednesday, May 7 and Thursday, May 8, 2025, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.��

Story by Carolina Marion, University Communications and Marketing

Ready to Start Your Montclair Journey?

• Prospective Students and Parents: Learn more about Montclair admissions, our College of Science and Mathem and Graduate School.��
• Journalists: Contact our Media Relations team to request assets or schedule an interview with a member of the Class of 2025.

The Montclair programs that participate in the annual survey include Education, Public Health and the University’s Part-Time MBA program.

Highlights from the 2024 Best Graduate Programs Rankings:

• Two of �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s graduate education specializations – Elementary Teacher Education and Curriculum and Instruction – ranked tied for No. 22 and tied for No. 24 in the nation, respectively
• The University’s Master of Public Health climbed 10 spots to No. 140 overall and second in New Jersey in only its second year in the rankings
• The institution’s overall ranked No. 107 (tied for second in N.J.)
• �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s Part-Time MBA program ranked No. 207, up one position from last year’s rankings

�ѴDzԳٳ���������’s Graduate Offerings

Montclair offers 115 master’s and eight doctoral programs across a range of disciplines in its 13 colleges and schools.

“Our graduate programs are designed to prepare professionals to advance in their chosen careers by equipping them with the skills needed both now and in the future,” says Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Junius Gonzales. “These rankings are the latest indication that �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s stature as a comprehensive research university continues to ascend.”

For more information about graduate programs at ����vlog, visit montclair.edu/graduate/.

A third-year Audiology student, Max St. Germain is among the first to conduct research using the Bertec CDP Virtual Reality Balance System and a phone app to assess fall risk. As anticipated, he determined that the system, which measures center mass by having people stand on plates before a large screen with different scenes in order to measure how much they sway during different exercises, was more sensitive than the phone app. He was testing the app because it can be more accessible to small practices where space and funding may be an issue. “The phone app has some degree of success, but obviously doesn’t work as well,” he says. “If the phone could be used, then clinicians with limited resources to balance equipment could just use a phone.” He also found that the system and app measure different forms of balance and therefore more testing is required.

An Army National Guardsman and former EMT, St. Germain decided to pursue a career in audiology after taking a course taught by an audiologist. He found he wanted to do less emergency medical care. “I really liked the work that he did and it seemed like a rewarding career,” he says. “You get to help people, and you’re not necessarily dealing with critical patients.”

St. Germain, who is also a teaching assistant and taught second-year audiology students Natalie Niyazov and Kristen Nortwich how to use the system, is glad to have it as a tool. “It’s neat we get to have this because I don’t think any other schools do,” he says. “It’s a nice perk for this program.”

The one-of-a-kind system is used to evaluate gait and balance disorders, as well as provide rehabilitative strategies, says Audiology Clinic Director Faith Mogila. It has been used as part of a diagnostics course and lab in which Niyazov and Nortwich participated. Both are former speech pathology students who switched to audiology.

With several relatives who have hearing issues, Niyazov says, “I have a lot of exposure, literally, so, luckily I was able to fall into audiology.”

Nortwich says she wanted to do something in the medical field. She and her family “are happy that I went into a field that helps people.”

That Montclair has the equipment is indeed a plus, as it is more typically found in hospitals and physical therapy practices. “There’s a rehabilitative aspect of it,” Mogila says. “You don’t find them in audiology doctoral programs because there’s a space issue and significant cost issue.” �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s system, the only university-based system in the area, is one of only four on the East Coast; the others are at New York hospitals.����

Mogila made a case for the equipment, which was approved a couple of years ago. After some assembly, needed repairs and training, the $200,000 system was put to use. While the Audiology Clinic funded some of the purchase, “we would not have been able to purchase it without the provost funds,” Mogila says.

The Bertec system and students’ work allowed for collaboration between the Audiology and Exercise Science departments, now both part of the College for Community Health.

“When people think audiology, they don’t always think balance disorders and who would have known that we have this,” Mogila says.��

Exercise Science and Physical Education Assistant Professor Luis Torres is on the committee reviewing St. Germain’s research project and says he appreciates the collaborative spirit between his department and that of Communication Sciences and Disorders. “The familiarity with different types of balance testing was what allowed me to join the committee and help students,” Torres says, noting that athletic trainers, physical therapists, occupational therapists and other rehabilitative professionals can all benefit from understanding balance testing.�� “In the physical rehabilitation world, we use the information gathered from balance tests to help us identify risks for falling and reinjury within our rehabilitation programs.” Torres, whose research centers on mental health in physical activity and improving concussion care, says the findings also could help when dealing with athletes or more active people “make decisions on return to play or return to activity.”

Mogila says the collaboration has been an asset to audiology students, such as St. Germain. “When Luis came onboard, he had all these tools in his toolbox that I wouldn’t have thought of, so, it made it a really multidisciplinary project,” she says. “Together, we were able to put collaborative insight into the projects which proved very successful.” ��In addition, such collaboration also benefits the College for Community Health by embodying the mission of working together, she adds, noting that “there’s a lot of potential projects with this” system. Torres envisions using it for future faculty projects, as well.����

For students like St. Germain, Torres says, it allows them to showcase an “interdisciplinary experience in audiology and through a lens outside of audiology” as well. “That’s probably the best thing we can offer them: To help them get great jobs that they love.”

Story by Staff Writer Sylvia A. Martinez. Photos by University Photographer Mike Peters.

She was in a medically induced coma and her organs had started to fail. Her family had been prepared for the worst. Miraculously, Tamimi awakened to the news that she’d suffered a stroke in addition to three rare spinal strokes while hospitalized.

She remembers bits and pieces of her ordeal, the rest filled in for her by family members. Lying in her hospital bed, she’d forgotten she had a daughter. But when the 7-month-old baby was brought to her bedside, she knew what she was fighting for. “I remembered her, and it made me want to fight more, to get up and do what I needed to do so that I could go back to her,” Tamimi recalls.

The young mother left the hospital in a wheelchair. “I couldn’t really do much on my own,” she says. “I had to learn how to speak again. I had to learn how to swallow again, how to stand, how to sit …. It was weeks before I was able to sit on my own. I was sitting in a tilt wheelchair, which is one that they strap your neck in so that you don’t fall over because you don’t have that strength or the ability to keep yourself up.”

Tamimi fought her way back, not just from the brink of death but to stand and walk on her own two feet and with the assistance of a walker. It was that same hard work and dedication – and a vow she made – that would lead her back to school and eventually to ����vlog, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Health. She was set to participate in �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s Winter Commencement on January 8 but a pending surgery derailed those plans.

Tamimi refers to herself as “a part-time wheelchair user,” but says, “I still have hope that I’ll be able to walk on my own one day.” Even with ongoing health issues, she knows how far she’s come.

Incredibly, she’s come to view her harrowing experience as “a little gift that God gave me that was wrapped in ugly paper but when I opened it, it was the most beautiful gift possible.”

That’s because it made her focus on the things that mattered, she says. “My disability has slowed me down in life, in my day to day,” she says, “but I feel like it pushed me 10 years forward. So that’s how I look at it because I was able to go back to school, and I was able to get my life together in ways that I never thought I could.”

LIFE INTERRUPTED

Born in the occupied West Bank, Tamimi arrived in the United States at age 1. One of six children, she grew up in a two-bedroom apartment in Paterson, New Jersey. She enrolled in college at 18 but after her father was diagnosed with leukemia, she dropped out to help care for him and to work three jobs, including retail and as a pharmacy technician, to help her mother make ends meet. After her father’s death, she returned to school at age 21 but says she was too depressed to keep going; she also began experiencing joint pain and other health problems. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

Fast forward to age 27, Tamimi’s health further declined, and she says she suffered from postpartum depression. One day, while doing yoga, she didn’t have the strength to get up off the floor. She knew something was terribly wrong. Eventually, she was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues. It was in the hospital that Tamimi had multiple strokes.

Grueling therapies – physical, speech, occupational and more – followed her hospitalization. Everyday movements and tasks were difficult for her. “I took for granted the ability to hold a pen, and I thought to myself, ‘God if you let me hold this pen again, I’m going back to school. I don’t care how difficult it is.’��

She regained that ability but lacked fine motor skills. Undaunted, she made good on her promise and enrolled at Bergen Community College and took notes on dry erase boards with jumbo markers, she says. “I knew it was going to be difficult but I figured, this is the hardest thing I could possibly go through, so school should be a breeze” by comparison, she says.

Tamimi transferred to Montclair in fall 2021. She decided to study Public Health, in part, she says, to educate other young people to not take being healthy for granted. “I want the youth to be aware that just because you’re young, you’re not immune to getting sick or becoming disabled,” she says. “It can happen to anyone, no matter how healthy you think you are.”

Initially, Tamimi would take a Lyft to campus; the driver would get her as close to her destination as possible, a security gate on Webster Road behind University Hall, and then she’d begin the arduous block-long walk with her walker to University Hall for her Public Health courses. One day, she was spotted by Yvelices Núñez, who drives the shuttle for students with disabilities, who told her she would ferry her to all of her classes. “Yvelices was a godsend,” Tamimi says.��

Meanwhile, Tamimi was learning to drive again but she was reluctant to drive to Montclair on Route 46 from her home in Lodi. In January 2022, she started driving and commuting to campus, where the shuttle would meet her and take her to her classes. �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s shuttle service allowed Tamimi to get around campus with the use of her wheelchair and a cane for short distances.

Tamimi says prior to that. “I never looked at life as a disabled person, so I thought I have to figure it out myself,” she says, “but the University made things so easy for me.”

PUBLIC HEALTH PATH

Tamimi, now 33, is grateful for the support she received while at Montclair. Her anxiety of being on a large campus slowly subsided, she says. When she needed something to overcome an obstacle, she asked. “I felt like I was blessed,” she says, adding “it was definitely like the best decision of my life to go into the public health field.”

Moreover, every achievement made her stronger.��

“A lot of it came with going to the University because it gave me the confidence to do more instead of staying at home and doubting myself,” she says. “Every time I got my grades back, it just made me more confident. My GPA was 3.97 when I graduated, so I was really proud about that.”��

Public Health department faculty also are proud of Tamimi. Professor Kurt Conklin, who had her in several classes, including Applied Statistics in Public Health, says she enriched the classes because of her life experiences.

Early in her final semester, Tamimi contacted Conklin because she’d been injured during physical therapy and couldn’t attend class. “She had fallen off a treadmill and sustained injuries,” he recalls. “We didn’t want to lose her for another semester, so while she recovered, we were able to use Zoom to patch her into the existing in-person course. She did fantastically, and the course involves a lot of student-group projects, which can be very demanding. She did a great job.”

That situation brought Tamimi to the attention of Public Health Department Chairperson Lisa Lieberman. “She was actually taking five courses that semester, and she did stellar work in all five of them,” Lieberman says. “She had this additional injury on top of her existing challenges, and she just excels, as she does in everything.”��

That same semester, in April 2023, Tamimi won the Department of Public Health Outstanding Achievement Award, “presented to a student who has gone above and beyond to represent the Department of Public Health by embodying its core values of social justice and health equity, instilling those values in others, and achieving recognition among faculty and students for their accomplishments.”

Says Lieberman, “She does not let her disability stop her in any way. Her consistent effort both in classes and working for the betterment of the community [she interned at Project COPE] is just simply outstanding. We are so infinitely proud of her.”

Tamimi is now working on a master’s degree in Health Systems and Policy at Rutgers University. She has an interest in working in maternal health or on policies on behalf of people with disabilities. Despite the Americans with Disabilities Act, Tamimi says “there’s a long way to go before we can make the world fully inclusive to people with disabilities.”

Conklin and Lieberman have no doubts Tamimi has a bright future ahead of her. “Wherever she ends up, she’ll excel, and whoever hires her will be lucky to have her,” Lieberman says.

ACCEPT, ADJUST and ADAPT

Looking back, Tamimi acknowledges that even she is surprised by what she has achieved. “Where I am today is beyond what I ever envisioned,” she says, noting that she’s particularly proud of rearing her now 6-year-old daughter and completing her degree.

“I’m grateful because I was able to raise her as well as possible considering my situation, and she came out to be a great kid, very empathetic, very understanding,” she says. “I’m going to be honest, if it wasn’t for her, I don’t know if I could have done it. She pushed me so much to do my best.”

Today, Tamimi is able to walk more with a walker and “sometimes a cane for short distances,” she says. “I still work hard. I try my best to work out at home, I still have hope that I’ll be able to walk on my own one day.”

She also hopes to start a nonprofit organization, operating a barrier-free gym for people with disabilities.

“As humans, we’re unstoppable,” Tamimi marvels. “We just have three things we have to do�� when we’re at a halt in life: accept, adjust and adapt. Those are my three laws in life. Accept that your situation is happening, no matter what it is, because if you don’t accept it, you can’t acknowledge how to fix it. Adjust for the changes, whatever the changes are. Whether you’re a single parent or you become disabled or you’re having difficulty in life, whatever the obstacle is, you adapt to that, then you’re doing everything everybody else is doing just a little differently than you used to.”

Story by Staff Writer Sylvia A. Martinez. Photo by John J. LaRosa.��

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The furry friends were invited to campus to help students take care of themselves by the Office of Health Promotion, part of the special events of “End of Semester De-Stress Week” on May 1 – May 5, with a series of relaxing and fun activities – guided meditation, lawn games, peer counselors to talk to, and the therapy pets to help students manage stress and boost their moods.

Helping students feel a sense of belonging and support for their mental and physical wellness is a priority at ����vlog. This year that has included increased programming, outreach, special events and the arrival of Pebbles, a mini chocolate labradoodle, who will be trained as a therapy dog when she’s older.

“The culture of wellness within our student community at Montclair is of utmost importance to us,” says Vice President for Student Development and Campus Life Dawn Meza Soufleris. “We know that students who feel safe, have outlets to de-stress, support services to manage their mental and physical health, and who are connected in a variety of ways to the University do far better in their academic work, the relationships they develop, and can better cope with everyday challenges they experience while here.”

The therapeutic session with the rabbit and canines of Creature Comfort is always a nice break during a hectic study period – and who can resist those cute faces and the healing powers of doggy belly rubs and ear scratches.

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The training was grant-funded through the work of �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s partnership with the Communities Organizing for Prevention and Empowerment or C.O.P.E. Initiative. The highly successful program uses multi-tiered prevention strategies, including culturally tailored curricula about substance misuse , HIV/AIDS, and viral hepatitis.

The ����vlog/Paterson Prevention Navigator Initiative – led by professors Robert Reid and Pauline Garcia-Reid – received a $1 million grant from the Minority AIDS Initiative, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, under the Department of Health and Human Services. A portion of the grant funded the three-day training to teach community agencies how to implement the Mpowerment Project at the local level.

The co-sponsoring organization, the South Jersey AIDS Education and Training Center – NJ HIV Training and Capacity Development Program, made it possible for trainers from the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) at the University of California, San Francisco, to bring their project to New Jersey. Mpowerment is a targeted HIV prevention program aimed at meeting the needs of young gay and bisexual men.

“We were incredibly fortunate to secure the services of CAPS to provide our prevention team and other community-based agencies around the country with the tools to engage our target population more effectively,” says Robert Reid, professor in the Department of Family Science and Human Development.

Photos by John J. LaRosa.

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Students heard from a number of speakers, including �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Junius Gonzales, who served as the keynote speaker. He shared his circuitous route from “a vermin-infested tenement” in Hartford, Conn., to medical school and now higher education.

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate. I’ve taken leaps into some big unknowns,” he said in his keynote. “Scholars, never forget who you are and where you came from because it sets the stage for who you will become.” He urged students to “take leaps, take chances and take risks.”

Cardiologist Dr. Carlos Rodriguez, a physician researcher at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, urged students to continue to pursue their dreams of careers in medicine, health care and more.

“We’re not really well represented in medicine and in science, and these young Latino students need to know that because I did it and others have done it, it is possible,” he said. “It was a long, hard road, but it is possible. And the AHA was a big part of it, especially when I started my cardiology career.”

The is in its second year. Funded by Secaucus-based Quest Diagnostics®, the program works with 18 Hispanic-serving colleges and universities in Los Angeles, Puerto Rico, Miami, Houston, Chicago, New York and now New Jersey to increase representation in health care. Montclair had the most student scholars at the symposium with six: Yaire Hernandez, Lizet Negrete and Melissa Spigelman, all juniors, senior Kenneth Mosquera-Reinoso, and sophomores Wendy E. Islas and Jeffrey Yumbla.

Mitzi Cardona, AHA’s portfolio advisor for Collegiate Diversity Partnerships – Hispanic-Serving Institutions, said the scholars were paired with their mentors at the beginning of the academic year with the goal of developing the posters presented at the symposium in April. “It’s given some students the opportunity to further develop their research experience and those that don’t have that experience to obtain it,” she said. “Montclair specifically had a diversity of student majors, and that’s what their research represented.”

Students presented their poster boards to attendees and answered questions:

• Hernandez, a Public Health major who was mentored by Public Health Professor Stephanie Silvera, presented on “Exploring Food Choices of Childcare Workers in Northern New Jersey: Perceptions of Shopping at a ‘high-end’ Grocery Store.”
• Islas, a Molecular Biology major mentored by Biology Professor Carlos Molina, presented “Investigating the Link Between Elevating levels of the ICER protein and its Effects on Ovulation.”
• Negrete, a Public Health major under the mentorship of Public Health Associate Professor Mireya Vilar-Compte, presented on the “Post-pandemic Adaptations to the Ventanillas de Salud, Culturally Sensitive and Binational Health Outreach Model for Mexicans in the U.S.”
• Mosquera-Reinoso, a Biochemistry major under the mentorship of Chemistry and Biochemistry Associate Professor Jaclyn Catalano, investigated “The role of specific acidic residue (M305) of Mammalian Cytochrome P450.” He also submitted his poster to the American Chemical Society and was invited to present at its annual conference in Indiana.
• Spigelman, a Molecular Biology major also under the mentorship of Molina, presented “Is ICER, a protein with antitumor functions, paradoxically eliciting refractory tumors?”
• Yumbla, a Biochemistry major who also was mentored by Catalano, presented “A Comparison of the Effects of Substrate Activity on Cytochrome P450 Enzymes.”

Many students will continue their research as they further their studies. In addition to the research opportunity, the AHA HSI scholars attended the American Heart Association’s national conference in Chicago, where they received professional mentoring and participated in leadership skills workshops and cultural competency training. Additionally, the program awarded each student a $7,000 scholarship.

The program bonded the students, each of whom was presented with an AHA HSI bronze medal inscribed with their names, during a medallion ceremony.

“I’m sure that in a few years, we’re going to have many doctors and scientists and people in public health,” said Mosquera-Reinoso. “I’m likely going to be seeing them, so it’s really nice to know that I know them and that we went through this together.”

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Story by Staff Writer Sylvia A. Martinez. Photos by John J. LaRosa and .

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It was Islas’ mother who told her to go for it. “She always tells me, ‘You don’t have anything to lose; don’t count yourself out,’” the sophomore says.

Worried that previous scholars were mostly science majors, Yaire Hernandez, a junior Public Health major, also was hesitant and applied only a couple of weeks before the deadline, at the urging of her Public Health professor, Amanda Birnbaum. “She was very excited, and she thought I was a perfect candidate for it,” Hernandez says. Although prior winners appeared to be “lab-based majors” and Hernandez had no lab experience, she says she decided to “give it a shot.”

It was the first time each student had ever applied for a scholarship – and it paid off in a big way.

Both Islas and Hernandez, along with four other fellow Red Hawks, were named , earning the University the largest number of scholarship winners in its first year of participating in the program. The Montclair six are among 30 scholars selected from across the country. In addition to Islas and Hernandez, they include: Kenneth Mosquera-Reinoso, a senior Biochemistry major; Jeffrey Yumbla, a sophomore Biochemistry major; Melissa Spigelman, a junior Molecular Biology major; and Lizet Negrete, a senior Public Health major. Additionally, Islas, Mosquera-Reinoso and Yumbla are��Health Careers Program��students.

“It’s a very competitive program. I was excited when Montclair came on board, and the scholars that were chosen are just top notch,” says Mitzi Cardona, AHA’s portfolio advisor – Collegiate Diversity Partnerships – Hispanic Serving Institutions. “All of these scholars truly represent Montclair in such an amazing way, and it’s such a privilege for us to have them join our program because they’re inspiring other scholars across the nation.”

Spigelman, in particular, has taken a leadership role, Cardona says: “When I think of a leader in the pack, I always think of Melissa.”

The is in its second year. Funded by Secaucus-based Quest Diagnostics®, the program works with 18 Hispanic-serving colleges and universities in Los Angeles, Puerto Rico, Miami, Houston, Chicago, New York and now New Jersey (a William Paterson University student also was named a Scholar). AHA also offers other programs, including one working with Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

“The intent for this program was to develop a pipeline of Latino/Hispanic students in the science fields and in the healthcare workforce,” Cardona says. “We know that as they prepare to be future physicians, nurses, researchers, healthcare administrators and public health professionals, this program will help build their professional skills.”

She and Katia Paz Goldfarb, associate provost for Hispanic Initiatives and International Programs, credit Provost and Senior Vice President Junius Gonzales for bringing the AHA opportunity to Montclair. Calling it a “perfect partnership,” Cardona says Gonzales “was totally on board with exposing this opportunity to his students.”

Paz Goldfarb says: “It is always incredible when you can bring another wonderful and paid resource to our students. In our first year, we are the single-most represented with six Hispanic Scholars. This is another way that ����vlog, the largest��HSI in New Jersey, is being recognized at the national level.”

The program provides students with an academic year of scientific research experience, professional mentoring, leadership skills workshops and cultural competency training, Cardona says. Each student receives a $7,000 scholarship and an all-expenses paid trip to the Association’s annual conference in Chicago next month, where they will participate in scientific sessions and network with top physicians and researchers from across the country. In the spring, the scholars will present their research findings at a research symposium on the Montclair campus, where more than 100 students from AHA’s various scholarship programs will gather. The students also will receive a medallion during a ceremony celebrating their achievements.

Aside from �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s “amazing campus,” Cardona says she selected the University as the location for this year’s research symposium because the “team at Montclair are just incredible partners; the genuine sincerity of helping their students blew me away, and I wanted all of our scholars to feel and experience that. Beyond what they’re learning in their classroom studies, there’s something to say about powerful connections and networking – and that’s key to their success.”

Scholars’ projects

Each student is assigned a mentor who will oversee their research project. Mosquera-Reinoso’s research involves studying the cytochrome P450 enzyme, which metabolizes drugs, such as antibiotics, and other compounds that enter the body.

“We are trying to understand more about the chemistry and the interaction between the substrate and the enzyme,” he explains, “and more specifically, I’m crystallizing my protein and getting a crystal picture of it.”�� He says he’s excited about continuing his research during his final year at Montclair; his mentor is Chemistry and Biochemistry Associate Professor Jaclyn Catalano.

In addition to his studies and research project, Mosquera-Reinoso is involved in the Health Careers Program and serves as president of the Medical Community Assistance Club, the pre-med club on campus. In his role as president, he invites physicians, Montclair alumni and medical school admissions staff to serve on panels and speak to students. He also holds down two jobs, as a building manager at the Student Center and as a medical scribe at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck.

Mosquera-Reinoso hopes to attend medical school and while he has an interest in oncology, he has yet to decide on a specialty. Although he’s previously won scholarships, he says he’ll likely use the AHA HSI award to help pay for his continued education.

The Biochemistry major, who is Ecuadorian and has been in the United States for only five years, says he’s not traveled much and is eager to attend the AHA conference. “I’m excited to go to Chicago,” he says, smiling. “It’s far enough away that I can fly.”

Hernandez also is excited about traveling to the Windy City. For her project, she is conducting community-based research, something she wrote about in her scholarship essay. She is studying the shopping habits of minority shoppers when given the opportunity to shop at grocery stores that carry organic produce and other products versus their local grocers. Shoppers will be provided gift cards to shop. Her project mentor is Public Health Professor Stephanie Silvera.

“There’re a lot of factors and social determinants of health that we study in Public Health,” Hernandez says. “What you eat determines your health in many ways.”

Hernandez says she hopes to work for a nonprofit after she graduates. “I really just want to give back to communities,” she says, adding that as a child growing up in Morristown, New Jersey, she took advantage of various youth programs. As a result, she would like to create programs that benefit young children.

She says she will reinvest her scholarship award into her education.

“I’m really grateful for this opportunity, and I’m very excited about this scholarship and to see what opportunities it brings,” Hernandez says.

Islas, who is Mexican American, says she was shocked to learn that she’d been named an HSI Scholar. “My mom was really proud of me,” she says of her biggest supporter. “It was a really great feeling.”

The sophomore is joining fellow HSI Scholar Melissa Spigelman on her project working with zebrafish under the guidance of Biology Professor Carlos Molina. “We will be breeding transgenic zebrafish to create another generation in which we will measure any changes in their ovulation,” she says.

Islas says during her freshman year working in a lab, she found she has a passion for research. “I like working with the micropipettes and the glassware, and recording data and finding conclusions,” she says. “So, when this program connected me with a researcher and a mentor, it was a perfect fit.”

Molina, who has been overseeing Spigelman’s research, says he’s happy Islas has joined his lab and hopes she’ll stay to continue working on the project, which uses fish as a model to study both female and male reproduction.

Aside from her goal of being a health professional, Islas says she’s interested in cancer research.

“This is a field that I never really thought I would get into but I’m so grateful that I am because I’m learning new things that I can apply in my classes later on when I go into more advanced courses,” she says. “It’s such a great opportunity.”

She is eager to attend the AHA conference. “I’ve never been to Chicago. I’m so excited. I got a window seat, and I’m very happy.”

Story by Staff Writer��Sylvia A. Martinez. Photos by University Photographer��Mike Peters.

Dave loves books. He spent 30 years as a high-level executive editor at a preeminent New York publishing house but aphasia, resulting from the first of multiple strokes, brought his career – and his ability to read – to an abrupt end.

“Seven years ago was my first (stroke)…then a year ago, I had two and three,” he says. With hard work and lots of therapy, Dave is reading again, albeit slowly. Once a week, he travels from his home in Little Falls to ����vlog’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders clinic in Bloomfield to participate in the Aphasia Book Club. As the name implies, the majority of those in the club have aphasia or, as member Amelia puts it, a “language problem,” that can be brought on by strokes, head injuries, brain tumors or infections.

Today, the group, which also includes Kim, who had a stroke in 2013, is discussing its current book selection: The Beekeeper of Aleppo, a novel by Christy Lefteri about a couple’s journey to Britain to escape war in their native Syria.

Dave, the editor whose job was to edit and greenlight books for publishing, struggles. Words such as “chapter” or “book” and his book club friends’ names sometimes elude him but he actively participates. Instead, he points to his book, pages and people.

“Do…women…who…are…Muslim…wear…high-jabs (hijabs),” he asks haltingly about the book’s protagonist. “Their…whole…life? So…does…Afra…wear…a…high-jab?”

Dave’s sometimes-faltering speech and simple sentence structure represent huge milestones in his speech-language recovery. As the book club meeting progresses, so, too, does his communication. “It’s just like Bruce Willis,” he says at one point.

He and other book club members speculate as to what may have caused the actor’s aphasia. Like most people outside Willis’ circle, they don’t know what led to the action-movie star’s aphasia and resulting retirement, however, they are intimately familiar with the speech-language disorder.

Most book club members are also clients of the Center, receiving individual or group therapy from Montclair speech language pathology students, who are supervised by licensed speech language pathology therapists.

“I couldn’t speak,” says Amelia, a former geography teacher who had a stroke in 2010. Rather than attempt to call the Montclair facility, she found it easier to drive herself from her home in Lyndhurst to the clinic, where “they took me right in.”

After years of treatment and working with speech language pathologists, Dave, Kim and Amelia have regained their voices – and their affinity for reading.

“Reading for these particular clients is a skill that they loved and have lost or they struggle with,” explains �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s Clinical Supervisor Diane Polledri. The book club “was specifically designed to provide an opportunity for clients who wanted to read but because of a brain injury were unable to do so or had difficulty reading again. It truly is a means of providing that outlet, improving quality of life, and providing an opportunity to engage in communication at a conversational level about topics of interest.”

�ѴDzԳٳ���������’s book club is modeled after the Aphasia Center of California’s Book Connection Aphasia Book Club, which was started in 1999 after learning from clients that “their inability to ‘read a good book’ is one of the greatest losses following their brain injury or stroke.” Research has shown that book clubs can provide a support system that counters decreased socialization and reading ability that is common with aphasia.

Aphasia and the Bruce Willis announcement

Although more than 2 million people in the U.S. are affected by aphasia – more than muscular dystrophy or multiple sclerosis, according to the Aphasia Center of California – few people were aware of it until recent news that Bruce Willis (who studied drama at Montclair and received an honorary Doctor of Letters in 1996) is “stepping away” from acting. The Center describes aphasia as a medical term which refers to the “loss or reduction of language – speaking, understanding, reading, and/or writing – following brain damage, typically as a result of a stroke.”

Willis’ revelation thrust aphasia into the spotlight, which another high-profile individual with the disorder says, “We don’t talk enough about.”

“But we should,” former congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords recently wrote in an op-ed in The Washington Post titled “Aphasia makes it hard for me to speak. But I have not lost my voice.”

Giffords, who survived a 2011 assassination attempt that left her with a shattered skull and other injuries, writes: “People who communicate differently don’t want to be made to feel like burdens or outcasts. We’re seeking – and we deserve – the same level of human connection as everyone else.”

Aphasia Book Club, emphasis on “club”

Amelia and Kim have participated in the book club since its inception in 2017, while Dave, who has been attending for several years, is a newer member. They are a tight-knit group of once voracious readers who meet on Tuesday mornings for book club discussions and socializing.

Members choose the book they want to read from a list of five titles from various genres, including nonfiction, fiction, mystery, and a biography or memoir, provided to them by Polledri.

“There have been some very good books…some terrible books,” says Kim, prompting laughs. “It was more the company of the people that made me feel comfortable among them.”

The book has provided some heavy reading for the group, which has drawn comparisons between the Syrian war in Lefteri’s book to the current war and atrocities in Ukraine. Amelia suggests the group may want to “read a comedy” as their next book selection.

Montclair speech language pathology graduate students Lauren McArthur and Jessica Russo, both 23 and graduating in May, supervise the book club meetings. The students assign the reading, usually one or two chapters per week, depending on length. They try to avoid assigning more than 50 pages at a time because members read at varying levels. The goal is to finish reading a book within an 11-week session; book club meetings run concurrently with the University’s semesters.

To encourage discussion among members, who can also participate virtually, the students write a quote or phrase on the whiteboard. By facilitating discussion, McArthur and Russo “are really targeting the ability for these clients to communicate at a very high level of communication,” Polledri says.

For those like Dave who require more visual aids, they also provide maps, and they compile a chapter summary, which is distributed prior to and at the meeting. The latter because “clients will complain about forgetting what they read,” Polledri explains. “This allows them to have the summary to refer to and have discussions.”

Says McArthur: “For the book club, the emphasis is really on the social aspect. It’s really allowing them the safe space to engage with their friends, read the book, and just provide them the support to do that. It’s an incredibly important aspect because it has to do with their quality of life.”

The sessions are not “super regimented,” she says. “We veer off a lot, especially for current events that may be relevant to the book. We have been talking about Ukraine a ton because of its parallels to the book.”

Typically, speech language pathology students get clinical hours for the book club assignment but McArthur and Russo are volunteers because they have already completed their three semesters of clinical hours, says Speech Language Pathology Clinic Director Katherine Papas. They volunteered because they wanted experience working with groups and adults.

“One of our close friends also facilitated this book club last semester, and she told me about how great it was, so I jumped at the opportunity,” says Russo, adding that she emailed Papas and practically begged to lead the book club.

McArthur says once she’s licensed as a speech therapist, she wants to work with adults. “I’d love to work in a hospital or rehab.”

Working with book club members, say McArthur and Russo, has helped them get through the sometimes-stressful days of graduate school. In addition to feeling productive, Russo says, she enjoys the “entertaining conversations.”

“I’m going to be very sad to leave this book club,” she says. “Leaving is going to be one of the hardest things because I look forward to it. This is a really great experience, and I’m glad I was able to be a part of it.”

During the meetings, the students strive to “capitalize on” book club members’ strengths, Russo says. “You can see the dynamic, especially among these three; they are very supportive of each other. When one of them will put themselves down, the others are there to help lift the other back up. There are really great and strong friendships that have come from this book club. They really all do support each other, which is such an important aspect of social communication.”

Finding language, laughter and love

While communication is a primary focus at the clinic, the speech language pathology team is also focused on quality-of-life issues, Polledri says.

The book club “gives our clients an opportunity to engage in an activity that has been lost to them with people that understand their struggles and that have the same type of struggles,” she says. “It is truly magical to see them support each other.”

Additionally, “that support gives them back their sense of being able to help others, which is lost when you’ve had a brain injury,” Polledri says. “You become the person that’s helped, as opposed to someone who is helping others, and our adult aphasia groups – and the book club – enable them to help each other, so, it’s very special.”

Support and encouragement were on full display during the book club session.

“My brain doesn’t work anymore,” Dave says at one point.

“Your brain works,” Amelia tells him. “You had a stroke.”

“A stroke. Yeah…I have to get better,” he replies.

“Dave, I think you’re doing a great job,” Amelia reassures him. “I really think you’re doing a great job.”

“I agree,” McArthur adds. “You’re doing great. Look how far you’ve come.”

Dave explains to a visitor: “I had a stroke. Seven years ago…I couldn’t talk…They [speech language therapists and students] helped me…I couldn’t say anything.”

Despite repeated mentions of his stroke and talk of how he misses publishing – or “what I used to be,” as he sometimes put it – it’s also clear that Dave relishes being the class clown.

At one point, he talks about how strokes affect people differently. “Whatever you have is a stroke. That’s why we have people like Diane. She helps us a lot. I don’t really know…but I’m supposed to say that,” he says, prompting laughter from the group.

That assistance, as well as the encouragement and friendships, are what keep the members coming back.

“We’ve been together a long time,” says Kim, who lives in Glen Ridge and has apraxia, which makes speaking difficult because of a disconnect between the brain and body movements, such as lips, tongue, jaw and limbs. “I was comforted by people with similar disorders. I felt comfortable among them. This was very important.”

Dave sums it up this way: “I come there to be happy…” Then teasing Amelia and Kim, he adds, “And I’m not sure I like these two guys.”

The group erupts in laughter yet again. He laughs, adding: “No, I really have…become friends…with lots of names. It’s just great. I love what I have. I love them everywhere.”

Amelia adds, “I feel if I could get an inch better, that’s why I come here all the time. Kim said it all. It’s the comfort that we get because we’re not…We can speak but, you know, it’s hard sometimes…We can make mistakes, and we could say things wrong, and we all know that. We all know that.”

Dave chimes in: “They taught me…how to read…just like I was a kid once again.”

Pointing to Amelia, he says, “She helped me…I wasn’t good at what I used to do. They told me how. They told me how. She told me how.”

Amelia replies: “Oh, I could cry now. Come on, Dave, oh my goodness!”

Story by Staff Writer Sylvia A. Martinez. Photos by University Photographer Mike Peters.