Aline Souza: Student Intern Fall 2012

Aline Souza Aline Souza is a senior at Wake Forest University majoring in Health and Exercise Science and double-minoring in Spanish and Chemistry. Originally from Norwalk, CT, Aline is currently the president of the WFU Allied Health Student Associates. She is also an enthusiastic leader and co-chair of Hit the Brick for Brian Piccolo, which raises money for the Brian Piccolo Cancer Fund. Furthermore, Aline is an Ambassador in Admissions, a member of the Club Field Hockey team, a President’s Aide, an active member of Kappa Beta Gamma Sorority, and an interpreter at the Community Care Center. Upon graduation, Aline hopes to spend a gap year doing clinical research and then purse a dual degree with a Master’s in Physician Assistant Studies and a Master’s in Public Health. As a new intern at the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, Aline hopes to directly influence the Winston Salem community through research and outreach programs, further her knowledge of data analysis, and learn more about health disparities.

Micha Myers: Student Intern Fall 2012/Spring 2013

Micha Myers Micha Myers, a native of New Bern, North Carolina, is a senior Psychology and Healthcare Management double major at Winston Salem State University. She is a scholar with the MARC U*STAR program, the class secretary for the Healthcare Management Professional Club, a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Psi Chi. Upon graduation in May 2013, Micha desires to enter a Post-baccalaureate Research Experience (PREP) Program before entering a PhD program in Clinical Psychology. Currently, she honored to be engaged in research with Dr. David Mount at the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, where she is gaining experience in health-based research, which she intends on continuing throughout her academic career. She desires to explore health disparities and psychopharmacology, and ultimately establish a Total Wellness Center that will provide multiple medical specialties to patients all under one roof.

Ashley Jackson: Student Intern Fall 2012

Ashley Jackson Ashley Jackson is a senior attending North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Her interests include public health research, biomath, biological modeling, MATLAB, bioinformatics and, simply, research in general. As an iBLEND student working under, and in collaboration with, Dr. Gregory Goins, an associate professor at NCATSU since 2009, Ashley has been developing biological modeling skills in order to advance her knowledge outside of textbook biology. It is her opinion that “biology and mathematics (along with other disciplines) rely upon each other to solve the biggest and most complex problems of our time.” With that in mind, Ashley has developed an interest in not only performing the experiments in a lab, but also possessing the ability to analyze the data that she gathers. In the summer of 2010, she participated in an internship at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. During this time, Ashley worked very closely with Drs. Steven Wise and Sharon Bewick and two mathematics colleagues Ngoc Thai (Truman State Univ.) and John Collins (UT-Knoxville). Their specific project involved the effects of climate change on ant foraging. They developed a model that showed how ant foraging and discovery may be influenced by the recent threats of dramatic climate change. With that being said, the take-home message is this: Ants are an indicator species that can be highly representative of the long term, major effects of climatic change. That’s why they’re important. She was really excited to be able to work together with people who are specifically trained in modeling and to be able to learn more about MATLAB and other programming languages. Ashley is now a Lab Assistant at Solstas Lab Partners in Greensboro, NC. She hopes that this will help further her career and hands-on experience in biology and public health.

Waking Up in College: Have an Inspired Higher Education Experience

Front cover: Waking Up in College Mount, David L. (). Waking Up in College: Have an Inspired Higher Education Experience. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris. ISBN: 978-1-4691-7843-1. Available from Amazon.com (paperback, hardcover, Kindle eBook) and Barnes & Noble (paperback, hardcover, NOOK eBook).

The associations of multiple dimensions of discrimination and abdominal fat in African American adults: the Jackson Heart Study

Hickson DA, Lewis TT, Liu J, Mount DL, Younge SN, Jenkins WC, Sarpong DF, Williams DR (). “The associations of multiple dimensions of discrimination and abdominal fat in African American adults: the Jackson Heart Study.Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 43(1):4–14. PMCID:PMC3391604; PMID:22278393; doi:10.1007/s12160-011-9334-5.

Factors Influencing enrollment of African Americans in the Look AHEAD trial

Mount DL, Davis C, Kennedy B, Raatz S, Dotson K, Gary-Webb TL, Thomas S, Johnson KC, Espeland MA; Look AHEAD Research Group (). “Factors Influencing enrollment of African Americans in the Look AHEAD trial.Clinical Trials, 9(1):80–9. PMCID:PMC3843916; PMID:22064686; doi:10.1177/1740774511427929.

Preliminary findings exploring the social determinants of Black males’ lay health perspectives

Mount DL, Johnson DM, Rego MI, Schofield K, Amponsah A, Graham LF (). “Preliminary findings exploring the social determinants of Black males’ lay health perspectives.” American Journal of Mens’ Health, 6(1):71–9. PMID:22105065; doi:10.1177/1557988311420993.

Impact of “Walking the Talk”

Over the past 12-months Dr. Mount has honored Community Impact Champions that work at the grassroots level, people who are, generally, under-recognized for the selfless work they willingly do to help others. Dr. Mount is positive that exposing Community Impact Champions’ voices and their impact have allowed community members to become more aware of medical & academic achievements by our leaders.

Helping Residents in Assisted Living Facilities: Fulfilling one need at a time, one shoebox at a time

On October 18th 2011, Dr. David Mount, Community Outreach Director at the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, joined Ms. Wanda Reid, from Shoebox Ministry, in her pursuit to help assisted living facility residents have a merrier Christmas! Since 2008, Shoebox Ministry has been serving assisted living residents in the Piedmont Triad Area with personal need items during Christmas Time. Each year their gifts continue to grow with the support and help from the community. In 2010 alone, Shoebox Ministry was able to provide gifts for more than 150 residents. This year their vision is bigger! The goal for 2011 is to help at least 700 assisted living residents in Forsyth County and the Piedmont Triad.

During Ms. Reid’s first visit to one of the facilities, residents kept asking her the same question over and over: “Is this for me? But you don’t even know me. I didn’t think anyone cared.” Ms. Reid said: “It was truly an eye opener to see the condition that disabled and aged individuals are living in. Many are individuals who have worked their entire lives and due to an unexpected illness are no longer able to totally care for themselves.” Past research indicates that these residents are allowed to keep only a small portion of their income ($30 for nursing home residents and $66 for rest home residents per month) for their personal needs and this amount has remained the same for at least 27 years. “I truly believe in this ministry, it is so important that we show the individuals living in the assisted living facility that we care and appreciate them,” said Dr. Mount’s trainee, Kara Morrison, a recent graduate from Winston Salem State University. To have experienced this first hand made all the difference in the world to Ms. Reid. There is a genuine need to help residents in assisted living facilities and through this partnership we hope to fulfill one need at a time, one shoebox at a time.

If you would like to make a contribution to Shoebox Ministry, please contact Ms. Wanda Reid at 336-283-9287 or via email [email protected].

YWCA signs on for ‘health justice revolution’

The YWCA of Forsyth County is partnering with Dr. David L. Mount to promote an effort that Mount has coined a “health justice revolution.”

The outreach effort was announced September 2011 by Dr. Mount, a preventative neuropsychologist and health care advocate, and YWCA CEO Florence Corpening and Robin Ervin, the Y’s VP. It is aimed at improving the physical and mental health of those in the community, especially people battling against chronic diseases like diabetes, kidney and cardiovascular disease.

The partnership seeks to bridge the gap between community and health care institutions – which have been criticized for not working effectively to eliminate the many health disparities that exist between communities of color and whites. The program will work to bridge the gap between the minority community and the health care community, while also touting the importance of prevention and physical activity.

Dr. Mount says that he uses the term “health justice revolution” instead of a more common term like “ending health disparities,” because he says it resonates with the communities most affected by disparities.

“The language used to address health disparities and health equity must be accessible to the community and connect with social change, human rights and social capital promotion,” he said. “We believe this initiative will take us one step closer to promoting social justice e, empowering individuals and eliminating racism.”

Corpening says she believes that Dr. Mount’s cutting edge ideas and plans will serve the YWCA and its clients well.

“I am really looking forward to the innovation Dr. Mount has discussed with us and all that we can do together for our community,” said Corpening.