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HHD Stories and Achievements

2020-21 AY

On Wednesday, April 28, 2021, HHD hosted the inaugural HHD Student Research Showecase. The Showcase was a great success with 68 students sharing their research in both oral and poster presentations. Visit the Showcase website to see the list of presentations and view the posters from the event. Student presenters were also recognized with awards based on the content and quality of their oral or poster presentations. View List of Student Awardees
On Tuesday, February 23rd at Noon, Dr. Austin Nation presented "The exploration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) healthcare, access, and experiences in Orange County." This presentation and discussion were part of the HHD Critical Conversations Lunch & Learn Series on Health Equity and Justice. View Nation Lunch & Learn
On November 16th, Dr. Tabashir Nobari presented "Shelter & Food in Precarious Times: A discussion of the health impact of homelessness on children and the pandemic’s effect on CSUF students" as part of the HHD Critical Conversations Lunch & Learn Series on Health Equity and Justice. View Nobari Lunch & Learn
Dr. Mojgan Sami presented "Pandemics and Social Change: COVID-19 and Racism in Historical Context" as part of the HHD Critical Conversations Lunch & Learn Series on Health Equity and Justice. View Sami Lunch & Learn
A School of Nursing team, led by Dr. Sadeeka Al-Majid, receives $3.25 Million Grant to Increase Pipeline of Nurses in Underserved Communities. Read Dr. Al-Majid's CSUF News Story
Dr. Archana McEligot receives CSU Faculty Innovation and Leadership Award. Read Dr. McEligot's CSUF News Story
Dr. Gordon Capp co-authors a report on opening schools safely amid COVID-19. Read Dr. Capp's Story.

2019-20 AY

Educating Children about Coronavirus with Dr. Shu-Chen Jenny Yen. Read Dr. Yen's Story
Dr. Andy Galpin Discusses Intermittent Fasting and Human Performance. Watch Dr. Galpin's Video .
Examining What To do Before, During, And After An Earthquake with Dr. Michele Wood. Read More about earthquake preparedness.

Awarded Grants & Contracts, 2019-2020 AY

Pablo Costa, Associate Professor of Kinesiology, received a $94,599 contract from NuLiv Science for a project titled, "Effects of ActiGin on Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage and Soreness. " Dr. Costa and his team will examine the effects of ActiGin™ on eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage for improving recovery.
Do Kyeong Lee, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, received a $9,660 subcontract from New York University to work and NIH-funded project titled, “Play & Learning Across a Year (PLAY).” Dr. Lee and her team will establish the first large-scale, video-based corpus of infant unstructured play at home with their mothers.
Deanna Jung, Assistant Professor of Nursing, Kristina Fortes, Assistant Professor of Nursing, and Jane Williams, Lecturer in Nursing, received a $124,060 grant from the Office of Statewide Health Planning & Development (OSHPD) Song-Brown Program. The project, “Integration of Standardized Patients in the BSN Undergraduate Program,” will provide funds to increase the recruitment of Standardized Patients to cover the adult lifespan, from young adult to older adult. Standardized Patients will participate in both summative and formative Objective Structured Clinical Exam simulation as part of classroom instruction. Expanding and integrating the School of Nursing Standardized Patients program will allow an increase in the number of student encounters with live patients throughout their undergraduate BSN programs and Simulation classes.
Melanie Horn Mallers, Professor of Human Services and Director of the Center for Community Collaboration, and Katherine Bono, Chair and Professor of Child and Adolescent Studies, received a $74,806 grant from the City of Stanton/North Orange County Public Safety Task Force for a third year of funding for the project titled, “Fullerton Resilient Families Program.” This program builds resilience in young families through improved parent-child attachment, executive function skills in children, and active coping with stress through mindfulness techniques. During the funding period, the program will be implemented at several local Head Start facilities and at a transitional living center for homeless families called HIS House.
Joshua Yang, Associate Professor of Public Health, received $15,000 for year-five funding from the American Lung Association of Orange County for a project titled, “Achieving Tobacco-Related Health Equity Among California’s Diverse Populations.” Dr. Yang serves as the evaluator on a project with two objectives: (1) for two Orange County cities to pass ordinances to ban outdoor smoking and use of electronic cigarettes in outdoor dining areas, and (2) for two Orange County cities to pass ordinances banning smoking in multi-unit housing complexes.
C. Jessie Jones, Professor Emeritus of Public Health and Director of the Center for Healthy Neighborhoods, received a $52,000 grant from St. Jude Hospital so that Social Work interns can provide mental health counseling services to low-income students in the Fullerton School District.
Archana McEligot, Professor of Public Health and Director of the Center for Cancer Disparities Research, received $194,307 for year-five funding from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, for “Big Data Discovery and Diversity Through Research Education Advancement and Partnership (BD3-REAP).” This multidisciplinary program trains underrepresented undergraduate students in Big Data science (BDs) exploration, computation, and synthesis that incorporates BDs didactic learning while providing BDs research experiences for students.
Mikyong Kim-Goh, Professor of Social Work, received a $1,487,818 grant from the Regents of the University of California, Berkeley, for the “Title IV-E Stipend Program-MSW Project.” This federally-funded California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC) stipend program provides two years of support to full-time MSW students enrolled in the child welfare concentration. Part-time students also are eligible for stipends that cover tuition, books, and travel.
Stephanie Vaughn, Professor, of Nursing, received $495,532 in year-three funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for “EMBRACE: Enrichment Markers of Better Relationships, Academics & Cultural Enhancement.” This program provides an evidence-based, systematic approach to incorporate and optimize effective academic approaches and support systems for underrepresented minority and disadvantaged undergraduate and advanced practice graduate students. The major purpose of the EMBRACE Program is to address social determinants that create student challenges.
Michael Boytim, Lecturer in Nursing, received a $27,645 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), for the “Nurse Anesthetist Traineeships” program. These funds provide traineeship support to students in the Nurse Anesthesia program. This program aims to increase the number of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists nationally, who are well prepared to deliver evidence-based, high-quality anesthesia care.
David Chenot, Professor of Social Work, received $638,345 for year-two funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for the “ North Orange County Allied Health Academy (AHA) Program.” The AHA Program aims to increase the pipeline of disadvantaged students into the professions of communicative disorders, public health (including environmental health specialists, epidemiologists, health educators, and gerontologists), physical therapy, and social work. This multifaceted effort is designed to increase retention and graduation of these diverse underserved students across the educational continuum, from high school through graduate allied health profession programs.
Rachel Fenning, Associate Prfoessor of Child and Adolescent Studies and Co-Director of the Center for Autism, received $24,356 of supplemental funding from UC Irvine/Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for the project, “Improving Participation in Dental Care and Oral Health Outcomes for Underserved Children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).” These funds will support Dr. Fenning leading project dissemination efforts.
Shana Charles, Assistant Professor of Public Health, received an additional $45,993 in funding from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research for work on the project titled, “California Health Benefits Review Program (CHBRP) Cost Analyses.” Dr. Charles will lead the cost analysis section for policy analyses for the California Legislature, under the auspices of the California Health Benefit Review Program, as part of the Cost Team housed at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. These analyses support the voting decisions of legislators and signing decisions by the Governor.

Awarded Grants & Contracts, 2018-2019 AY

Joshua Yang, Associate Professor of Public Health, received $277,298 in year-one grant funding from the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) and the Regents of the University of California, Office of the President. The pilot study,“A ‘Digital’ Mixed Methods Evaluation of University Tobacco-Free Policies” will use a novel mixed-methods approach leveraging campus engagement and advances in “big data” to conduct a cross-comparison evaluation of university tobacco-free policies in two public university institutions and systems, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and California State University, Fullerton (CSUF).
Guadalupe Espinoza, Associate Professor of Child and Adolescent Studies, received a $7,500 grant from the Society for Research in Child Development for the project titled,“Longitudinal Links Between Daily Witnessed Cyberbullying Experiences and School Adjustment: Do Patterns Differ for Asian-American, Latino and White Adolescents.” This short-term longitudinal study (spanning six months) will examine the impact of personal and witnessed cyberbullying experiences on school adjustment outcomes (e.g., school safety, class engagement) among an ethnically diverse sample of middle school students.
Phillip Gedalanga, Assistant Professor of Public Health, received two contracts from the South Orange County Wastewater Authority (SOCWA). The first contract, awarded $21,121 for the project titled,“Identification of Optimal Microbial Community Structure for Improved Biogas Production in an Anaerobic Digester.” This project examines microbial communities in a full-scale anaerobic digester from a municipal wastewater treatment plant, aiming to identify optimal community structures for improved biogas production. The second contract, awarded $148,747 for the project titled, “Application and Validation of Microbial Source Tracking Biomarkers as Indicators of Fecal Pollution in Natural and Engineered Environments throughout South Orange County, California.” This project will develop and validate a method to differentiate viable and non-viable targets of the human fecal indicator (HF183) in water environments designated for recreational use.
Hannah Fraley, Assistant Professor of Nursing, received a $5,000 grant from the American Nurses Foundation for her project titled,“Engaging School Nurses in Prevention of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: A National Survey of School Nurses.” This project will examine school nurse awareness and attitudes of commercial sexual exploitation of at-risk youth and inform future development of an education intervention targeting school nurses.
Shana Charles, Assistant Professor of Public Health, received a $45,993 subcontract from the Regents of the University of California - UCLA for the project titled,“California Health Interview Survey 2015-16 Policy Research Studies.” For this project, Dr. Charles will lead the State of Health Insurance in California report and co-author a policy brief focused on Latino health. Additionally, Dr. Charles received $58,000 from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research for work on the project titled, “California Health Benefits Review Program (CHBRP) Policy Analyses.” She will serve as Cost Team Lead and Section Author analyzing current bills in the California Legislature. These analyses support the voting decisions of legislators and signing decisions by the Governor.
Kavin Tsang, Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Kinesiology, received a $10,000 grant from St. Jude Hospital for the“Lunchtime Exercise Activity Program (LEAP).” This project delivers lunchtime active recess programming to 13 Title I schools in the area. It also helps train and guide two kinesiology graduate students to become proficient in program leadership and supervision.
Melanie Horn Mallers, Professor of Human Services and Director of the Center for Community Collaboration , and Katherine Bono, Chair and Professor of Child and Adolescent Studies, received a $85,000 grant from the City of Stanton/North Orange County Public Safety Task Force for a second year of funding for the project titled, “Building Family Resilience in North Orange County School Sites.” This project implements the Resilient Families Program (RFP) to over 200 families with pre-school and transition-to-kindergarten aged children who attend state-funded schools in Fullerton and La Habra.
Jessie Jones, Professor Emeritus of Public Health and Director of the Center for Healthy Neighborhoods, received a $25,000 grant from St. Joseph Hospital for a project titled, “Increase Mental Health Services at La Amistad Family Health Center.” Funds support the clinical supervision of two counseling students at La Amistad Family Health Center. Dr. Jones also received a $52,000 grant from St. Jude Hospital so that Social Work interns can provide mental health counseling services to low-income students in the Fullerton School District. Dr. Jones also won a $40,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente to support operational costs at the Center for Healthy Neighborhoods.
David Chenot, Professor of Social Work, received $635,872 for year-one funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). This federal grant provides an additional five years of funding for the successfulHealth Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) , a program that encourages students to consider allied health careers in such fields as physical and occupational therapy, communicative disorders, counseling, social work, and public health. Dr. Chenot also serves as Project Director on a $1,487,818 grant received from the Regents of the University of California, Berkeley, for the “Title IV-E Stipend Program-MSW Project.” This federally funded California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC ) stipend program provides two years of support to full-time MSW students enrolled in the child welfare concentration. Part-time students also are eligible for stipends that cover tuition, books, and travel. Additionally, Dr. Chenot oversees the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Stipend Program, which received $93,250 from the Regents of the University of California/California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. These funds provide financial support to MSW students who are committed to providing services in California’s public mental/behavioral health system after graduation.
Ruth Mielke, Associate Professor of Nursing, received $698,795 in year-two funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for the“Rural-Woman of the Mountain Accessing New Services (Rural – WOMANS)” The program was awarded an additional $149,381 to enhance/add the following components of the Women's Health Care concentration curriculum: a) mental health assessment, b) understanding of opioid use/abuse and addiction, and c) use of telehealth with a sub-focus on its use in rural health.
Stephanie Vaughn, Professor, of Nursing, received $498,810 in year-two funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for“EMBRACE: Enrichment Markers of Better Relationships, Academics & Cultural Enhancement.” This program provides an evidence-based, systematic approach to incorporate and optimize effective academic approaches and support systems for underrepresented minority and disadvantaged undergraduate and advanced practice graduate students. The major purpose of the EMBRACE Program is to address social determinants that create student challenges.
Rachel Fenning, Associate Professor of Child and Adolescent Studies and Co-Director of theCenter for Autism , received $56,470 in year-four funding from UC Irvine/Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for the project, “Improving Participation in Dental Care and Oral Health Outcomes for Underserved Children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).” This project involves conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the efficacy of a parent-mediated behavioral intervention to improve dental hygiene and oral health outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorder.
Beverly Quaye, Assistant Professor of Nursing, received $258,521 in year-three funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) for theOrange County Community Health SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) program. This grant funds the training of undergraduate students in Nursing and Human Services and graduate students in Social Work in the SBIRT model.
Archana McEligot, Professor of Public Health and Director of theCenter for Cancer Disparities Research , received $214,396 for year-four funding from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, for “Big Data Discovery and Diversity Through Research Education Advancement and Partnership (BD3-REAP). ” This multidisciplinary program trains underrepresented undergraduate students in Big Data science (BDs) exploration, computation, and synthesis that incorporates BDs didactic learning while providing BDs research experiences for students.
Michael Boytim, Lecturer in Nursing, received a $39,056 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), for the“Nurse Anesthetist Traineeships” These funds provide traineeship support to students in the Nurse Anesthesia program. This program aims to increase the number of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists nationally, who are well prepared to deliver evidence-based, high-quality anesthesia care.