In Faculty & Staff

Faculty & Staff Achievements

Faculty and Staff Research & Achievements, Spring and Fall, 2022

The following list is abridged from CSUN Today's campus-wide list to feature the College of Health and Human Development. Read the complete listing for spring and fall 2022 in CSUN Today. And watch for updates on this page as they become available from CSUN Today.

Rosalia Garcia-Torres (Family and Consumer Sciences) received $21,558 from the California State University Agricultural Research Institute in support of a project entitled “Developing Case Studies for Undergraduates: Valorization of Fruit and Vegetable by Products for New Product Development.” 03/2023

Claudia Toledo-Corral (Health Sciences) received $17,525 from the University of Southern California in support of a project entitled “ECHO (LA-DREAMERS).” 03/2023

Annette Besnilian(Family and Consumer Sciences) received $180,000 from the Northeast Valley Health Corporation in support of a project entitled “WIC-Based Dietetic Internship Program.”

Annette Besnilian (Family and Consumer Sciences) and David Boyns (Sociology) received $342,500 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in support of a project entitled “CSUN CalFresh Healthy Living Program,” and $365,500 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in support of a project entitled “CSUN CalFresh Healthy Living Program.”

Kacie Blackman (Health Sciences) received $72,500 from the University of Southern California in support of a project entitled “Thriving While Black: Black Birth Equity Workers Glowing Through COVID-19.”

Rebekah Child (Nursing) received $384,000 from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development in support of a project entitled “Supporting Diversity in Nurse Residency Programs.”

Nelida Duran (Family and Consumer Sciences), Mirna Sawyer (Health Sciences) and Maria Elizondo (Student Affairs), received $62,679 from California State University, Chico in support of a project entitled “CalFresh Healthy Living on Campus.”

Myriam Forster (Health Sciences) received $330,750 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Supporting Student Health and Resilience.”

Shu-Sha Guan (Child and Adolescent Development), Yolanda Salgado, Carrie Saetermoe (Psychology), and Cindy Malone (Biology) received $472,263 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Educational Modules to Broaden Academic Research Cultures (EMBARC),” and $2,212,400 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Educational Modules to Broaden Research Cultures (EMBARC).”

Jacob Hinkel-Lipsker (Kinesiology), Peter Bishay (Mechanical Engineering), Thomas Chan and Stefanie Drew (Psychology) received $788,138 from the National Science Foundation in support of a project entitled “RUI: Improving Motor Learning and Rehabilitation Via Experimental Bidirectional Dynamic Human-Virtual Reality Interaction System.”

Taeyou Jung (Kinesiology) and Li Liu (Computer Science) and received $299,979 from the National Science Foundation in support of a project entitled “Promoting Student Engagement and Success Through Assistive Technology.”

Patchareeya Kwan (Health Sciences) received $540,083 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “COVID-19 and Southeast Asian Americans.”

Patchareeya Kwan (Health Sciences), Gabriela Chavira and Carrie Saetermoe (Psychology), and Crist Khachikian (Civil Engineering and Construction Management) received $1,536,567 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “BUILD II,” and $1,044,180 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “BUILD II.”

Patchareeya Kwan (Health Sciences), Carrie Saetermoe, Gabriela Chavira (Psychology), and Crist Khachikian (Research and Graduate Studies), and received $494,511 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “BUILD II.”

Bethany Rainisch (Health Sciences) received $234,612 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in support of a project entitled “iSTART: A Campus Initiative for Services in Telehealth and Rapid Testing.”

Emily Russell (Child and Adolescent Development) received $89,772 from the Jumpstart Inc. in support of a project entitled “Jumpstart Northridge.”

Mirna Sawyer (Health Sciences) Nelida Duran (Family and Consumer Sciences), and Maria Elizondo (Student Affairs), received $62,679 from California State University, Chico in support of a project entitled “CalFresh Healthy Living on Campus.” (This item also listed above under "Duran.")

April Taylor (Child and Adolescent Development) received $5,753 from the San Diego State University Research Foundation in support of a project entitled “Developing Institutional Cultures that Support Student Motivation.”

Claudia Toledo-Corral (Health Sciences) received $17,525 from the University of Southern California in support of a project entitled “ECHO (LA-DREAMERS),” $184,582 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Allostatic Load in Latino Youth (ALLY) Study: The Role of Discrimination and Environmental Racism,” and $31,829 from the University of Southern California in support of a project entitled “Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES).”

Hui Xie (Recreation and Tourism Management) received $181,250 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Senior Centers and Older Adults’ Health Outcomes.”

The list above is abridged from CSUN Today's campus wide-list to feature the College of Health and Human Development. Read the complete listing in CSUN Today.

Updated December, 2022

Archives from CSUN Today

Externally Funded Research

Each month, California State University, Northridge faculty and staff receive funding from outside organizations to support unique programs and cutting-edge research facilitated on campus. Below are a list of the individuals from the College of Health and Human Development who have received awards (most recent first).

February 2019

CSUN’s Online M.S. in Communicative Disorders program is celebrating its 20th anniversary, a remarkable run that has produced outstanding graduates working in Speech-Language Pathology around the world, supporting CSUN’s mission of accessibility. The program has admitted students from 45 states plus Washington, D.C. Thirty-four of the students indicated speaking a second (and sometimes third) language, and there have been 29 different language spoken by students. The majority of graduates work in the public schools. Other employment areas include private practice, hospitals, outpatient clinics, skilled nursing facilities and home health. In 2013, the program received the Outstanding Program Award from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association. (February, 2019 - CSUN Today)

January, 2019

Claudia Toledo-Corral (Department of Health Sciences) received two grants from the University of Southern California: She received $16,520 in support of “Lifecourse Approach to Developmental Repercussions of Environmental Agents on Metabolic and Respiratory health (LA DREAMERs),” and $39,273 in support of the project “Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES).”

December, 2018

Virginia Huynh (Child and Adolescent Development) published an article titled “Examining Skin Color and Discrimination Among Ethnic Minority Adolescents” (Springer Verlag Publishing Co.), which is a study exploring the associations among skin color and subtle discriminations or microaggressions, offering discoveries on race and social problems.

October, 2018

Annette Besnilian (Department of Family and Consumer Sciences) and Merav Efrat (Department of Health Sciences) received $250,000 from the US Department of Agriculture in support of a project entitled “Pathways to Success for Hispanic Students as Registered Dietitians (‘Pathways’).” (October, 2018)

Annette Besnilian (Department of Family and Consumer Sciences) and David Boyns (Department of Community Health and Wellbeing) received $15,000 from the LA County Department of Public Health in support of a project entitled “Los Angeles County Sodium Reduction Initiative (LACSRI) – Survey of Sodium Knowledge, Use and Health Related Behaviors.” (October, 2018)

Sloane Burke (Department of Health Sciences) received $550,754 from the US Department of Education in continued support of a project entitled “Charting Access for Hispanics Majoring in Needed Careers and Occupations in Healthcare (CAMINO).” (October, 2018)

September, 2018

Elizabeth Sussman (Department of Family and Consumer Sciences) and David Boyns (Institute for Community Health and Wellbeing) received $5,000 from the California Mental Health Services Authority in support of a project entitled “Community Engagement.” (September 2018)

Emily Russell (Department of Child and Adolescent Development) received $77,047 from the Jumpstart, Inc. in support of a project entitled “Jumpstart Northridge FY19.” (September, 2018)

Miguel Hernandez (Health and Human Development / Student Services Center) received $18,000 from California State University, Channel Islands in support of a project entitled “University Innovation Alliance Summer Challenge Grant.” (September, 2018)

August, 2018

Suzanne Spear (Department of Health Sciences) received $145,000 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in support of a project entitled “A systems science approach for improving continuity of service in substance use disorder treatment.” (August, 2018) Source: CSUN Today

Summer, 2018

HHD: The college received an ECMC Foundation grant for Improving Data and Communication to Increase Student Retention. The grant was led by CSU Channel Islands in collaboration with CSUN, CSU Fresno and Portland State University. Associate Dean Dimitri Tamalis and Graduation Retention Specialists Miguel Hernandez and Joanne Moreno are working together on the project. (Summer, 2018) Press release from funder.

Samira Moughrabi (Nursing) was awarded the Song Brown Grant in the amount of $48,000 for 2018-2020. (Summer 2018)

Rebekah Child Laurie Gelardi (Nursing) were awarded a grant of $3,000 for their project, "Exploring the Use of Virtual Reality Simulation in Physical Assessment for BSN Students." This grant is a collaboration between Nursing, Art, and Computer Science to create a virtual reality program used to teach nursing students how to conduct health assessments. (Summer, 2018)

May, 2018

Suzanne Spear (Department of Health Sciences) received $14,029 from the University of Southern California (USC) in support of a project entitled “Measuring Sustainment in Prevention Programs and Initiatives.” (May 2018) Source: CSUN Today.

Nola Kennedy (Department of Environmental and Occupational Health) received $106,992 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Student-to-Scientist Bridge Program in Environmental Health Science (S2S Bridge).” (April, 2018) Source: CSUN Today.

Mechelle Best and Joong-Won Lee (Department of Recreation and Tourism Management) received $63,450 from the Lily Academy of Japan in support of a project entitled “Recreation Institute for the Lily Academy of Japan.” (April, 2018) Source: CSUN Today.

Merav Efrat (Department of Health Sciences) received $150,000 from the US Department of Agriculture in support of a project entitled “Pathways to Lactation Consulting for Human Sciences Students.” (March, 2018) Source: CSUN Today.

2017

Emily Russell (Department of Child & Adolescent Development) received $69,891 from Jumpstart, Inc. in support of a project entitled “Jumpstart- Northridge.” (December 2017) Source: CSUN Today.

Annette Besnilian (Department of Family and Consumer Sciences) received $60,000 from the Northeast Valley Health Corporation in support of a project entitled “WIC-based Dietetic Internship Program.” (November 2017) Source: CSUN Today.

Steven Loy (Department of Kinesiology) received $20,000 from the American Council on Exercise in continued support of a project entitled “3 WINS ACE.” (November 2017) Source: CSUN Today.

Teri Todd (Department of Kinesiology) received $45,016 from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in support of a project entitled “Impact of a Hand-cycling Program.” (November, 2017) Source: CSUN Today.

Lawrence Chu (Health Sciences) and Edith Chen (Asian American Studies) received $437,030 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Is Assimilation Costing Asian Americans Their Health? Type 2 Diabetes in California’s Asian American Populations.” (October 2017) Source: CSUN Today.

Annette Besnilian (Department of Family & Consumer Sciences) and Merav Efrat (Department of Health Sciences) received $250,000 from the US Department of Agriculture – NIFA in support of a project entitled “Pathways to Success for Hispanic Students as Registered Dietitians (“Pathways”).” (September 2017) Source: CSUN Today.

Steven Loy (Department of Kinesiology) received $70,000 from the American Council on Exercise in support of a project entitled “3 WINS ACE.” (August 2017) Source: CSUN Today.

Sloane Burke (Department of Health Sciences) received $428,158 from the US Department of Education in support of a project entitled “Charting Access for Hispanics Majoring in Needed Careers and Occupations in Healthcare (CAMINO).” (August 2017) Source: CSUN Today.