Soaring Beyond in Excellence
At Georgia Southern, we celebrate the achievements that inspire us to reach new heights. The Congratulations Corner is your space to spotlight the incredible work happening across our campuses鈥攚hether it鈥檚 earning accolades, publishing impactful research, or receiving noteworthy appointments.
Let鈥檚 continue to soar together! Share your success stories with Mary Kate Allen at mallen@georgiasouthern.edu to be featured in the next newsletter.
These are the successes highlighted in the latest edition of Excellence in Action.
Publications
JPHCOPH (Faculty Bolded)
Asifat, O.A., Adenusi, A., Adebile, T.V., Aderinto, N., Azu, E., Ivey-Waters, A., Kersey, J.X.*(2025). Relationship between unimproved household sanitation facilities and malaria infection among under-five children in Nigeria: insights from Malaria Indicator Survey 2021. Malar J 24, 103 (2025).
Adebile, T., Nwaonumah, E., Asifat, O., Dey , S. and Yu, L. (2025). Effect of smoking on mortality in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the United States: Evidence from the NHIS-NDI Record Linkage Study. Respiratory Care.
Abigail A. Buesseler, Xinyi Hua, Dorcas Ama Adom, Shobhan Das, Wendy S. Kitten, Olawumi Olatunde, Olivia A. Sheppard, Jhy-Charm Soo, Jing Kersey, Kin On Kwok, Gerardo Chowell, Isaac Chun-Hai Fung*. Geographical Variation in COVID-19 Transmission Potential and Case Burden, West Virginia, 2020-2023. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. 2025; 19:e75. DOI:
Bleichrodt, Amanda M.; Okano, Justin T.; Fung, Isaac C.H.; Chowell, Gerardo; Blower, Sally. The future of HIV: challenges in meeting the 2030 Ending the HIV Epidemic in the US (EHE) reduction goal. AIDS 39(6):p 708-718, May 01, 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000004122
Jhy-Charm Soo, Jenny Houlroyd, Hilarie Warren, Brandon J Philpot, Sean Castillo, Respirable dust and respirable crystalline silica exposures among workers at stone countertop fabrication shops in Georgia from 2017 through 2023, Annals of Work Exposures and Health, 2025, wxaf014,
Hani Samawi and Haresh Rochani (2025). Efficient sampling strategies for assessing the prognostic value of a new biomarker at a temporal endpoint. Accepted into Research in Statistics.
WCHP
Tory Candea, SLPD, CCC-SLP, CBIS, CDP, CTSS, CEOLS, published the article 鈥淢asking Leadership: The Impact of the 鈥� in the Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology.
Presentations & Accolades
WCHP
Joseph Kardouni, PT, DPT, Ph.D., and Sidney Stoddard, PT, DPT, Ed.D., presented their work “Understanding How Neurocognitive Activities Influence the Ecological Validity of Functional Performance Testing in Tactical Athletes” at the 2025 Human Performance Optimization Conference in Savannah, GA
Estelle Bester, Ph.D., and Kathryn Zeigler, DNP, presented their research, “Artificial Intelligence (AI): Gizmo or Gremlin?” at the American Association of Colleges & Universities’ Forum on Digital Innovation, a dynamic hybrid event with over 1,700 attendees.
Tamerah Hunt, Ph.D., recently served as a facilitator at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine virtual workshop 鈥淓xploring Risks of Repeated Head Impacts in Youth and Strategies to Minimize Exposure鈥� where attendees discussed the effects of repeated head impacts on children and how risks can be reduced by better prevention and intervention strategies.
(Grant) Nick Siekirk, Ph.D., has been awarded a grant in the amount of $87,000 from Rockin’ Out Alzheimer’s Disease Foundation, Inc. for his research titled “Direct Current Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation and Cognitive Motor Functions in Community-Dwelling Adults at Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias”
Kerry Dunn, Ed.D., R.T.(R)(M), was named the recipient of the Radiologic Technology Distinguished Author Award by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists for her article 鈥淓xploring the Definition of Clinical Radiography Leadership,鈥� that was published in the January/February 2024 issue of Radiologic Technology.
Tamerah Hunt, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology, has been named the recipient of the Athletic Trainer Service Award and the Most Distinguished Athletic Training Award by the National Athletic Trainers鈥� Association.
JPHCOPH (faculty bolded)
Dr. Katie Mercer, BJ Newell, and Ruth Whitworth at the 2025 SoTL Commons Conference in Savannah (2/26-2/28).
Dr. Marina Eremeeva presented at the 2025 Georgia Entomological Society Annual Meeting. She mentored five JPHCOPH students and our students were recognized with numerous awards. The presentations are as follows (bolded names are JPHCOPH affiliates):
1. Chiamaka Ogwara, L.A. Durden and M.E. Eremeeva. Characterization of brown dog ticks and tick-borne pathogens affecting kennel dogs in Bulloch County, GA. Best oral presentation by a BS student (J.H. Oliver Award)
2. Kay’La Brennon, N. Hight, and M.E. Eremeeva. Serological evaluation of healthy individuals from Georgia, USA for antibodies against spotted fever group rickettsiae. Best poster presentation by a BS student.
3. Alice Mcloud, C. Ogwara, I. Oliver, and M. E. Eremeeva. Detection and Identification of Rickettsia and Ehrlichia in Ticks Infesting Dogs in Southeast Georgia. Best poster presentation by a graduate student.
4. Padde Musa, S.E. Braswell, and M.E. Eremeeva. Parental Knowledge and Practices Regarding Head Louse Pediculosis in Southeast Georgia.
5. Seun Abiola, and M.E. Eremeeva. Tracking the Seasonal Presence of Ticks on a University Campus.
Dr. Marina Eremeeva was also a co-author of a talk at the 2025 Georgia Entomological Society Annual Meeting presented by her collaborators from Georgia Southern: Mondor E., M.E. Eremeeva, L. Durden, J. Eisenstat, and B. Hargrove. Head Lice Infestation in a Child Fatality: A Forensic Entomology Investigation.
Dr. Robert Bohler presented at the 2025 Rx Summit in Nashville. The poster’s title is “How to Maximize Opioid Settlement Funds for a Comprehensive Response to the Opioid Crisis.”
Dr. Kristina Harbaugh and her students, Taylor Holmes and Breyonna Brown, presented their poster at the GS4 symposium. The title of their presentation was “The correlation between obesity and the prevalence and management of gestational diabetes in pregnant women residing in rural Southeast Georgia: A meta-analysis.”
Dr. Joanne Chopak-Foss served as a mentor to a JPHCOPH DrPH student, Alisha Riggins (CHBE, doctoral), who was honored by being a COGS recipient of the Averitt Award for Research.
University Libraries (Faculty bolded)
Bareford, L. (2025, May 4-7). Addressing burnout in academia with mindfulness practices and activities: Pilot study [Invited conference presentation]. (International Conference on Science Education 2025), Lisbon, Portugal.
Carmichael, L. (2025, May 4-7). Mindful administrative approaches to library resources and services in support of science education in higher education [Oral presentation]. (International Conference on Science Education 2025), Lisbon, Portugal.Karadjova-Kozhuharova, K. G. (2025, May 4-7). Mindful Leadership: Introducing mindfulness practices in support of academic performance and wellbeing in higher education settings [Plenary presentation]. (International Conference on Science Education 2025), Lisbon, Portugal.