AU News
- President Greg Weiner Announces 2023 Presidential Award WinnersPresident Greg Weiner Announces 2023 Presidential Award Winners oe.boudreau Wed, 11/22/2023 - 08:55 For the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Presidential Awards and Employee Appreciation Ceremony was held in the Tsotsis Family Academic Center Ballroom on November 16th. During the ceremony, four faculty and staff members were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the Assumption community. President Greg Weiner opened the ceremony with a speech recognizing not only the hard work of those four individuals who received awards, but also the efforts of all faculty and staff that help to make Assumption thrive. “We acknowledge today and express our appreciation for those who have dedicated their careers to advancing our university’s mission and to providing an excellent education to our students,” he said. “Each honoree recognized this afternoon has not only contributed their time, but has also invested passion, expertise, and energy for the betterment of our community.” The winners of the Presidential Awards for 2023 are as follows: Dr. Samantha Goldman, Associate Professor of Special Education, has received the Paul Ziegler Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarship. “Receiving this award is a huge honor, and it means so much to have my scholarly work recognized by the Assumption community,” said Goldman. “My research is focused on access to services for students with disabilities and their families, as well as teacher preparation/training. It is a great feeling to know that others also recognize and value the importance of this area of scholarship. I am extremely grateful to my colleagues in the Education department who nominated me, but also to all the students, families, and educators who have participated directly in my research.” Ms. Melanie Demarais, Associate Vice President of University Advancement, has received the Kathleen M. Murphy Presidential Award for Excellence in Contribution to the Mission. “I was very humbled when I got word that I was going to receive this award,” said Demarais. “I want to congratulate my fellow awardees, because I feel like I am in a very special class of individuals. I’d like to thank my nominators, and of course our University Advancement team. They are great. We are mighty, and we try to support this university as best we can. I want to thank the Assumptionist fathers, brothers, and religious sisters, and they are great friends of mine, and I do try to sparkle whenever I am with them.” Dr. Christian Williams, Assistant Professor of Human Services and Rehabilitation Studies, has received the Michael O’Shea Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching. “I am filled with gratitude and reflection as I think about my time at Assumption. My journey within the Assumption community began many years ago, not as an educator, but as a student. Today as I share this space with my former professors, my esteemed colleagues, and my students, the future of this great institution, I am filled with gratitude,” Williams said. “This award is not just a recognition of my work. It symbolizes the collective effort of our community, in nurturing minds and in shaping futures. I thank Assumption University for shaping me as a student, for inspiring me as an educator, and for allowing me to honor and contribute to the journeys of our students. The shared mission of fostering a lifelong journey of learning, passion and purpose is what makes this institution extraordinary.” Mr. Thomas Burke, Media Services Supervisor and Lecturer in Television Arts, has received the Presidential Award for Service. “It is an honor to be recognized with the 2023 Presidential Award for Excellence in Service,” said Burke. “I sincerely appreciate the nomination along with endorsements received from colleagues, students, alumni, and the Assumption University community. I am truly humbled by the outpouring of support.” Along with these four honorees, faculty and staff were also honored with years of service awards, ranging in five-year increments from five to 50 years of service. One faculty member, Kevin Hickey, Chair of the Global Studies minor, was recognized for 50 years of service and employment at Assumption University. MicrosoftTeams-image (8).pngDr. Samantha Goldman, Dr. Christian Williams, Ms. Melanie Demarais, Mr. Tom Burke, and President Greg Weiner at the Presidential Awards ceremony.General Olivia Boudreau
- Students Dante Bachini ’24 and Katy Cannistraro ’24 Present Research at Annual National Organization for Human Services ConferenceStudents Dante Bachini ’24 and Katy Cannistraro ’24 Present Research at Annual National Organization for Human Services Conference oe.boudreau Tue, 11/21/2023 - 14:22 The National Organization for Human Services (NOHS) Conference was held in Alexandria, Virginia, from November 10th through 13th, and Assumption students Katy Cannistraro ’24 and Dante Bachini ’24 both attended and presented their research relating to the field of human services. In addition, Katy Cannistraro ’24 was awarded the NOHS Outstanding Human Services Student Award. NOHS is an organization with members involved in the human services as educators, professionals, practitioners, and students. The conference is held in order to connect those involved in the field to resources and conversations that will enrich their work. Workshops at the conference include research presentations, workshops on human services pedagogy, and best practices in the field. Many of the Assumption University faculty in the Human Services department are involved in the NOHS, including helping with the planning of the conference, as editorial members of the organization’s academic journal, and sitting on the Board of Directors. “We have great participation in the NOHS. We are represented on the Board of Directors, as editorial staff on the Journal of Human Services, and at the conference itself,” said Cinzia Pica, Chair of the Human Services and Rehabilitation Studies department. “I am so proud of our students who are being highlighted at the national level. It speaks to their strengths as well as to the quality education and preparation they are engaged in both in our department and across our institution.” “The conference is where everyone comes together and tries to look forward five years,” said Dante Bachini, a health sciences major with a focus on patient advocacy. “We ask questions like, ‘what are we doing now?’, ‘What’s the new research?’, ‘As a profession, are we moving forward to not only support our patients and clients, but each other?’, ‘How are we trying to maintain the highest ethical standards for our patients?’” Bachini gave a presentation at the conference on the interviewing methods used by primary care physicians and their patients with chronic illness. “In the chronic disease world, providers are unable to really get all the knowledge about what’s going on,” he said. “What we’re seeing is that the patient and provider are on separate thought processes and have different information understandings which create a large barrier to care.” Bachini’s work is focused on how an interdisciplinary approach between human services strategies and clinical strategies can be used in clinical spaces to promote patient wellness. “My research found that the human services field, though not focused on being a clinician, has key enduring strategies which promote the wellness of chronic disease patients,” he said. “These strategies include patients’ stories, their lived experience, and their knowledge into the picture. This informs the interventions the provider can use to create a better and more comprehensive care structure for their patients.” Katy Cannistraro, a human services and rehabilitation studies major, gave a presentation on the gender gap in mental health. “I started the research about a year ago in my psychiatric rehabilitation course,” she said. “I had noticed after looking at these mental illnesses that there was a recurring gap in the statistics between male and female prevalence rates. I wanted to figure out why this gap existed; my project looks at how gender roles affect our emotional expression and what we see as far as emotional disorders and help-seeking behaviors.” On top of presenting her research, Cannistraro was also presented with the NOHS Outstanding Human Services Student Award, which is presented to one student member of NOHS who has “demonstrated a significant contribution to the field of human services during the time of his or her degree completion,” according to the NOHS website. The student who receives this award also then serves as the student member of the NOHS Board of Directors.Katy Cannistraro '24 receives the NOHS Outstanding Human Services Student Award, with NOHS President James Stinchcomb and Professor Christian Williams. “By no means had I ever defined myself as an ‘outstanding student,’” she said. “Professor [Christian] Williams (of the Human Services department) helped me realize that it’s not necessarily about my GPA, but about all the other work I do outside of that. Oftentimes, we emphasize the importance of having a high GPA and I understand that, it’s super important, but I think there are so many different aspects to a person that make them, I guess, ‘outstanding’.” Along with her meaningful work on the gender gap in mental health services, Cannistraro is also a part of AU Allies, and has a large focus on advocating for students of the LGBTQ+ community on campus and has minors in both secondary education and women’s studies. Bachini and Cannistraro both highlighted how meaningful it is for them to be involved with the human services department at Assumption and how it has shaped them as individuals. “Not enough people know about the human services program,” said Cannistraro. “It has changed my life and the whole trajectory of what I want to pursue in the future. I am grateful for all of the professors…they’re extraordinary, and I don’t think they get recognized enough for all the hard work they do and their dedication to the students. It’s incredible.” “Our department makes you a unique candidate for grad school or the workforce because it blends together your strengths that you may not be aware of,” said Bachini. “It makes you want to reach out, makes you able to reach out, and I think that’s a really unique trait to our program and speaks volumes to the level and type of practitioner Assumption is creating.” Pica believes that the futures of the human services department at Assumption and the future of the field of human services itself are bright. “I’m thrilled because I see that we have several students who are both accomplished in terms of academics but also because of their service to our profession,” said Pica. “This emphasizes the quality of students and young, aspiring professionals that we have amongst our ranks.” NOHS-pic-katy-dante-large.jpgAssumption students Dante Bachini '24 and Katy Cannistraro '24 at the National Organization for Human Services Conference.General Olivia Boudreau
WHO News Updates
- New WHO guidance calls for urgent transformation of mental health policiesThe World Health Organization (WHO) today launched new guidance to help all countries reform and strengthen mental health policies and systems. Mental health services worldwide remain underfunded, with major gaps in access and quality. In some countries, up to 90% of people with severe mental health conditions receive no care at all, while many existing services rely on outdated institutional models that fail to meet international human rights standards. The guidance provides a clear framework to transform mental health services in line with the latest evidence and international human rights standards, ensuring quality care is accessible to all. "Despite rising demand, quality mental health services remain out of reach for many people," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "This new guidance gives all governments the tools to promote and protect mental health and build systems that serve everyone.” A blueprint for mental health care transformation While effective prevention and treatment interventions exist, most people living with mental health conditions do not have access to these. The new WHO guidance sets out concrete actions to help countries close these gaps and ensure mental health is promoted and protected, with a focus on: protecting and upholding human rights, ensuring mental health policies and services are aligned with international human rights standards; promoting holistic care with an emphasis on lifestyle and physical health, psychological, social, and economic interventions; addressing social and economic factors that shape and affect mental health including employment, housing and education; implementing prevention strategies and promote population-wide mental health and well-being; and ensuring people with lived experience are empowered to participate in policy planning and design to ensure mental health policies and services are responsive to their needs. The guidance identifies five key policy areas requiring urgent reform: leadership and governance, service organization, workforce development, person-centred interventions, and addressing social and structural determinants of mental health. A tailored approach to strengthening mental health systems The WHO guidance serves as a critical tool for governments, policymakers, and stakeholders working to strengthen mental health systems and improve access to mental health care. By offering a menu of policy directives, strategies and actions to guide reform efforts, the guidance supports policy makers to prioritize and tailor policies to their specific national context, in line with their available resources and operational structures. "This new WHO guidance provides practical strategies for countries to build inclusive, responsive and resilient mental health systems. Designed to be flexible, it allows all countries – whether low- middle- or high-income - to adapt their approach to mental health care based on national context, needs, and priorities,” said Dr Michelle Funk, Unit Head, Policy, Law and Human Rights in the WHO Department for Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Developing and implementing the guidance The guidance was developed in consultation with global experts, policymakers and individuals with lived experience. The policy guidance also builds on the resources, guidance and tools developed under the WHO QualityRights initiative, aiming to promote a person-centred, recovery-oriented and rights-based approach to mental health. WHO will support countries in implementing the guidance through technical assistance and capacity-building initiatives.
- Types of data requested to inform May 2025 COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition deliberationsThe WHO Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC) continues to closely monitor the genetic and antigenic evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants, immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination, and the performance of COVID-19 vaccines against circulating variants. Based on these evaluations, WHO advises vaccine manufacturers and regulatory authorities on the implications for future updates to COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition. The next decision-making meeting of the TAG-CO-VAC is scheduled for May 2025, after which a statement on COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition and an accompanying data annex will be published on the WHO website. These meetings are timed to balance the availability of the latest epidemiological, immunological, and virological data, with the kinetics of vaccine-induced protection and the lead time manufacturers need to update the antigen composition of authorized COVID-19 vaccines. The purpose of this statement is to guide the scientific community and vaccine manufacturers as to which data should be generated ahead of the May 2025 TAG-CO-VAC deliberations. It is an update to the previous statement on the types of data requested in October 2024.1 To inform decisions on COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition,2-6 the TAG-CO-VAC reviews data (see Table) on the genetic evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and the antigenic characteristics of previously and currently circulating variants. This includes the analysis of animal antisera following primary infection or vaccination in one-way and two-way neutralization tests, as well as immunogenicity data that assess the breadth and durability of immune responses, including neutralizing antibody responses, using sera from sequentially immunized or infected animals and pre-and post-vaccination human sera. The TAG-CO-VAC also considers vaccine effectiveness (VE) estimates of currently approved COVID-19 vaccines, particularly those that control for time since vaccination and that provide variant-specific estimates across different vaccine platforms for protection against any infection, symptomatic disease, and severe disease. Further examples of published data reviewed by TAG-CO-VAC and used to inform decisions on COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition can be found in the annexes accompanying each of the previous statements.2-6 In addition, the TAG-CO-VAC reviews available data from vaccine manufacturers, including animal and human studies demonstrating the breadth and durability of immune responses elicited by currently authorized vaccines, as well as any vaccine candidates in development. For vaccine candidates in development, the TAG-CO-VAC highlights the utility of clinical immunogenicity data for decision-making on COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition. The TAG-CO-VAC also notes that comparable immunogenicity data (i.e. to the same variants) from previous vaccine compositions are especially useful. Vaccine manufacturers are also asked to provide observational epidemiological data that demonstrate the efficacy or effectiveness of their authorized COVID-19 vaccines, as well as any vaccine candidates in development. At this stage, the key antisera and antigens of interest for the May 2025 decision-making meeting for demonstrating breadth include antisera to: BA.2 (other historical reference viruses – e.g., index virus, Alpha, BA.1 – are also useful for determining antigenic relationships), XBB.1.5, JN.1, KP.2, XEC, LP.8.1, LF.7.2 and potentially emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. Antisera of interest are animal sera after single or sequential exposure and human sera after a boost with monovalent JN.1, KP.2 or XBB.1.5 vaccines. Both pre- and post-vaccination sera should be included and, for all antisera, neutralizing antibody titers should be analyzed against at least one variant that emerged after the vaccine antigen, where feasible. Analysis of these antisera against the same panel of virus antigens as well as other new emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants will provide insight into antigenic characteristics of previous and emerging variants. Emerging variants include the list of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Interest (VOI) and Variants Under Monitoring (VUM) maintained on the WHO website. Relative VE estimates should be calculated during periods of circulation of XBB, JN.1, KP.3.1.1, XEC or other emerging variant(s) in human populations across age groups, with separate VE estimates for each of the following vaccine antigen compositions: monovalent JN.1, monovalent KP.2 or monovalent XBB.1.5. Where available, the underlying rates of disease outcomes used to derive the relative VE estimates should also be provided. In preparation for the May 2025 meeting, the TAG-CO-VAC encourages the scientific community and vaccine manufacturers to prioritize generating and sharing the data outlined in the Table below to ensure evidence-informed deliberations on COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition; please contact the TAG-CO-VAC Secretariat: [tagcovac@who.int]. Type of data Comments SARS-CoV-2 genetic evolution Key variants include the list of Variants of Interest (VOI) and Variants Under Monitoring (VUM). This list is maintained on the WHO website.+ Antigenic characterization of previous and emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants Animal sera following primary infection or vaccination against each of the following variants: BA.2, XBB.1.5, JN.1, KP.2, XEC, LP.8.1, LF.7.2 and potentially emerging variants* analyzed in one-way and two-way neutralization tests (pseudotype and live virus neutralization assays). Preliminary immunogenicity data on breadth and durability of immune responses following vaccination or infection with SARS-CoV-2 variant antigens. Neutralization of various representative viruses by non-naïve animal sera (e.g., sequentially immunized or infected), for each of the following antigens: BA.2, XBB.1.5, JN.1, KP.2, XEC, LP.8.1, LF.7.2 and emerging variants;* Neutralization of various representative viruses (BA.2, XBB.1.5, JN.1, KP.2, XEC, LP.8.1, LF.7.2 and potentially emerging variants*) by both pre- and post-vaccination human sera. Vaccinee sera should be analyzed in priority order: JN.1, KP.2, XBB.1.5; Neutralization of variants (BA.2, XBB.1.5, JN.1, KP.2, XEC, LP.8.1, LF.7.2 and potentially emerging variants*) by sera from cohorts that are representative of recent population immunity. Vaccine effectiveness (VE) estimates of currently approved vaccines Relative VE estimates during periods of circulation of XBB, JN.1, KP.3.1.1, XEC or emerging variant(s) * in human populations. Studies need to estimate relative VE by time since vaccination or at least provide a measure of time since vaccination, such as the mean or median. They should also provide variant-specific estimates and distinct estimates for each of the following vaccine antigen compositions across different vaccine platforms: monovalent JN.1, monovalent KP.2, or monovalent XBB.1.5. Studies should also provide relative VE for a range of outcomes beyond severe disease, including any infection or symptomatic disease. Severe disease should not be defined using generic hospital admission data, but rather with specific criteria such as oxygen use, ventilation, or admission to intensive care due to respiratory symptoms. Where available, underlying rates of disease outcomes used to estimate the relative VE should also be provided. Data from vaccine manufacturers Animal and human data that demonstrate the breadth and durability in immune responses elicited by vaccines in current portfolio, as well as any vaccine candidates in development, against BA.2, XBB.1.5, JN.1, KP.2, XEC, LP.8.1, LF.7.2 and potentially emerging variants;* Observational epidemiological data that demonstrate the efficacy or effectiveness of any vaccines in current portfolio, as well as any vaccine candidates in development, against BA.2, XBB.1.5, JN.1, KP.2, XEC, LP.8.1, LF.7.2 and potentially emerging variants.* + WHO website: https://www.who.int/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants * Key emerging variants that evolve and considered relevant for demonstrating breadth include the list of Variants of Interest (VOI) and Variants Under Monitoring (VUM). This list is maintained on the WHO website: https://www.who.int/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants References World Health Organization. Types of data requested to inform December 2024 COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition deliberations. 7 October 2024. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/07-10-2024-types-of-data-requested-to-inform-december-2024-covid-19-vaccine-antigen-composition-deliberations World Health Organization. Interim statement on the composition of current COVID-19 vaccines. 17 June 2022. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/17-06-2022-interim-statement-on--the-composition-of-current-COVID-19-vaccines. World Health Organization. Statement on the antigen composition of COVID-19 vaccines. 18 May 2023. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/18-05-2023-statement-on-the-antigen-composition-of-covid-19-vaccines. World Health Organization. Statement on the antigen composition of COVID-19 vaccines. 13 December 2023. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/13-12-2023-statement-on-the-antigen-composition-of-covid-19-vaccines. World Health Organization. Statement on the antigen composition of COVID-19 vaccines. 26 April 2024. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/26-04-2024-statement-on-the-antigen-composition-of-covid-19-vaccines. World Health Organization. Statement on the antigen composition of COVID-19 vaccines. 23 December 2024. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/23-12-2024-statement-on-the-antigen-composition-of-covid-19-vaccines