Northern Illinois University
College of Health and Human Sciences

Advocacy, Leadership, Community Development

• health workforce development
• public health nursing
• community development

Audiology, Hearing/Noise Conservation, Deafness Rehabilitation

• audiologic and tinnitus rehabilitation strategies
• hearing assistive technology outcomes
• supervision/clinical teaching techniques and student outcomes
• audiologic care of persons in life transitions and second language learners

• optimization of hearing aid, cochlear implant and hearing protector performance
• wind noise characteristics and reduction strategies
• humanitarian services and research

• head injuries
• vestibular and electrophysiologic measures in sports related injuries and blast injuries
• impact of rehabilitation on the vestibular system and cognitive function
• aging and pathologies of the vestibular system

• genetics of susceptibility to noise/toxin induced hearing loss
• hearing conservation in student musicians
• pre-clinical measurements of noise/toxin induced hearing loss

• hearing assessment of all ages, with a particular interest in the geriatric population
• intervention with hearing aids and counseling for individuals, couples, and families for hearing related issues
• community outreach

• applicability of auditory electrophysiology to the study of sport- and blast-related concussions

Balance

• human balance
• fall prediction and prevention
• prosthetics and orthotics
• amputation

• balance and gait characteristics in individuals with disability

Cancer/Chronic Illness and/or Pain, Pain Management

• oncology
• cancer genetics
• patient reported outcomes
• quality of life
• cancer drug development
• vulnerable populations/minorities
• multisite international studies
• skin dysbiosis during external radiotherapy

• pain management
• chronic pain

• cardiovascular effects of common environmental agents
• sleep disorders and associated chronic disease outcomes
• breast cancer and mammography-seeking behavior in Amish women

• cancer

• role of nutrition and physical activity in children and adolescents in prevention of chronic disease

Caregiving/Self-Care

• informal and formal caregiver well-being and risk for strain
• grounded theory and instrument development research methodologies
• secondary traumatic stress (compassion fatigue)
• nursing education research

• Interdisciplinary Parent/Toddler Playgroup

• caregiver stress

Communicative Disorders, Language Development

• language development in children with autism spectrum disorder
• word learning in children: phonological aspects of words, prosodic patterns, and the semantic richness of the learning context

• neuromotor speech disorders
• functional near-infrared optical brain imaging (FNIR) study
• speech intelligibility and cognitive processing in bilingual populations

• acquired neurogenic cognitive-communicative disorders with etiologies in progressive disease or stroke/brain injury
• behavioral treatment protocols, including constraint-induced aphasia treatment, melodic intonation therapy, computerized treatment/computerized brain training, art therapy, physical activity, attention process training, phonological training
• memory function in aphasia

• pediatrics
• language development
• early childhood language development

• assessment of phonological development
• disorder prevention and treatment efficacy

• early language acquisition
• mother-infant interactions
• gesture use
• mothers' use of internal state language
• speech processing in children with hearing loss

Consumer Studies, Apparel

• social psychology of dress and appearance
• body image disturbances
• body image, body satisfaction, and the media
• gendered appearances in the media
• theories of fashion change

• brand loyalty
• clothing disposal behaviors
• fashion consumers
• appearance management

Disability, Autism Services

• postsecondary accommodations for students with disabilities
• universal design in instructional settings
• assistive technology
• vocational evaluation

• language development in children with autism spectrum disorder

• long-term care workforce
• health promotion behaviors of older adults and persons with disabilities
• access to health services for persons with disabilities

• balance, coordination, gait and physical activity in children with autism spectrum disorder
• exercise in children with autism spectrum disorder

Disability, Parkinson Services

• Neuromotor Speech Disorders

• LSVT BIG community exercise program for adults with Parkinson and Down Syndrome

Epidemiological Studies: Environmental Hazards, Human Sexual Behavior and Health

• social epidemiology
• health disparities
• aging
• depression
• obesity
• metabolic syndrome
• type 2 diabetes

• association of hearing loss and exposure to hearing health risk factors in nationwide databases

• evaluations of environmental risk factors (biological, chemical, physical, and socioeconomic) that potentially affect human health, especially children's health

• biostatistics
• application in health research

Family and Marital Interactions, Parenting

• family day care
• eldercare and widowhood
• professional issues in early childhood education
• caregiving across the lifespan
• parenting

• acculturation process for immigrant families and children
• parenting styles in various cultures
• family strengths
• early childhood development

• diverse couple and family systems
• systemic and ecological influence on child development
• learned resilience and resourcefulness

• family strengths perspective in cross-cultural family functioning
• adolescent resiliency across the diaspora
• role of family functioning in coping with discrimination

• mental health services, outcomes, research, and policy
• child and family serving systems, including mental health, juvenile justice, child welfare, and education
• family dynamics and atypical adolescent development
• supervision in human service agencies
• child maltreatment and delinquency

• attachment and intimate relationship interaction
• application of attachment theory in couple and individual therapy
• trauma and trauma recovery

• commitment in couple relations
• romantic relationship formation
• decision-making in the emerging adult population (18-29 years old) 
• marriage and family therapy theories (contextual therapy, etc.)

• family relationships
• community and family influence on child health and well-being
• quantitative research methods and longitudinal data analysis

• Asian American family strengths
• intergenerational relationships

Fitness and Exercise

• exercise and technology
• social aspects of exercise how social norms and peers influence exercise perceptions and behaviors

• exercises in persons with chronic neuromuscular conditions risk factors for injury in overhead athletes

• LSVT BIG community exercise program for adults with Parkinson and Down Syndrome
• use of wearable technology to analyze and complete exercise programs
• pre-pregnancy exercise program for preventative women’s health

Gerontology

• eldercare and widowhood
• caregiving across the lifespan

• health disparities
• aging
• disability and social factors in older Mexican Americans
• metabolic syndrome
• type 2 diabetes

• art therapy to augment quality of life for individuals with dementia
• brain training to augment cognitive function/cognitive reserve across the lifespan

Health Care and Treatment

• health systems uptake of national guidelines

• adoption of and outcomes from use of health information technology
• health economics
• medical errors and patient safety
• physician incentives
• medical decision making

• issues in internal medicine
• translation of evidence into practice
• sepsis
• diabetes
• healthcare for vulnerable populations
• pain management 
• chronic pain

Health Disparities, Underrepresented/Diverse Populations

• food environment and subsequent health effects
• immigrant health disparities
• nutrition and health needs
• food insecurity

• healthcare for vulnerable populations
• rural health care 

• health of vulnerable populations

• racial and ethnic health disparities
• socioeconomic status and health
• social epidemiology
• type 2 diabetes in vulnerable populations

• social ecology of health and health behavior
• health disparities

• mental health/substance abuse
• vulnerable populations
• population based surveys

• cultural diversity in family and consumer science education

Hospitality

• entrepreneurship in the hospitality and tourism industry
• management skills for food and nutrition professionals
• international hospitality operations

• sustainability in hospitality
• hospitality ethics

Immunology

• genetics of reactive oxygen species metabolizers and hearing loss

• role of inflammation in autoimmunity/hypersensitivity

Medical Laboratory Sciences

• student perspectives of learning in the clinical setting as related to competency building and professional socialization
• study abroad programs for Health and Human Sciences
• international MLS education

• immunology/clinical microbiology and clinical biochemistry/hematology/cancer
• study of autoimmune disorders; cytokines; diabetes; elucidation of signal transduction pathways
• management of Diabetes Mellitus and its association with cardio-metabolic syndrome

Mental Illness, Mental Health Services

• depression suicide

• life patterns - women transitioning through menopause
• human rights of persons with mental illnesses

• mental health/substance abuse
• vulnerable populations
• population based surveys

• mental health services, outcomes, research and policy
• child and family serving systems, including mental health, juvenile justice, child welfare and education

• stigma of mental illness
• caregiver stress

Neonates, Infants, and Children

• promoting dietary practices through nutrition education
• nutrition issues and needs of children with special needs, physical disability, interdisciplinary play group
• infant and young child feeding practices in developing countries
• global development, physical activity and nutritional status in children

• bullying and social media
• child obesity

• Interdisciplinary Parent/Toddler Developmental Playgroup
• global development and physical activity in young children

• early language acquisition mother-infant interactions gesture use mothers' use of internal state language speech processing in children with hearing loss

• child maltreatment and delinquency child welfare

• maternal newborn health with focus in labor and delivery
• childbirth and postpartum education
• human patient simulation

Neuroscience

• interactions between language and motor systems during tasks of memory
• learning in children with typical and atypical language development

• acquired neurogenic cognitive-communicative disorders with etiologies in progressive disease or stroke/brain injury
• behavioral treatment protocols, including constraint-induced aphasia treatment, melodic intonation therapy, computerized treatment/computerized brain training, art therapy, physical activity, attention process training, phonological training
• memory function in aphasia

• LSVT BIG community exercise program for adults with Parkinson and Down Syndrome
• balance, coordination, gait and physical activity in children with autism spectrum disorder

Nursing

• nursing faculty knowledge and attitudes regarding genetics, genomics, and pharmacogenomics

• pain management
• evidence-based nursing practice

• optimization of nursing work process to improve quality of patient care
• transition of pre-licensure nursing students to professional practice
• prevention of musculoskeletal disorders related to patient-handling among health caregivers
• cultural competency to reduce ethnic disparities in health care

• issues in internal medicine
• translation of evidence into practice 
• sepsis
• diabetes
• healthcare for vulnerable populations
• pain management
• chronic pain
• bullying and social media
• child obesity
• adolescent PCOS
• female infertility

• Demographic characteristics as predictors of pre-licensure nursing student success.
• Emotional intelligence as a predictor of success in pre-licensure nursing students.
• Storytelling utilizing the SBARR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation, Review) framework as an effective didactic teaching method. 

• Immigrant health
• Health disparities 
• Lifestyle physical activity among South Asian Indian immigrants
• Physical activity among low income food pantry patrons

• teaching and outcome assessment including nursing education inspiration in teaching portfolio assessment issues in mental health nursing including patient rights, cultural influences, and pet therapy interventions

Nutrition, Weight Loss, Diabetes

• evaluation of food intake of school children who eat the National School Lunch Meals
• validated photography as a tool for collecting food intakes; comparison of macro nutrients of school meals with meals eaten away from school
• assessment of risk factor of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases among adolescents

• obesity
• diabetes

• obesity
• metabolic syndrome
• type 2 diabetes

• sports nutrition
• ergogenic aids
• herbal medicine
• dietary supplements

Rehabilitation Process and Outcomes, Patient Rights

• management of individuals with neuromuscular problems
• efficacy of physical therapy treatments
• alternative models of patient management
• biomechanics and motor control

• rehabilitation interventions to help persons with significant disabilities obtain competitive employment

• working memory and aphasia
• Brain-Age: can video games improve cognition in stroke survivors?
• attention process training after stroke treatment of reading skills in stroke survivors

• clinical and administrative supervision of rehabilitation counseling professionals
• preparation of rehabilitation counseling graduate students
• vocational assessment in rehabilitation populations

• veteran and military population
• psychosocial aspects of disability
• stigma and disability
• public and private sector rehabilitation counseling

Teaching Methods

• using food as a tool to teach math and science
• patient education technologies

• interprofessional education

• curriculum change and reform
• professional development

• clinical decision making of 3rd year DPT students: intervention or referral?
• comparison of clinical decision making of 3rd year DPT students with physicians and licensed physical therapists

Wearable Technology

• Use of wearable technology to analyze and complete exercise programs