With research support from LVC undergraduate and graduate students, Dr. Tonya Miller, adjunct instructor in business administration and master of business administration; Dr. Jenna Marx, assistant professor of psychology; Dr. Lori Portzer, assistant professor of exercise science, recently published the “Exploratory study of physical activity programming for women experiencing homelessness.” The researchers found that participants of a four-week physical activity program reported a significant decrease in the number of mentally unhealthy days they experienced. Their work was highlighted in “Research Shows Exercise Can Improve the Lives of Women Experiencing Homelessness.”

Dr. Kathryn Whiteley, associate professor of criminal justice, continued to research incarcerated women sentenced for murder during a recent return trip to Dublin, Ireland. While there she spoke to women incarcerated in the Dochas Centre women’s prison and met with Mary O’Connor, former prison governor of the Dochas Centre, Louise O’Connor, former chief officer, and Patricia Kelleher, assistant governor of the Mountjoy male prison. 

Dr. Terrence Alladin, assistant professor of criminal justice, and a colleague published “Immigrant and Citizen Reincarceration in Pennsylvania” in the American Journal of Criminal Justice earlier this month. Alladin and his co-author note “Despite numerous studies debunking the association between immigrants and crime, many residents in Pennsylvania continue to associate immigration with criminal offending…” along with other findings. 

Dr. Alan Walker, assistant professor of exercise science, recently co-authored three research publications, including a pair in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. His published research focused on Biomarker Response to a Competitive Season in Division I Female Soccer Players, Running Economy and its Correlation to Performance and Fitness Variables in Recreationally-Trained Distance Runners, and Contextual Factors Influencing External and Internal Training Loads in Collegiate Men’s Soccer.

Dr. Courtney Lappas, associate professor of biology, and one of her research colleagues, Dr. Brian Meier, professor of psychology at Gettysburg College, were guests on WITF’s live Smart Talk show. The duo spoke about their “natural-is-better” bias research. Click here to listen.

Alyssa Smale ’18, chemistry, spent more than a year compiling a database to help criminologists use nail polish as an investigatory tool. When Fox 43 came to do a story on her work Smale had 14 brands of polish, each with seven colors, in the database, and had “learned how to transfer the data from machine to machine so data shared across the country can be examined accurately.” This fall, Smale will enroll in Penn State’s master’s in forensic science program.