The Academic Minute

On New York University Week: How do animals make inferences? Christine Constantinople , assistant professor of neural science, tests rats with juice rewards. Faculty Bio: Christine Constantinople is an Assistant Professor in Neural Science at NYU. After obtaining a PhD in neurobiology from Columbia University, and postdoctoral research at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Dr. Constantinople jo...

On New York University Week: Think you can match inaugural address quotes to the presidents who spoke them? Think again. Joe Salvatore , clinical professor and director of educational theatre, says it may be harder than you think. Faculty Bio: Joe Salvatore is a Clinical Professor and Director of Educational Theatre at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Develo...

On New York University Week: Boomeranging back to live with your parents may be necessary, but not helpful in the long term. Sewin Chan , associate professor of public policy, explores why. Faculty Bio: Sewin Chan is an economist whose research focuses on economic and financial risks faced by households as they interact with housing, labor and credit markets. She has studied mortgages and housing...

On New York University Week: Does discrimination affect our immune system? Emiko Kranz , PhD student in the School of Global Public Health, says yes. Faculty Bio: Emiko Kranz is a mixed Japanese American PhD student whose work draws on her background in cancer immunotherapy, ethnic studies, and community health science. As a PhD student at NYU’s School of Global Public Health, Kranz researches how...

On New York University Week: How does housing affect which older adults go into a nursing home? Marissa Bergh , PhD student at the Rory Meyers College of Nursing, takes a look at three ways. Faculty Bio: Marissa Bergh, BSN, RN, is a PhD student at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. Her research focuses how housing environments shape long-term care trajectories for older adults. Working as geriatr...

What can sororities teach us about belonging? Charlotte Hogg , professor of rhetoric and composition at Texas Christian University , delves in the question. Faculty Bio: Dr. Charlotte Hogg is a professor at Texas Christian University specializing in rhetoric and composition. She has authored, co-authored, or co-edited five books, most recently White Sororities and the Cultural Work of Belonging. H...

What happens when platforms recommend opinions instead of users? Sriniwas Pandey , lecturer at the School of Computing at Binghamton University , details this. Faculty Bio: Pandey is a lecturer in the School of Computing at Binghamton University. He received his PhD degree in system science from Binghamton University. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science engineering from UT...

There are stark mortality differences between pregnancy and abortion. Maria Steenland , assistant professor of family science in the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland , explores this. Faculty Bio: Dr. Steenland is an Assistant Professor in Family Science in the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is a health services and health policy resear...

How do we pull back the curtain on China’s use of AI in its military? Cole McFaul , senior research analyst at Georgetown University , explores this key question. Faculty Bio: Cole McFaul is a Senior Research Analyst and an Andrew W. Marshall Fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), where he mainly focuses on emerging technology competition in the Asia-...

What is Gulf War Illness and why is recognition important? Beatrice Golomb , professor of medicine at the University of California San Diego , seeks to inform. Faculty Bio: Dr. Golomb is a Professor of Medicine at UC San Diego with over 15 years of experience treating veteran patients, including veterans with Gulf War Illness (GWI). She was the inaugural Scientific Director for the Congressionally...

On Old Dominion University Week: A non-invasive method for detecting an aggressive brain tumor could be key for patients. But how does it work? Khan Iftekharuddin , Professor and Eminent Scholar, delves into this. Faculty Bio: Dr. Khan Iftekharuddin is a professor and Batten Endowed Chair in Machine Learning in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Old Dominion University...

On Old Dominion University Week: How fast can a viral variant spread? Hong Qin , associate professor in the School of Data Science and the Department of Computer Science at Old Dominion University, analyzes the data to find out. Faculty Bio: Hong Qin is an Associate Professor in the School of Data Science and the Department of Computer Science at Old Dominion University. His work develops AI and s...

On Old Dominion University Week: When it’s hot out, some places are hotter than others. Maryam Golbazi , research assistant professor of climate science, examines why. Faculty Bio: Maryam Golbazi is a Research Assistant Professor at Old Dominion University working with the Joint Institute on Advanced Computing for Environmental Studies (JI-ACES). She specializes in numerical weather prediction mod...

On Old Dominion University Week: Can AI chatbots spread generalizations? Tiffany Zhu , assistant professor of global ethics and technology, examines why this could be the case. Faculty Bio: Tiffany Zhu is a philosopher. She is an Assistant Professor of Global Ethics and Technology in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Old Dominion University. Prior to joining ODU in Fall 2025, s...

On Old Dominion University Week: Coastal resilience will be key going forward in a warming climate. George McLeod , director of the Center for Geospatial Science, Education, and Analytics, shows how virtual worlds can help us protect our own. Faculty Bio: Dr. George McLeod is the Director of the Center for Geospatial Science, Education, and Analytics at Old Dominion University and Senior Fellow wi...

Are you good at multitasking? Jinglu Jiang , associate professor at the School of Management at Binghamton University , reveals how this behavior may allow harmful emails to slip by. Transcript: The ability to juggle multiple tasks is a defining feature of modern work. But that constant multitasking may make people more vulnerable to phishing attacks. In a recent study, my co-authors and I examine...

The intersection of race, gender, and financial access needs further study. Carlena Ficano , professor of economics at Hartwick College , discusses why. Faculty Bio: Dr. Ficano’s areas of expertise include: labor economics, applied econometrics, social policy on low income family well-being, the economics of higher education and, most recently, local economic development. Recent courses taught inc...

What do electronic medical records have to do with declining COVID mortality rates at hospitals? Indranil Bardhan , Charles and Elizabeth Prothro Regents Chair in Health Care Management at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin , answers this. Faculty Bio: Indranil Bardhan is the Charles and Elizabeth Prothro Regents Chair in Health Care Management in the McCombs Schoo...

There may be encouraging news for ovarian cancer patients on the way. Ray Goodrich , professor in the department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology at Colorado State University , tells us more. Faculty Bio: Former Executive Director of the Infectious Disease Research Center, Ray Goodrich has been investigating vaccine candidates to combat the pathogens that cause COVID-19, tuberculosis and...

Language can shape our societies and our political lives. Edison Bicudo , lecturer in the Department of Society and Politics at Aston University , discusses how. Faculty Bio: Dr Edison Bicudo is a Lecturer in the Department of Society and Politics, Aston University, in the UK. He is interested in the regulation, governance, digitalisation, and financialisation of health technology development. Wit...

On Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Week: Can weight loss drugs help reduce alcohol use? Alex DiFeliceantonio , Assistant Professor and Interim Co-director of the Center for Health Behaviors Research, looks into this. Faculty Bio: Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, Ph. D., is an appetitive neuroscientist who studies how the brain integrates peripheral signals to guide food selection a...

On Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Week: How do we distinguish which symptoms belong to what neurological disease? Read Montague , Vernon Mountcastle Research Professor and Director of the Center for Human Neuroscience Research, explores this. Faculty Bio: Dr. Montague’s research focuses on computational neuroscience: the connection between physical mechanisms present in real...

On Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Week: Early interventions are key for children with cerebral palsy Stephanie DeLuca , associate professor and co-director at the Neuromotor Research Clinic, details why. Faculty Bio: Strokes are devastating events often associated with people over 65. But large numbers of infants have strokes, too, which can cause permanent neuromotor impairments. For more t...

On Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Week: Can a diet help you get more benefits from exercising? Sarah Lessard , associate professor, looks into this. Faculty Bio: Identifying mechanisms to optimize the therapeutic benefits of exerciseWhy do some people gain fewer health benefits from exercise than others? Increased aerobic exercise capacity is one of the key health benefits of aerobic trainin...

On Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Week: Is there a better exercise than running for blood sugar control? Zhen Yan , Professor and Director of the Center for Exercise Medicine Research. examines one. Faculty Bio: Zhen Yan’s research highlights the importance of the power plants of our cells, the mitochondria. The quantity, number, and function of mitochondria are critically i...