San Francisco State University's College of Health & Social Sciences

12/12/2023

SF State's CampusMemo published a profile of Kinesiology alumnus Patrick Makuakāne, who won a 2023 MacArthur Fellowship in cultural preservation for his work in hula.

Most cultural preservationists look to traditions, artifacts, history and language to keep a culture alive and intact. But that’s where alumnus Patrick Makuakāne (B.S., Kinesiology, ’89), a kumu hula (master hula teacher) bucks tradition. His unique interpretation of the art form, which he call...

12/02/2023

Professor of Urban Studies & Planning Raquel Pinderhughes wrote the curriculum for Energy Warriors, an environmental literacy program run by Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Tompkins County.

On November 3, approximately 25 individuals connected with Ithaca and Tompkins-area sustainability and workforce development gathered at TC3 Extension, on the Ithaca Commons, to celebrate a milestone in the region’s

11/23/2023

Research by SF State’s Family Acceptance Project on parental acceptance of LGBTQ children’s mental health was cited in an article about comedian and actor Marlon Wayans support for his trans son Kai Wayans. (This article was originally published 11/16/2023 by CNN.)

Actor and comedian embraces his trans son.

11/21/2023

Research by Associate Professor of Sociology & Sexuality Studies Clare Sears was cited in an article about how the response to a recent drag show in Columbus, Ohio, reflected the history of anti-drag laws in the city.

As drag shows went mainstream and LGBTQ+ rights expanded, Columbus’ bygone ‘improper-dress’ law seemed like a distant memory. Not anymore.

11/18/2023

Gretchen L. George, associate professor of Nutrition & Dietetics (Family, Interiors, Nutrition & Apparel Department) recently moderated and spoke at an educational session at the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo in Denver.

Weight bias and stigma impact all people and all health professions and are especially prevalent in dietetics and nutrition. The talk, titled “Overcoming weight stigma: A conversation to face personal and professional bias,” shared strategies that individuals can use to overcome personal bias as well and discuss opportunities to combat institutional bias within the dietetics profession.

Pictured: Gretchen George (far right) with speakers (left to right) Jennifer Barnoud (University of Texas at Austin), Dalia Kinsey (Bibb County Schools) and J. Lauren Butler (Texas State University)

11/17/2023

Current Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students led a lesson on Body Systems to 7th graders at the School of the Epiphany as part of the Teen Fit program. For this session, they were supervised by Associate Clinical Professor of Physical Therapy Sarah Pawlowsky.

Teen Fit is a partnership between the UCSF/SFSU Graduate Program in Physical Therapy and the School of the Epiphany in San Francisco’s Excelsior neighborhood. DPT students lead monthly movement-science education sessions to 7th grade students in an underserved San Francisco community.

Pictured left to right: (Back row) Hart Caligagan, Allie Banks, Madison Young, Regina Sid, Mary Dyell, Sophia Sears, Nicole Shak, Tanvi Mamtora, Sophie Baghdoyan; (Front row) Amy Ding, Stephanie Huynh, Abbey Lea

11/17/2023

SF State alumna Rebecca Alvarez Story (M.A., Sexuality Studies, ’17) is the founder and CEO of Bloomi, a company offering intimate health products — oils, personal lubricants, s*x aids and more — with an emphasis on bilingual marketing. The Bloomi line can be found in local spas and boutiques as well as national retailers like Target and Saks Fifth Avenue. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Story says she hopes to use Bloomi to bring quality s*x education to a billion people around the globe, with an emphasis on expansion in Latin America. Read her story at https://buff.ly/3QJaqDr

11/17/2023

SF State Professor Nina Roberts received a special posthumous honor last month at the Wilderness Risk Management Conference: https://bit.ly/467CTsd 👏 💜 💛

11/17/2023

Professor of Public Health Vivian Chávez will be bring SF State’s spirit of health equity and community inclusion to Semester at Sea Spring 2024. She will be sailing to countries in Asia, Africa and Europe, teaching courses on Applied Social Change Promoting Positive Health.

Chavez will teach the “Applied Social Change” service learning course connecting a cohort of Semester at Sea students with community-based organizations that can give students an up-close and hands-on introduction to craft bold solutions to both global and local challenges.

11/16/2023

Professor of Public Health Emma Sanchez-Vaznaugh, a social epidemiologist, was awarded a 3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health as part of its transformative research to address health disparities and advance health equity at minority serving institutions. Partnering with UCSF co-investigators and community based organizations in Oakland and Chicago, the project will determine the effectiveness of a community-based group intervention delivered in Spanish, designed to prevent HIV among Latinx immigrants who identify as gay/bis*xual men or men who have s*x with men. The intervention focuses on addressing racism and homophobia as factors shaping HIV risk and uses a community-based approach centered on community involvement as means to promote s*xual health and to build community. One of our nation’s major public health priorities is to reduce racial/ethnic health inequities, thus the study will help move these efforts forward.

Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity at Minority Serving Institutions (U01 Clinical Trial Allowed) RFA-RM-22-001 PI Name Institution Name Title CASTRO, EIDA MARIA (contact) ARMAIZ-PENA, GUILLERMO N

11/15/2023

Students in the Holistic Health course “HH 660: Art as Healing” will host an extraordinary sand painting/mandala exhibition that promises to be a transformative experience for all who attend. This art exhibition is a final class art project. It will be exhibited in the LIB 286 on November 30, 12 noon–6 p.m. All students, faculty and staff are welcome to observe the process of impressive sand paintings/mandalas.

Tibetan sand mandalas are mesmerizing ancient art from, crafted grain by grain, and it holds deep spiritual significance. Often sand paintings are created as a form of meditation and spiritual arts that cultivate a sense of inner tranquility. Once complete, mandalas are dismantled and symbolize impermanence, teaching us to embrace life's transient nature. Don’t miss the sand mandala dissolution process at 5 p.m.

Students will also have the opportunity to witness a process of the impressive sand mandalas and practice meditation to release their stress before Finals Week.

Students in the Holistic Health course “HH 660: Art as Healing” will host an extraordinary sand painting/mandala exhibition that promises to be a transformative experience for all who attend. This art exhibition is a final class art project. It will be exhibited in LIB 286 on November 30, 12 noo...

11/15/2023

The Department of Sociology & Sexuality Studies presents a talk by Lecturer of Sociology Sarah Bakker Kellogg about her forthcoming book
Thursday, November 16, 4 p.m., LIB 121

In “Sonic Icons: Kinship, Christianity, and the Ethics of Recognition in a Syriac World” (Fordham University Press forthcoming), Sarah Bakker Kellogg uses the tools of multisensory ethnography to track a diasporic network of Syriac Orthodox Christians — also known as Assyrians, Aramaeans and S...