Dr. Sangchul Hwang’s (Environmental and Water Resources Engineering) study on the health impact of PFAS on firefighters was recently featured in the Dallas Express. https://dallasexpress.com/state/texas-professor-leads-groundbreaking-pfas-study/
Dr. Carmen Westerberg’s (Psychology) research on how naps can strengthen creative problem-solving was recently featured in PsyPost, Medical Daily, and Toronto’s CP24 segment “Top stories in the world of science with Dan Riskin.”
PsyPost: https://www.psypost.org/a-short-nap-boosts-problem-solving-by-strengthening-hidden-connections/#google_vignette
Medical Daily: https://www.medicaldaily.com/cant-solve-problem-sleep-itits-backed-science-heres-best-nap-better-thinking-473087
CP24: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO-fZmo1DF8
Dr. Joe Kotarba was recently awarded the Senior ECSOC Fellowship, University of Lodz, Poland (2024-2025), to research the evolving music culture and experiences among seniors who were instrumental in the Polish revolution of 1998-99 in comparison to his recent study of American seniors reported in "Music Across the Course of Life" (Routledge Press).
Dr. Seoyoun Kim (Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan) was awarded an NIH R01 award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for the project, Volunteering, Polygenic Risk, and Cardiovascular biomarkers in Multiple Ancestry Groups. This research was recently featured in The Washington Post, The Guardian, Austin American-Statesman, and former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s Parting Prescription for America.
The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2025/02/27/centenarians-longevity-healthy-aging-active/
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/06/volunteering-older-adults
Austin American-Statesman: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/healthcare/2024/04/10/is-volunteering-good-for-you-health-texas-state-research-study-heart-disease/73097865007/
Parting Prescription for America: https://www.vivekmurthy.com/partingprescription”
Dr. Mais Aljunaidy (Psychology) and Dr. Nadim Adi’s (Interior Design) recent research on artificial intelligence in art therapy was featured on Psychreg News. https://www.psychreg.org/ai-holds-promise-enhancing-art-therapy-requires-further-refinement-human-oversight/
March 2024
Dr. Carmen Westerberg's research on sleep in Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory may someday help treat individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and was featured on Canada TV's W5 program. News article: https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/why-18-year-old-canadian-emily-nash-is-sharing-her-extraordinary-brain-with-science/. Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MlFheM5Tf8 and in The Times of London https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/canadian-18-to-help-unlock-secrets-of-her-rare-super-memory-0sxfbb8dc.
Dr. Nadim Adi (Interior Design) gave a TEDx Texas State University talk, How we can prepare our buildings for an aging population, on February 24, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbeqhdhtUEg
Dr. Nadim Adi (Interior Design), Dr. Mais Aljunaidy (Psychology), and Dr. Chris Johnson (Sociology) submitted a proposal to the Annual Alzheimer's Association Pitch Competition and their proposal was selected as one of five finalists out of 35 submissions from 10 different countries to present an idea to improve the life quality of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in March 2024 in Chicago, IL.
Dr. Keya Sen (Health Administration) is the faculty advisor for the Texas State Student Chapter of the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA), who won a Chapter Achievement Award for their project Reducing Social Isolation: A community-based, intergenerational, multicultural program.
Dr. Carmen Westerberg’s (Psychology) research on sleep in individuals with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory was recently featured on 60 Minutes Australia, Canada TV’s W5 news program, and in an article for the Times of London:
60 Minutes Australia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb0hP_Rrjbg
W5 News article: https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/why-18-year-old-canadian-emily-nash-is-sharing-her-extraordinary-brain-with-science/
W5 Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MlFheM5Tf8
Times of London: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/canadian-18-to-help-unlock-secrets-of-her-rare-super-memory-0sxfbb8dc
Dr. Joe Kotarba (Sociology) was selected to give a keynote talk at the European Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction Annual Meeting, Population Mobility and the Everyday Dynamics of Frontier Medicine, on June 5, 2024, in Piza, Italy.
ARIA members presented a poster, Alliance of Researchers in Aging, at the Health Scholars Showcase sponsored by the Translational Health Research Center at Texas State University on March 1, 2024. Poster authors included Dr. Kyong Hee Chee (Sociology), Rebecca Deason (Psychology), Nadim Adi (Interior Design), and Carmen Westerberg (Psychology). Click here to view the poster
ThirdAge.Design, November 4, 2022, "Dementia Design that Supports Respect for Residents", Guest: Dr. Christopher Johnson
Texas State Newsroom, June 21, 2022, "Texas State professor enhancing safety for older adults through technology” https://news.txst.edu/featured-faculty/2022/enhancing-safety-for-older-adults-through-technology.html
Discover Magazine, May 13, 2022 “Understanding the basis of superior memory” https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/understanding-the-basis-of-superior-memory
Big Ideas TXST podcast, May 2, 2022 “Episode 28: Heath benefits of volunteering with Seoyoun Kim” https://news.txst.edu/inside-txst/big-ideas-podcast/episode-28-volunteering-with-seoyoun-kim.html
Texas Monthly, August 31, 2021: “Aging in the Right Place”
Hillviews, Vol. 50 No. 3, 2019, “Dr. Kyong Hee Chee studies aging in communities” https://hillviews.txstate.edu/issues/2019/the-big-picture/dr-kyong-hee-chee-studies-aging-in-communities
The Sunday Times (The Times of London), August 18, 2019, “Weak ties: Why casual acquaintances might be the key to happiness”, interviewed Kyong HeeChee https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/weak-ties-why-casual-acquaintances-might-be-the-key-to-happiness-w0fvbn3pt#:~:text=%E2%80%9CPeople%20who%20on%20average%20have,also%20protect%20your%20physical%20health.&text=One%20theory%20is%20that%20having,people%20to%20show%20mental%20flexibility.
KENS5 (CBS affiliate in San Antonio, TX), March 12, 2019, “Local seniors and Texas State students find their zen together”, featured Kyong Hee Chee’s collaborative research https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/seniors-and-texas-state-students-find-their-zen-together/273-949f0b0e-0206-4133-b6e2-4d18adc5d850
Magazines/Print: Scientific American, Discover Magazine, Huffington Post, New Trail Magazine, Momentum, Brain & Life, News Medical, San Marcos Daily Record, The Scientist, Texas Monthly, Aging Today
Radio/Podcasts: 94.1 KWVH Wimberley Valley Radio, Texas Big Ideas podcast, Third Age Design podcast, I Heart Radio podcast, KZSM
Television: KENS5 CBS San Antonio affiliate, CTV News W5