Brooks College of Health
Dr. Gabrielle Brewer, post-doctoral associate, was an invited speaker at the 2026 New Zealand Blackcurrant Research Meeting (webinar), in which she presented “the influence of blackcurrant berry supplementation on heat stress resilience: from the whole body to blood and microbiome.”
Dr. Michael Szymanski, assistant professor and Dr. Gabrielle Brewer, post-doctoral associate, published "Heat tolerance classification criteria require population-specific thresholds for accurate assessment of acclimation state,” in Physiological Reports alongside lead author Jacob Bowie and co-authors Jeb Struder, Erica Filep, Maggie Morrissey-Basler, Staci Thornton, Kyle Mahoney, Yasuki Sekiguchi, Oh Sung Kwon, Ki Chon, Doug Casa and Elaine Lee.
Dr. Nishi Dsouza, assistant professor of social and behavioral science, published "Differences in Xylazine and Xylazine Test Strip Usage Among Racial and Ethnic Minoritized Populations: Findings from the Stay Safe Study" in Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, February.
Nutrition
Dr. Casey Colin, associate professor, published "Student exposure to ANDHII part II: Cross-cohort improvements in confidence without parallel gains in documentation quality when applying the Nutrition Care Process" in the Journal of Dietetic Education, January 2026. In addition, Dr. Colin, along with co-author Dr. Hanadi Hamadi, professor and DCN graduate Dr. Allison Gaubert, published "Rationale and study protocol for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ breastfeeding registry study" in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, December 2025, as well as “Higher quality nutrition care process documentation predicts nutrition diagnosis improvement in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics breastfeeding registry study” in the Frontiers in Nutrition in November, 2025.
Dr. Colin and co-author and DCN graduate Dr. Irene Asare, published “Exploration of barriers and enablers for the use of the nutrition care process among a diverse sample of registered dietitian nutritionists: a mixed methods analysis” in Frontiers in Nutrition in January 2026. Dr. Colin, along with co-author Dr. Andrea Arikawa, professor/chair, published "The Nutrition Care Process‐Quality Audit Standardization Tool (NCP‐QUEST) is valid and reliable in a diabetes-specific sample of registered dietitian nutritionist care,” in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics in November 2025. Also, Dr. Colin was featured in an article entitled "Mitigating Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes" in Military Officer magazine February 2026.
Physical Therapy
Dr. Raine Osborne, assistant professor, as part of a research team led by Dr. James Moore at the University of Miami, received the Education Research Award from the APTA Academy of Education in December to support their research study, "Development of an Academic Physical Therapy Educator Competency Framework: A National Model for Excellence.” In addition, Dr. Osborne, with co-authors, Dr. Daniel Dinsmore professor/associate dean, Matthew Briggs (The Ohio State University), Gregory Hartley (University of Miami), Julie Peterson and Gail Jensen (Creighton University), will be presenting preliminary findings from their Foundation for Physical Therapy Research funded study, "Factors Shaping DPT Students' Post-Professional Education Pathways,” published “Title of Journal Article.” The presentation, "Factors Shaping DPT Students' Post-Professional Education Pathways,” will be at the American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Conference on Feb. 14 in Anaheim, CA.
Public Health
Dr. Elissa Barr, professor, along with co-authors Dr. Kassie Terrell, associate professor, Dr. Michele Moore, Dean, Graduate School, Dr. Carmen Smotherman of UF Health and Ashley Mezzano, MPH student, published "School Based Health Services to Improve Youth Access to Reproductive Health Care" in the Journal Social Sciences in January.
Dr. Sericea Stallings-Smith, associate professor, along with collaborators from University of Tennessee and University of Melbourne, Australia, published “Association of Stress Level with Heavy Drinking and Smoking Depending on Sex and COVID-19 Infection Status,” in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.
College of Arts and Sciences
English
Dr. Nicholas de Villiers, professor of English and film, gave an invited public lecture "Cruisy, Sleepy, Melancholy: Sexual Disorientation in the Films of Tsai Ming-liang," for the Taiwan Studies Program, University of Washington, Seattle in January.
Dr. Jessica Q. Stark, assistant professor of creative writing, published her poem "Hoarding Disorder," in The Adroit Journal in January.
Fred Dale, university instructor, published a book of poetry, "say, said," through Driftwood Press in February.
History
Dr. Jillian E. McClure, instructor of history, presented on the “Mississippi Crossroads: New Histories of Place, People, and Movements” roundtable at American Historical Association Annual Meeting in January.
Mathematics
Dr. Michelle DeDeo, professor of mathematics, gave a talk entitled "From Theory to Practice: Engaging Students in Applied Data Science and Modeling" at the Joint Mathematics Meeting in Washington, DC. in January.
Dr. Jae-Ho Lee, associate professor of mathematics, with co-author J.H. Koolen, M. Abdullah and B. Gebremichel, published "Towards a classification of 1-homogeneous distance-regular graphs with positive intersection number a1" in Algebraic Combinatorics, January.
Political Science and Public Administration
Dr. Josh Gellers, professor of political science, with co-author Magdalena Holy-Luczaj, published "Consider the Xenobot: Moral Status for Intelligent Machines Revisited" in Law, Innovation and Technology. Dr. Gellers also published, with co-authors Anna Puzio and David Gunkel, "Dangerous Gatekeeping" in AI & Society. Finally, Dr. Gellers delivered a presentation, "The Ethics of Communication in the Age of AI,” at the Florida Public Relations Association 2026 Counselors’ Network Winter Symposium.
College of Computing, Engineering and Construction
Construction Management
Dr. Aiyin Jiang, professor and her students are leading a collaborative community engagement project with Tocoi Creek High School focused on the development of a new Butterfly Garden on the school’s campus. Since fall 2025, the project has brought together UNF Construction Management students, primarily members of the UNF Women in Construction Student Club, alongside Tocoi Creek High School students and faculty member Chris McKinney, with industry support from Scorpio Construction Company. The initiative highlights a partnership between higher education, K–12 education, and industry to provide hands on learning and mentorship opportunities for students at both levels.
Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Nelson Delfino de Campos Neto, assistant professor and Dr. Jutima Simsiriwong, associate professor, were awarded funding through the 2025–2026 Florida Space Research Program, jointly sponsored by the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium and Space Florida for their proposal, “Thermal Spray Additively Manufacturing Processing of ODS Alloy for Scalable Rocket Engine Components.” The award period extends through the end of Fall 2025.
Silverfield College of Education and Human Services
Dr. Nile Stanley, associate professor, and
Lena Shaqareq, TESOL instructor, presented a power-hour session, Teaching the Science of Reading with the Art of Poetry, at the Florida Literacy Association’s 61st Annual Conference in Orlando.
Dr. Luke Cornelius, associate professor along with Melanie Wallace, Samantha Morden and Megan Barnes, ELA master students, presented research at the 2025 Education Law Association conference in Kansas City, Missouri, November 2025. In addition, Dr. Cornelius, along with Brittany Heimer, Kaitlyn Minnicks, Sean R. Alexander and Samantha Feaster, Higher Education Administration masters students, presented research at the 2025 National Education Finance Administration conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. Amy Bailey, HEA graduate student also attended as a volunteer. Kansas City.
Thomas G. Carpenter Library
Dr. Deborah M. Williams, faculty librarian, recently published an article, “The UNF Mini-Health Sciences Library: A SSLLI Leadership Project,” in Library Insights: a NEFLIN publication, Vol. 1, Issue 3.
Lauren Odom, instruction librarian, and Beryl White-Bing, virtual learning librarian, published an article titled, “Instruction Request: Podcasting in an Academic Library to Connect Library Instruction with Campus and Community” in Library Insights: A NEFLIN publication, Vol. 1, Issue 3.
The University of North Florida recently unveiled the installation of the WellSpring100, an Atmospheric Water Generator technology that will allow the University to conduct resiliency research to help protect critical infrastructure from threats and disasters. 
The University of North Florida has been recognized among the nation’s top institutions for online education in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Online Programs rankings, earning top national placement for the sixth consecutive year for its online bachelor’s programs and additional recognition for its online master’s in education and online master’s in nursing programs. 
As the nation prepares to mark 250 years since its founding, the University of North Florida is joining institutions across the nation in celebrating the American story.
The University of North Florida Brooks College of Health (BCH) proudly announces a new, fully online lifestyle management concentration within its four-year Bachelor of Health Care Management. The program, believed to be the first of its kind, is designed for working health and wellness professionals and has launched in Spring 2026. 
First Thursday Faculty and Staff Mixers are back in 2026!
"Hyperbole and a Half: unfortunate situations, flawed coping mechanisms, mayhem, and other things that happened" by Allie Brosh
"Widdershins" by Charles De Lint
"The Saint of Bright Doors" by Vajra Chandrasekera
Bethany “Bebe” Baker’s (’20) journey marked a significant milestone for UNF Brooks College of Health. As the first deaf nursing student to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Baker reshaped the program's approach to inclusive education.
UNF Esports Campus Kart Clash Tournament
Florida Weed Wrangle Volunteers Needed
Blind Date with a Book
Project Atrium: Muralists in Action
38th Annual Great American Jazz Series presents: Composers Forum
Movies on the House presents: "Friendship" (2024)
Swimming Has Three Event Winners in Regular Season Finale at FGCU