Collaborative Research & Scholarly Activity
Discovery drives medical advances. Our research is stronger when we work together on diverse teams within our college, alongside our communities and with our partners. Excellence in our research programs ultimately leads to improved health and quality of life for vulnerable populations in our state and throughout the nation and the world.
Did you know?
25.6% of Heritage College students are engaged in research.
For 2021-22, Heritage College researchers received 13 grants from the National Institutes of Health, with a total revenue of $4,581,478 – a 7% increase since FY 2020.
Heritage College and OHIO Lead Discovery of New Dinosaur
An Egyptian-American team of researchers led by Ohio University graduate student Belal Salem, and Heritage College Professor of Biomedical Sciences Patrick O’Connor, announced the discovery of a new kind of large-bodied meat-eating dinosaur, or theropod, from a celebrated fossil site in Egypt’s Sahara Desert. The discovery of the yet-unnamed dinosaur holds implications for biodiversity of Cretaceous dinosaurs in northern Africa.
Ohio University Receives R1 Research Designation
In 2021, the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education designated OHIO as a Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity (R1) under the Basic Classification category for the first time. This achievement is reflective of the University and College focus on growing biomedical research.
Dublin Student Recognized With Award Grant
Dublin-based student Michael Stenta, OMS3, was the recipient of the 2021 AOF Rocovich Research Award and Grant on behalf of the American Osteopathic Foundation. The Award was created to recognize an osteopathic medical student, resident or physician who is advancing the profession.
Study Examines Factors Related to Insulin Resistance in Aging Adults
Insulin resistance is one of the most prevalent health issues facing Americans over 65 who have type 2 diabetes.
With a three-year, $453,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, lead investigator Leslie Consitt, Ph.D., hopes to identify cellular mechanisms in muscle that contribute to disease and physical disability related to insulin resistance as people age. The research team is examining how metabolic pathways differ in the skeletal muscle of young individuals versus older adults by manipulating specific proteins in a human skeletal muscle cell culture system. They are measuring the direct impact of these proteins on insulin sensitivity.
Consitt, the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Ralph S. Licklider, D.O., Endowed Faculty Fellow in Enhanced Metabolic Aging, is working with the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute, the Diabetes Institute, and the Clinical and Translational Research Unit on the project. The research team includes Janet Simon, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Health Sciences and Professions; Anton Wagenmakers, Ph.D., at Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom; and researchers from the University of Dundee in the United Kingdom and Indiana University.
Study Examines Factors Related to Insulin Resistance in Aging Adults
Insulin resistance is one of the most prevalent health issues facing Americans over 65 who have type 2 diabetes.
With a three-year, $453,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, lead investigator Leslie Consitt, Ph.D., hopes to identify cellular mechanisms in muscle that contribute to disease and physical disability related to insulin resistance as people age. The research team is examining how metabolic pathways differ in the skeletal muscle of young individuals versus older adults by manipulating specific proteins in a human skeletal muscle cell culture system. They are measuring the direct impact of these proteins on insulin sensitivity.
Consitt, the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Ralph S. Licklider, D.O., Endowed Faculty Fellow in Enhanced Metabolic Aging, is working with the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute, the Diabetes Institute, and the Clinical and Translational Research Unit on the project. The research team includes Janet Simon, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Health Sciences and Professions; Anton Wagenmakers, Ph.D., at Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom; and researchers from the University of Dundee in the United Kingdom and Indiana University.
Research Council Formed
The Heritage College Research Council was organized in February 2022 to advise Heritage College and OHIO leadership on research policies, practices and strategy to facilitate continued growth in the college’s research enterprise. In Spring 2022, a charter was developed and an introductory meeting of the Research Council was held. Since that time, the Heritage College Research Council has been serving as the steering committee for Phase 2 of Heritage College’s research strategy project which aims to improve human health and promote wellness in underserved communities through research discovery, innovation and partnerships.
Research Probes Connection Between Motor Neuron Excitability and Aging
Brian Clark, Ph.D., professor of physiology and neuroscience, received a five-year, nearly $3 million National Institutes of Health grant to conduct a series of animal and human studies to better understand the mechanisms and clinical relevance of age-related changes in motor neuron excitability. The research will look at the role of the motor neuron, the final neuron that connects the nervous system with the muscle, in health and disease. Clark, executive director of the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute and Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Harold E. Clybourne, D.O., Endowed Research Chair, is one of three principal investigators for the grant, alongside W. David Arnold, M.D., from the Department of Neurology at Ohio State University and Sherif Elbasiouny, Ph.D., from the Department of Neuroscience, Cell Biology & Physiology at Wright State University.
Heritage College Faculty Members with an Osteopathic Heritage Foundations Research Endowment
Elizabeth A. Beverly, Ph.D., Heritage Endowed Professorship in Behavioral Diabetes, Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Ralph S. Licklider, D.O., Research Endowment
Brian Clark, Ph.D., Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, Harold E. Clybourne, D.O., Endowed Research Chair
Leslie Consitt, Ph.D., Heritage Faculty Endowed Fellowship in Enhanced Metabolic Aging, Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Ralph S. Licklider, D.O., Research Endowment
Berkeley Franz, Ph.D., Heritage Career Development Faculty Fellowship in Population Health Science, Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Ralph S. Licklider, D.O., Research Endowment
Graciela Muniz-Terrera, Ph.D., Heritage Endowed Professorship in Health and Aging, Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Ralph S. Licklider, D.O., Research Endowment
Sonia M. Najjar, M.S., Ph.D., Osteopathic Heritage Foundation John J. Kopchick, Ph.D., Endowed Eminent Research Chair
Vishwajeet Puri, Ph.D., Heritage Endowed Professorship in Diabetes, Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Ralph S. Licklider, D.O., Research Endowment
Nathan Szewczyk, Ph.D., Heritage Endowed Professorship in Molecular Medicine, Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Ralph S. Licklider, D.O., Research Endowment
OMNI Funding on the Rise Funding for the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute reached new peaks during 2021-22, totaling $3,033,015 in awards, excluding OHF funding. This is the highest amount in OMNI’s 40-year history. OMNI remains one of OHIO’s most productive research institutes, with seven of its investigators ranking in the top 2% of their fields, and its scientists have published more than 1,600 articles.