By Odori Hines
This March 2016, Albizu University held its 1st Annual South Florida Student Research Symposium. The Symposium was organized by The Institutional Center of Scientific Research at Albizu University (ICSR) – Miami campus. During the initial remarks of the Symposium, Dr. Carlos Perez Benitez, the Associate Director of the ICSR, highlighted the early research of Carlos Albizu Miranda, founder of the Institution, in areas such as poverty and mental health, test bias, Puerto Rican personality, and the social context of intellectual disability.
Students submitted more than 30 abstracts. Most of the posters were accepted. The Symposium allowed for one-on-one discussions with the student researchers.
The University was honored to have Dr. Raul González, a Florida International University professor, give the keynote address on his research, “Cannabis Use and Neuropsychological Functioning.” His riveting presentation was followed by two more outstanding presentations by Albizu University’s own Dr. Cynthia Garcia Coll, who presented “Poverty and Youth Development”, and Dr. Miriam J. Rodriguez, who presented “Mild Cognitive Impairment.”
The program’s committee of the Symposium chaired by Dr. Steven Proctor and Shannon Worton announced the awards. The winners were Kenia Machado in the Undergraduate division, Edla Grisard in the Master’s level division, and Frances Ernst in the Doctoral level division. There were also five honorable mentions. The winners were also invited to present their posters at San Juan campus. Dr. Carlos Perez Benitez mentioned that the call for abstracts next year will be extended to psychology students from all South Florida colleges and universities.