On October 26, New York Insititute of Technology students volunteered at Long Island's first accessible haunted house, providing children with special needs a fun and inclusive Halloween treat. Hosted by NYIT School of Health Professions, the wheelchair accessible haunted house was set on a single floor in Anna Rubin Hall on the Long Island campus. The attraction was a welcoming and festive experience for families affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities. Volunteers led families through each room, which were divided into three scare levels: Minimum Scare, Maximum Scare, and No Scare. Several of the elements traditionally found in Halloween attractions were omitted, including flash and strobe light displays and physical contact from actors, to prevent unnecessary distress among the children. Parents had the opportunity to evaluate the haunted house and its rooms to ensure the experience was right for their child. Children were encouraged to explore their creative side and got "crafty" at a pumpkin painting station. The fun-filled event supported Inclusive Sports and Fitness, Inc. (ISF), a 501 (3) (c) nonprofit organization that provides health promotion and wellness activities, sports instruction, and physical fitness training for children and adults with different abilities.

More than 70 students completed New York Institute of Technology's rigorous Internship Certificate Program during fall 2019, earning valuable hands-on experience and developing skills in a wide range of work environments.

Students from New York Institute of Technology's College of Engineering and Computing Sciences attended this year's Society of Women Engineers 2019 conference. The event, which is the world's largest conference and career fair for women in engineering and technology, took place November 7-9 in Anaheim, CA. Students discovered career opportunities, made connections with industry, and were inspired by new mentors. Females only account for 21% of New York State's engineering graduates, but students who attended were inspired to help break boundaries and continue to promote diversity within the engineering and STEM fields. Students discovered career opportunities, met with industry leaders, and connected with new mentors. The Society of Women Engineers, founded in 1950, is a not-for-profit educational and service organization in the United States. SWE has over 37,000 members in nearly 100 professional sections and 300 student sections throughout the United States.

New York Institute of Technology students completed travel-related projects during the summer and fall of 2019 as part of the Edward Guiliano Global Fellowship program. Students traveled to: Mexico City, Mexico Costa Rica Bogota, Colombia San Francisco, California Hanoi, Vietnam Xi'an, China Guilin, China

On October 18, New York Institute of Technology launched its first Community Free Clinic (CFC) session at The Pillars in Harlem, NY. New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine students volunteered at the community health care clinic, screening patients for conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. In partnership with The Pillars, a New York City-based substance abuse recovery center, the CFC offers free monthly screenings, as well as education sessions. Special attention is paid to medical issues that are prevalent in the Harlem community, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The clinic is part of the Building Resilient Communities initiative between New York Institute of Technology and Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (HCCI), which encourages collaboration and programming that benefits Harlem's Bradhurst community and New York Tech students.

On October 23, students in New York Institute of Technology's nursing program received their white coats. The Nursing White Coat Ceremony signifies the transition from classroom learning to clinical learning, and represents a formal welcome into the nursing profession. It is held each fall semester of the students' junior year, before beginning their first clinical experience in health facilities.

The student-athletes achieved a 3.2 or better GPA in the spring 2019 semester, and qualified for the university's Athletic Director's Honor Roll. Thirteen student-athletes actually produced perfect 4.0 GPAs: Julia Andor, Kaitlyn Byrnes, Ashley Claud, Diego Espiniella, Madisyn Hausch, Jean Kehyayan, Kylie Lacerte, Veronika Nemcova, Ane Rake, Ruth Rodriguez, Martin Sundell, Pol Zapata and Ann-Kathrin Zilles.

While some medical students took a summer break from their research, NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) student Connor Abramowicz spent his summer researching cancer treatments at the birthplace of DNA's double helix: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. Growing up on Long Island's north shore, Abramowicz's family would often visit Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's science expositions. So when his application to be part of an investigation at the historic research lab was accepted, he took full advantage of the opportunity. Abramowicz joined the research lab of Jason Sheltzer, Ph.D., who studies aneuploid tumors, tumors with cells containing the wrong number of chromosomes. "Dr. Sheltzer wanted the perspective of a medical student, as most of the people in the lab came from a research background. I was extremely lucky to be offered a position at such a prestigious institution," he said. In their study published in Science Translational Medicine, the researchers wanted to understand why the failure rate is so high to determine how future therapies, namely targeted cancer therapies, could be more effective. When a new drug is tested in a clinical trial for a particular type of cancer, 97 percent of the time that new drug does not make it to market. However, the reasons why so many of these drugs fail is not well understood. They discovered, in the case of targeted cancer therapies, that these treatments may not be hitting their intended targets. Unlike other cancer treatments like chemotherapy, targeted therapies, which are used to treat many common cancers such as breast cancer, are meant to be aimed at the particular genes, proteins, or tissues that cancer cells need to grow and thrive. The researchers used CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis, the gold standard of genome editing tools, to see whether ten different targeted treatments were working as intended. They found that the drugs were not effective because they were missing the mark and targeting proteins not essential for cancer cell proliferation-a phenomenon known as off-target toxicity. Their work suggests that one of the reasons why some targeted treatments may fail in clinical trials is because the drugs are not designed properly. The researchers believe their study will spur more investigations into why so many cancer drugs are ineffective, with the hope that their work will pave the way for better treatments. The research was especially inspiring for Abramowicz, who hopes to one day become an oncologist. "Cancer treatment is an extremely important topic in modern medicine because it's one of the few diseases that we're still trying to treat effectively," he said. "Knowing what each cancer medication does in terms of its mechanism of action is important in producing a well-rounded medication profile."

Thirty-six New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) student researchers made an impressive showing at the 2019 national Osteopathic Medical Education Conference (OMED), held October 25 to 28 in Baltimore, Maryland. Medical students from both NYITCOM-Long Island and NYITCOM-Arkansas had poster presentations featured at the conference. Posters spanned a variety of research topics, including Parkinson's disease, eSports medicine, migraines, and chronic kidney disease, among others.

For 10 days in July, 12 students in NYIT School of Health Professions traveled to Greece on a medical outreach program to work with refugees.

New York Institute of Technology recognizes spring semester's Consultants for the Public Good, who work individually and in teams to carry out projects for local non-profit and government organizations. Consultants are paired with community groups that need their skills with support from NYIT's Office of International and Experiential Education.

New York Institute of Technology congratulates more than 1,000 students who were named to the Spring 2019 President's List.

New York Institute of Technology congratulates more than 580 students who were named to the Spring 2019 Dean's List.

More than 100 students completed New York Institute of Technology's rigorous Internship Certificate Program during Spring 2019, earning valuable hands-on experience and developing skills in a wide range of work environments.

New York Institute of Technology Athletics placed 134 student-athletes on the East Coast Conference (ECC) Commissioner's Honor Roll for the 2018-19 academic year. Student-athletes who earned at least a 3.25 GPA for the academic year earned the honor. Additionally, New York Institute of Technology men's lacrosse, men's and women's tennis, and Esports teams had the highest GPAs of any team in their respective sports in the ECC for the 2018-19 academic year.

New York Institute of Technology congratulates the graduates who received their academic degrees at the university's 58th annual commencement, held in Old Westbury on May 19, 2019.

On May 20, a team of second-year physician assistant studies students took first place in the Yes, I Scan: Ultrasound Student Workshop and Competition. At the competition, held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Team Sonic Boom competed for the top honor against 36 other teams from physician assistant (PA) programs across the country. Team members demonstrated their ultrasound skills in a variety of clinical circumstances. One instance included the use of portable ultrasonography at a patient's bedside to quickly and correctly diagnose shock from a pulmonary embolism, which was caused by deep vein thrombosis of the leg. The students then also ordered the appropriate labs and treatment protocol.

New York Institute of Technology's student orientation leaders are gearing up to welcome new students ahead of the fall semester. Orientation leaders serve as the main point of contact for new students and their families during New Student Orientation. In addition to leading several large-group sessions, they also facilitate small-group discussions with new students on campus resources, academic success, and life as an NYIT student.

On May 15, New York Institute of Technology students presented their work at the Film and Animation Festival, an annual event held by the institution's Communication Arts and Digital Art and Design departments. The showcase took place at the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway and included a diverse mix of student artwork ranging from short films, 2D animation, 3D animation, motion graphics, commercials, and more.

New York Institute of Technology's School of Management presented academic and achievement awards to 68 students who demonstrated outstanding performance throughout the 2018-19 academic year.

Fifty-eight students were inducted into two business honor societies at NYIT School of Management's end-of-year awards ceremony.

New York Institute of Technology recognizes nine finalists who responded to a design challenge to create technology targeting one of the UN's seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. The students, from NYIT College of Engineering and Computing Sciences, worked in teams on a range of software and hardware projects. The competition is one of a series of challenges organized by the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center.

Valedictory award ceremonies held May 15 and May 16 honored Class of 2019 students from New York Institute of Technology's Occupational Therapy (OT) program. Students were recognized for their academic achievements, research, and community involvement.

On May 17, the 2019 graduates from New York Institute of Technology's physician assistant (PA) studies program were welcomed into the profession with a white coat ceremony. White coat ceremonies are a rite of passage celebrating the completion of a student's training as he or she graduates and goes on to pursue a career as a PA. In marking the transition into professional life, the event centers around the symbolic awarding of a new long white coat, to replace the short student white coat worn daily to class and clerkships.

New York Institute of Technology awarded Edward Guiliano Global Fellowships to seven students to carry out travel-related projects during summer and fall of 2019.

Five students have been named to the executive board of New York Institute of Technology's Student Government Association (SGA) for the Long Island campus for the 2019-2020 academic year.

On May 16, the 56 nursing students from New York Institute of Technology's Class of 2019 were welcomed into the profession with a pinning ceremony. Nursing school pinning ceremonies are a rite of passage celebrating the completion of a student's training as he or she graduates and goes on to pursue a career as an RN.

Fifteen NYIT students from New York City and Long Island campuses formed eight teams and competed in the fifth ETIC Cybersecurity Hackathon. Teams had to solve an encryption problem, use the solution to unlock the next challenge, and so on until all the problems, in order of increasing difficulty, were solved. First, second, and third prizes were awarded to the fastest teams to solve all 15 problems.

On May 8 New York Institute of Technology students presented research and posters at this year's Alethia Annual Research Symposium. Organized by NYIT School of Health Professions and held at the NYIT Long Island campus in Old Westbury, N.Y., the event's name comes from the Greek word for "truth," encouraging the future professionals to find passion in their work. Among the many topics covered by this year's projects and poster presentations were Parkinson's disease, the effects of vaping, the relationship between exercise and grades, and more. NYIT School of Health Professions prepares students for rewarding careers in fast-growing health professions, including Clinical Nutrition, Health Sciences/Health and Wellness, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physician Assistant Studies, and Physical Therapy.

Twenty-eight students were inducted into the NYIT chapter of the Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society.