Learning Together is This Lab’s Superpower

“We have six students in the lab and they work so well together,” she said. “If someone has a question about one subject, they know there’s another student in the lab that can help answer it. They push each other in a good way.”
 
Those superpowers helped push two of Harbourne’s students to Canada and the prestigious American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) Conference, where they each made separate presentations about their research on infant development.

 Melanie Tommer and Melanie Schultz, both fifth-year physical therapy students, presented at the AACPDM in Quebec City in October. Their research explored how infants reach for objects and how early movements support their ability to solve problems.
 
“It’s difficult to have a presentation accepted by this conference, so having two students present from the same school is really special,” said Harbourne, professor emeritus of physical therapy in the John G. Rangos School of Health Sciences.
 
The research was funded by a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (Award # 1941122 RUI: The Role of Sleep in Infant Motor Problem Solving) in collaboration with Dr. Sarah Berger’s lab at the City University of New York. In addition to grant funding for the presentation, the students received funding from the Women in STEM organization at Duquesne and a travel scholarship from the AACPDM.
 
Both students noted how the conference expanded their horizons and opened them up to future possibilities.
 
“I had never been to an interdisciplinary conference like this, so I soaked in as much as I could and connected with other professionals in the field,” Schultz said. “Assistive technology has become a recent interest of mine and it was great to learn more about it and other areas of health care that impact developmental medicine.”
 
“I’ve really fallen in love with working on research-related projects,” Tommer said. “It was great hearing from others about what’s new in the field. I want to work with children who have life-long developmental issues to improve their care, and this conference helped me do that.”
 
Harbourne noted that conferences like AACPDM help students learn in a different way.
 
“We do a great job of teaching but there is nothing like getting out into the real world,” she said. “It allows students to learn from other people, build life skills, practice critical thinking and make connections.”
 
Tommer, who began working in the lab as a first-year student, and Schultz both noted that the lab experience opened new possibilities for them.
 
“Reggie is very encouraging and allows us to explore different interests through our projects,” Tommer said. “She is great at asking questions and supporting us as we figure out our interests.”
 
Learning together alongside Harbourne and their peers has left Tommer and Schultz both appreciating their Duquesne experience. The teamwork in the Infant Development research lab is reflected broadly across campus in other areas.
 
“I’ve received so much one-on-one attention from my professors and Duquesne is such a great community,” Tommer said. “Seeing how excited everyone was when the basketball team played in the NCAA tournament was something I’ll never forget. I feel very blessed to be a Duquesne Duke.”
 
“Attending Duquesne was the best decision I could have made,” Schultz said. “It’s really allowed me to explore my interests. I felt at home when I first came onto campus, and I love it even more now.”