Penn State Shenango Faculty Lecture Series to continue with presentation Dec. 3

SHARON, Pa. — Penn State Shenango will continue its 2015-16 Faculty Lecture Series with Diane Kuharsky, instructor in biology, who will speak at noon on Thursday, Dec. 3, in Room 105 of Sharon Hall, located on Penn Avenue in downtown Sharon. The title of her lecture is “Fall Risk Assessment and Prevention Strategies for Individuals with Compromised Balance Stability.” The event is free and open to the public.

Kuharsky has a doctorate of physical therapy from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor of arts degree in biology from Slippery Rock University. She teaches a variety of biology courses that support the Shenango campus’ health care majors, including mammalian anatomy, physiology, physiology laboratory, pathophysiology, and human musculature. As an expert in the fields of physical therapy and biology, Kuharsky has had her research published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Environmental Entomology, the Journal of Zoology, as well as Physical Therapy.

In addition to teaching students at the college level, Kuharsky has taught various outreach programs to elementary and high school students during the campus’ summer Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) camp, and, most recently, during the campus' Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) camp. As part of the STEAM camp, Kuharsky taught a muscle and bone workshop to sixth graders from Sharon School District using the campus’ SynDaver model, named Synthia, as well as various real-tissue samples.

Kuharsky is the co-founder of the campus’ Earth Day Fest which brings hundreds of community members to the campus to celebrate Earth Day with music, an artists’ market, and hands-on activities. In 2013, she was the recipient of the Penn State Shenango Leonard Riforgiato Memorial Teaching Award.

For more information, contact the Penn State Shenango Academic Affairs Office at 724-983-2825.