Ken Luzynski, assistant professor of biology, and Becca Schlaff, professor of public health, have been announced as the recipients of the Field/Spicer Fellowship in Science and Engineering. This award includes funding of their projects for three years.

Through his project, Mosquito Monitoring in the Mitten, Luzynski’s goal is to establish a testing pipeline at SVSU in coordination with local mosquito control commissions and county health departments. This will allow for real-time monitoring of neuroinvasive diseases like West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis.

Nanopore sequencing is much faster than traditional sequencing. Additionally, nanopore sequencers, like the device Luzynski plans to use, are much smaller and more portable than traditional sequencers, meaning they can be used at SVSU or in the field.

Luzynski said the data he collects will be used to develop a predictive model that forecasts potential outbreaks of neuroinvasive diseases, providing a crucial tool for public health decision-making. Components of this project will be integrated into SVSU's undergraduate curriculum, providing students with hands-on research experience and ensuring a continuous, collaborative data collection effort that will benefit the entire community. He anticipates having a reliable pipeline in place by the end of Summer 2027. The ultimate goal is to establish a longer term monitoring program in conjunction with the mosquito controls and regional health departments.

“I am grateful to receive the fellowship award,” Luzynski said. “This fellowship continues his legacy of fostering regional partnerships that benefit the health and well-being of the Saginaw Bay region.”

Luzynski joined SVSU in 2022. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, in Vienna, Austria.

Schlaff’s project is Prenatal Care Promotion and Congenital Syphilis Public Health Messaging. Using data she has collected from pregnant and postpartum women, Schlaff will make recommendations on culturally and linguistically appropriate communications regarding syphilis and congenital syphilis. She will also submit manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication in scholarly journals.

Schlaff said this work is an important element in efforts to improve maternal and child health outcomes throughout the region.

“I am honored to be selected as a Field-Spicer Fellow,” Schlaff said. “This fellowship provides a valuable opportunity to advance my research agenda focused on promoting the importance of prenatal care while developing accessible, evidence-based public health communication materials. Support like this is critical for faculty to engage and mentor students in meaningful research and to translate scholarship into action that improves public health outcomes regionally.

Schlaff served on the faculty of SVSU from 2022 to 2023, returning in 2024. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from SVSU and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University.
The Field/Spicer Fellowship in Science and Engineering at SVSU was established through the generosity of Dr. and Mrs. E. Malcolm Field to promote interdisciplinary work that bridges health sciences, biology, engineering and technology, with a preference for projects focusing on neuroscience.

Through his project, “The Effect of Globalization on Innovation, Health, and Happiness,” Cohle will study how increased spending by multinational firms impacts technological innovation, health and happiness in the countries in which they operate. Cohle explained that by understanding how large economic shifts impact health, interventions can be implemented to prevent widespread health declines.

About winning a Braun Fellowship, Cohle said, “I am thrilled. This is a great way that I'll be able to give back to the community at SVSU and the, hopefully, the intellectual community at large.”

Cohle joined SVSU in 2021. He holds a Bachelor of Science in economics-mathematics and philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh and master’s and doctorate degrees in economics from the University of Florida.

Tapp Jaksa’s project is “Discovering Wonder: A Science Education Framework for Early Learning,” which is designed to transform science education for very young children – birth to age 3. Tapp’s intention is to create both a comprehensive textbook and educator framework for early science instruction that are aligned to standards Next Generation Science Standards, which begin at kindergarten, and are appropriate for the different developmental stages of children in the age range.

“I chose to focus on birth to kindergarten because young children are natural scientists,” Tapp Jaksa said, “yet science and engineering are still too often overlooked in early childhood settings. The early years are a critical time for curiosity, inquiry, identity formation and rapid brain development, so I believe children deserve rich, equitable science learning opportunities from the very beginning.

In addition to her teaching role at SVSU, Tapp Jaksa is also the co-director of SVSU’s Center for Experience, Research & Design and Usability Research Team. In addition, Tapp Jaksa serves as educator in residence at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and as director of professional development for the University of Michigan Center for Digital Curricula. Tapp Jaksa is in the final year of her term as chair of the board of directors of AACTE (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education) and also serves on board of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).

Tapp Jaksa joined SVSU in 2002. She holds a Doctor of Education degree from Wayne State University.

The Braun Fellowship program was created in 2005 through a $1.5 million endowment from the Saginaw-based Harvey Randall Wickes Foundation. Administered by the Saginaw Community Foundation, the program's purpose is to recognize the exceptional accomplishments and potential of select SVSU faculty and staff. It is named in honor of the late Ted and Ruth Braun.

Smalling currently serves as the associate dean for social sciences, overseeing more than 70 faculty members, as well as director of faculty community and belonging, and a professor of social work and family studies at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Smalling is passionate about creating inclusive, sustainable and intellectually rigorous academic environments where all members of the community thrive in their work and lives. During her 14 years at St. Olaf, she has been deeply involved in initiatives to improve both the academic and cultural aspects of the college, including revision of the general education curriculum, strategic plan creation, Title IX policy revisions and efforts to promote systemic equity and inclusion. Her scholarship focuses on inclusive practice and pedagogy, and she has over 20 years of experience consulting and writing in this area. 

With substantial classroom experience, Smalling has taught courses across the social work curriculum and has served as practicum coordinator and Bachelor of Social Work program director.

A licensed independent social worker, Smalling has 10 years of practice experience working in the arenas of adolescent behavioral health, child welfare and chemical health. 

Smalling completed a bachelor’s degree at St. Olaf, a master’s in social work at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and a Ph.D. at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. She succeeds Marcia Ditmyer, who is retiring from her role as dean; Ditmyer will remain on SVSU’s faculty.

SVSU’s Crystal M. Lange College of Health & Human Services provides a knowledge- and skills-based education, combining theoretical courses with clinical or fieldwork experience components to equip students for careers across the health care field. For more information about SVSU’s College of Health & Human Services, visit svsu.edu/collegeofhealthhumanservices.