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<\/a>Merna Seliman is this year\u2019s recipient of the Naomi Cermak Graduate Student Scholarship.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cBy remembering to look at the bigger picture, I know, I too can have value in changing people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seliman, from Thorold, is this year\u2019s recipient of the Naomi Cermak Graduate Student Scholarship, which is supported by funds raised by an annual triathlon, held on campus each July.<\/p>\n
The fourth annual Naomi Cermak Tri to Inspire takes place Sunday, July 21 and is open to the public.<\/strong><\/p>\n The scholarship which bears Cermak\u2019s name is presented annually to an enrolled graduate student at Brock who is completing a Master of Science in Applied Health Sciences and who exhibits academic excellence, a high degree of leadership and participation in athletics.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing selected for this scholarship is very meaningful to me,\u201d Seliman said. \u201cThe funds went towards my tuition, which is very helpful and appreciated, but on a deeper level it puts emphasis on the importance of health research to help people have a better quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n Seliman\u2019s research focuses on sexual rehabilitation for individuals with spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis (MS) and specifically, looks at how mindfulness can influence sexual rehabilitation and satisfaction in couples living with these conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, when people acquire injury, or have MS or physical disability, the approach to rehabilitation is very technical \u2014 geared towards walking and daily routines with little focus on psychosocial satisfaction with life,\u201d Seliman explains. \u201cYet, often when people get an injury, their first question is not will I walk again? It’s will I have sex again?\u201d<\/p>\n Seliman realized this would be a worthy area of study during her fourth year of undergraduate studies while attending a lecture by Kinesiology Professor David Ditor.<\/p>\n \u201cSexuality continues to be a top priority when it comes to therapeutic needs, but the consequences to sexuality after an injury are under-examined in the literature,\u201d Seliman says. \u201cProfessor Ditor\u2019s lecture on physiological consequences and rehabilitation combined with what I had learned previously in the Health Sciences Introduction to Human Sexuality course, got me thinking about the issue from a research perspective.”<\/p>\n The idea led to her master\u2019s case study which tested the effects of an eight-week mindfulness intervention geared towards improving sexual satisfaction in couples living with MS.<\/p>\n Seliman, who is preparing to defend her thesis, will begin a PhD at Western University in the Fall, where she will continue to study sexuality in people with spinal cord injury. She plans to accept her Master of Science degree at Brock\u2019s Spring 2020 Convocation Ceremony.<\/p>\n What: Fourth annual Naomi Cermak Tri to Inspire <\/strong><\/p>\n When:<\/strong> Sunday, July 21, 11 a.m.<\/p>\n Where: <\/strong>Registration and transition area on Brock’s Alumni Field. Swim location in Eleanor Misener Aquatic Centre<\/p>\n