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I am a curious soul, a skeptic by nature. I do not believe something works until I see it, research it, and understand the science behind it.
The question of "do those oils really work?" comes up frequently. I asked it in the beginning also. Then when they did work for myself and my family, I needed to know why and how.
Here is a summary of what I found most important in my research. There is a lot more that I could write – but maybe for another post!
Essential oils have three important components. Phenolics, Sequiterpenes, and Monoterpenes.
Big words and even bigger jobs. The fascinating thing about oils, is unlike most pharmaceutical medications; oils can cross the blood brain barrier. They can enter the brain at the amygdala. The amygdala is where our emotions are housed.
Phenolics stimulate the nervous and immune systems. They clean receptor sites of cells so sesquiterpenes can delete bad information from the cell. They have antioxidant properties and a high level of oxygenating molecules. They are anti-viarl, anti bacterial and antiseptic. An example of an oil that is high in phenols is clove.
Sequiterpenes erase faulty information in the cell's memory and are present in almost every essential oil. The chemistry of essential oils tells us that they are the largest group of sequiterpenes known naturally in both the plant and animal kingdom!
They are larger than monoterpenes and are less volatile, or viscous, so they are often used in the perfume industry. Viscous oils have a longer half-life and blend well with lighter, more volatile oils. An example of an oil high in sequiterpenes is one of my favorites, Cedarwood. Cedarwood crosses right into that amygdala and gets to work!
Monoterpenes are also in almost all essential oils. Their action is to inhibit the accumulation of toxins and they are excellent at detoxing the kidneys and the liver. Monoterpenes also improve the therapeutic values of the other two components and are the balancing portion of the oil.
They put back the proper information in the DNA of the cell once the sesquiterpenes and phenolics have done their job. An example of an oil hish in monoterpenes is Grapefruit.
When all three components are in place, the cause of the disease at the cellular level can be reversed, healed, sometimes immediately. This is a no brainer when it comes to deciding to try essential oils for your family.
If you are ready to try them for yourself, here's how.


text: Como has many close links to Asia through both its international fee paying students and our sister school relationships. At Como we recognise that Australia's place and role in Asia is critical to the future development of both our state and nation. Como is actively investigating program initiatives in Asia which promise to enrich the learning of our students. To further promote our knowledge and understanding of our neighbours, Como participates in the World Challenge scheme. International students will also benefit from the College's close association with Curtin University.

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Dr. Sean Upshaw recently joined HCAT lab as a Postdoctoral Fellow after completing his PhD at Howard University in health communication. Sean has a background in graphic design and illustration with a BPS in Biomedical Illustration from the University of Memphis. As an HCAT Postdoctoral Fellow, Sean will work on designing and evaluating innovative…
HCAT Lab
Real HCAT
Kevin John, Manu, Jay, Jor, and I attended an amazing Real Salt Lake game versus the LA Galaxy. Real won 6 to 2 and, most important of all, we all won free haircuts. Why? If Real scores 3 goals, then all ticket holders win a free haircut. It's amazing.
HCAT wins another grant
All our summer grant writing is paying off. We just received word that our NIH P30 grant will be funded this cycle. This grant will fund a state-wide survey of Utah adults to study a number of cancer-related variables, including cancer information overload. The opportunity to continue our research on cancer information overload is…
Summer 2018 Writing Retreat: Keef House
HCAT lab had another writing retreat. In August 2018, we headed to Chicago for the glorious 5 day retreat. Five days! It was amazing.
Our house was a small mansion located just north of Chicago. We were told that the house was once owned by Chief Keef. I'm not sure if that story is true, but we decided to name it the Keef House.
We ate deep dish pizza, put post-it notes on the walls to track progress, and worked, worked, worked. Nick made salmon one night. Jake didn't sleep.
The Keef House writing retreat was hosted by Courtney Scherr and Lisa Guntzviller. It was one of the best retreats of all time.
Another summer, another article in Delta Sky Magazine
HCAT lab was featured in Sky Magazine (again). Sky Magazine is the magazine that you encounter on Delta flights. In the summer, they like to do stories that talk about skin cancer prevention. Here is the story that features HCAT from June 2018: Tailor-made Cancer Care
Grant writing in the Summer
We've been writing lots of grants this summer: two R01s, a P30, a DP2 supplement, and several R03s. Summer is often a great time for us to develop grants. So far, we've met every week (or thereabouts) and had some amazing brainstorming sessions. I'm excited to see how these ideas evolve over the months ahead.
Andy heads to Iowa State
As of July 2018, Andy J. King will be an Assistant Professor in the Greenlee School at Iowa State University. Congrats to Andy!
High Risk, High Reward Symposium
Every year, NIH New Innovators are invited to Bethesda to present our research. This year, I presented some of our work on UV photography. We were the first poster visible through the door of the session. The face of the symposium, if you will. 🙂
Manu accepted to NCA Doctoral Honors Seminar
Manu will attend the NCA Doctoral Honors Seminar in July 2018 at Vanderbilt University. She will present all three studies from her dissertation program, and work to refine the project for the job market. NCA Doctoral Honors Seminar
Kate presents parasocial research in Prague
Kate hopped the pond and attended ICA in Prague. While there, she presented HCAT's research on parasocial interactions and HIV stigma. In that research line, we evaluate the CDC's PSA campaign designed to reduce HIV stigma. *This was an article we wrote at the 2017 HCAT writing retreat.
Manu wins Fellowship
March: Dogfight
If you ran into a lab member in March, then we probably looked busy. And Jake was definitely drinking some form of caffeine. That's because we were working hard to get 7 article submitted to 2 different conferences. The end of March is home to the submission deadline for the National Communication Association (NCA) and…
Liz Giorgi joins HCAT
Liz Giorgi recently joined HCAT lab. Liz completed her BA in Journalism at Boston University and her MFA at Iowa State University. In between, Liz was a reporter at the Reading Eagle. A prolific writer, her creative work includes Skin Maps, Intimacy, Tornado Summer, and Going Places. For 2017-2018, Liz was a Global Change and…
Spring: research, research, research
HCAT has lots of research in progress. We are writing IRBs, designing studies, collecting and analyzing data, and writing manuscripts. It's great to have so much activity in the lab. Recently, I started using post-it notes to keep track of all the studies in progress. It helps me to visually track the studies and it…
Kate joins the U of Wisconsin
Kate Christy has agreed to join the faculty at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She will begin her career there as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2018. Kate is currently a postdoc on HCAT lab. She has held this position since July 2016. She joined HCAT after completing her PhD at Ohio State University. …
Manu defends her prospectus
Manu successfully defended her prospectus on February 7th, 2018. In HCAT lab, the prospectus defense is a cumulative process that builds on the comprehensive exams and the preprospectus. Her next, and final, meeting is the dissertation defense. Manu's dissertation consists of three studies: a meta-analysis, a large visual communication experiment, and a biophysiological lab experiment.…
Sundance 2018
We love to go to Sundance Film Festival each year because (1) it is awesome, (2) it is nearby – Park City, UT), and (3) it is a wonderful opportuunity to learn about cutting edge communication technology (e.g., VR and AR). Sundance is approximately 11 days long and the lab was out and about the…
Death narrative research in Health Psychology
Mindy Krakow's excellent dissertation research on death narratives was recently published in Health Psychology. This research is part of a larger program that seeks to systematically investigate and compare stories where characters live (survivor narratives) or die (death narratives). We start with the assumption that both nareative forms can exert influence; the question is when…
HCAT: The Last Jedi
HCAT went to the premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Once again, we attended the fan event version. Several folks from Entertainment Arts & Engineering joined us, and we spent most of the afternoon at the Jordan Commons eating food and preparing for the movie. Jor and KKJ became celebrities as they were featured,…
Best Article in Risk Analysis
We just found out our 2017 publication in Risk Analysis was selected as a best article by the editors. The article is: Jensen, J. D., Pokharel, M., Scherr, C. L., King, A. J., Brown, N., & Jones, C. (2017). Communicating uncertainty to the public: How amount and source of uncertainty impact fatalism, backlash, and overload.…
2017 HCAT Writing Retreat – Adobe House
Once again, HCAT lab hosted a writing retreat in beautiful Park City, UT. The writing retreat was October 11th – 14th, 2017. The attendees were Lisa Guntzviller, Andy King, Courtney Scherr, Kevin K. John, Manusheela Pokharel, Chelsea Ratcliff, Kaylee Crossley, Katheryn Christy, Hannah Badal, Kevin Coe, and Brandon Rivera-Melo. We missed Rob Yale (a lot).…
The Dread Professor Jensen
Every HCAT writing retreat begins with an roundtable session where attendees detail what they will be working on. Typically, the roundtable is led by Jake, but this year, in honor of the 30yh anniversary of The Princess Bride, it was led by the Dread Professor Jensen. He told attendees to "work hard, submit manuscripts" as…
NIH grant: slow and steady
Year 2 of my NIH New Innovator grant is coming to a close. This is a 5 year grant, so we still have a long way to go. I'm writing our annual report, and it's amazing how much we've done…and how much we still have to do. A 5 year project is a program of…
Kevin John's Dissertation Published in JHC
The first article from Kevin John's dissertation was just published in the Journal of Health Communication. In that article, Kevin articulates a framework for studying how visual images might impact visual skill (what he labels the visual skill acquisition model). He then demonstrates how the…
HCAT in Sky Magazine
Sky Magazine published an article about "The future of Early Detection" which mentioned HCAT's research on mole crowdsourcing. So, if you are flying Delta, then look for HCAT in the clouds.
Krieghbaum Under 40 Award
I will receive the Krieghbaum Under 40 Award at the the AEJMC awards ceremony, August 11th at 10 am. It's a wonderful honor, and all are welcome to come out celebrating with us in Chicago. The Krieghbaum Under-40 Award honors AEJMC members under 40 years of age who have shown outstanding achievement and effort in all…
Kate Publishes Admiration Research in JHC!
Kate Christy recently published an article evaluating how admiration and memorability impact the processing of mammography PSAs. The research was published in the Journal of Health Communication (one of our favorite outlets!) and provides evidence that admired models have greater impact on intentions…
Mug Club
HCAT likes to go to movies. To that end, we formed Mug Club – a group of movie loving folks who like to go to premieres (and all have megaplex mugs). Mug Club is a mixture of HCAT members, GApp lab fold, and faculty from communication. On May 4th, 2017, Mug Club headed out to…
In Memoriam: Robert N. Yale
HCAT member Robert N. Yale passed away April 2017 following a courageous battle with gastric cancer. He was a key member of our lab, and a great friend to all of us. He taught us the art of photography, how to purchase excellent tech, and a love of food. He helped build the HCAT writing…
Ever since the 2013 Writing Retreat, we've been obsessed with shuffleboard. Given that, I purchased a shuffleboard last winter. Today, I upgraded the table by purchasing 6 speeds of shuffleboard powder. Yes, there are different speeds. Shuffleboard is a great activity for researchers as you can talk shop while playing it. Needless to say, our…
HCAT nabs top paper at DCHC
The psych reactance crew won the top paper at the DC Health Com Conference!
Collecting data in Altamont, UT
HCAT headed to Altamont, UT (2 hours from Salt Lake City) to collect data for the SUN study. We were joined by two graduate students from Yelena Wu's lab (Bridget and Ayesha). Altamont has a beautiful new high school, and both the teachers and kids were great hosts. A thunderstorm appeared just as we were…
Can UV photos improve skin cancer control?
Our lab has been with ultraviolet (UV) imagery for several years. We are currently conducting several studies were we study public reaction to these images. Here is a photo of me in visible light. And here is a photo in UV light.
VR video – A Bad Air Day in Salt Lake City
My lab recently purchased a Nokia Ozo pro grade immersive camera. As a test of the camera, we decided to film both a good air quality day in the valley (August 30th, 2016 – a green day), and a bad air quality day (January 1, 2017 – an orange day). We filmed the valley from a trail just below the H Rock. The video begins with a good air quality day (August 30th) and then transitions to a bad air quality day (January 1st).
The Sundance Film Festival just launched a new initiative focused on climate change and environmental awareness. The 2017 festival showcases 14 innovative projects devoted to this theme, including An Inconvenient Sequel (which HCAT members attended last night!). Our air quality immersive video parallels Sundance's initiative as well as their groundbreaking work in VR.
Click here to view our video on YouTube. Make sure you have the YouTube app downloaded in advance:
iMotions training
HCAT lab recently purchased a biophysiological measurement system from iMotions. The system allows us to measure eye movements, emotional response, and heart rate (among others). We've been interested in biophysiological measurement for years, and have conducted several eye tracking studies via the labs at Texas Tech (Andy King) and BYU (Kevin John). But now we…
2016 HCAT Writing Retreat
HCAT lab held another writing retreat October 12th – 16th, 2016 in Park City, UT. The writing retreat was held at a 5 bedroom house located just above main street in old town (you can rent it here). Fourteen people attended the retreat, including folks from Texas, Illinois, and Maryland. We had two research groups at the retreat: a skin cancer research group and a psychological reactance group. Both groups wrote manuscripts, analyzed data, and designed future studies.
The 2016 retreat also saw two different trips to the emergency room. Jake was in the emergency room when one of his sons developed a nasty case of parainfluenza. Kevin John ended up in the emergency room with appendicitis!
Despite these obstacles, the retreat was a huge success. We wrote from the moment the house opened on the 12th until 2 am in the morning the night of the 15th. Lisa Guntzviller led a workshop on building tables in Excel, and Jake led a workshop on the Johnson-Neyman (JN) technique.
The tattoo sleeves made a second appearance too. As folks finished papers, they were rewarded with the awesome sleeves. Nick Carcioppolo and Rob Yale weren't able to make it this year, so we made Nick and Rob paper cutouts – and enjoyed taking crazy photos with them.
It was another wonderful writing retreat!
HCAT wins Golden Monograph (two years in a row)!
June: A month of Grant Writing
June is a major deadline for NIH. Given that, HCAT spends most of May and the beginning of June writing and submitting grants. This year, Manu, Chelsea, Jeremy, and I worked on 3 grants (all due mid-June). Two R21 grants, and one P30 grant. It can be exhausting, but the students also learn how to write grants by helping to put together all of the components.
Kate Christy joins HCAT as a Post-Doc
HCAT introduces new logo
HCAT goes to the 2016 Sundance Film Festival
HCAT goes to the premiere of Star Wars VII
Chamber House Writing Retreat – Fall 2015
HCAT lab held another writing retreat October 8th – 15th, 2015 in Park City, UT. The writing retreat was held at a 5 bedroom house located just above main street in old town (you can rent it here). Courtney and I gave a workshop on writing NIH grants, and we also reviewed vitas and (for…
Ultraviolet (UV) Photography at the Museum
We have developed a high performance, monochrome UV camera to advance research in dermatology, public health, and (interestingly enough) the documentation and discovery of historical artifacts. HCAT lab is working with several faculty on the latter initiative, including Professor Rory Becker from Eastern Oregon University. We recently used the camera to photograph specimens at the Utah Museum of Natural History, including scorpions (who glow when exposed to UV)! Rory has also used our UV camera to photograph Neanderthal caves in Croatia (photos to come).
Writing Retreat at the Roundabout House
HCAT lab held another writing retreat October 16th – 19th, 2014 in Park City, UT. The writing retreat was held at a 5 bedroom cabin just off the old town roundabout (you can rent it here). Nick Carcioppolo led a workshop on Mplus, I led a workshop on validity in confirmatory factor analysis, and we worked on 15 manuscripts, 8 of which were completed by the end of the retreat. A pool table on the top floor of the house was our relaxation sport of choice. We also enjoyed trying to ride the house elevator, which was wonderfully inconsistent. Finally, we visited Olympic Park during this retreat, and that is quickly becoming a tradition.
You can see photos from the retreat here:
HCAT evaluates mammography campaign
HCAT goes Curling
HCAT wanted to go curling. But you have to take curling lessons before you can officially join the league. Oh, and you better bring your own stone. League stones are for chumps.
We had a few drinks before curling lessons. Everyone but KKJ. Only one person fell on the ice and seriously hurt his back. You guessed it: KKJ. 🙂
Nordic House Writing Retreat in Park City
HCAT lab held another writing retreat October 11th – 14th, 2013 in Park City, UT. The writing retreat was held at a 5 bedroom cabin in Deer Valley that described itself as the Nordic House (you can rent it here). Eleven faculty and graduate students attended the retreat. I led a workshop on Lisrel and confirmatory factory analysis, Lisa Guntzviller led a workshop on bibliography software, and Rob Yale took us all out to dinner at the Blue Iguana (which would become a writing retreat tradition). We also discovered numerous quirks such as my love of high quality scrap paper and Kevin Coe's need to have lots of gum on hand while writing. Finally, Rob Yale impressed everyone (as he tends to) with an amazing suitcase.
We worked on 12 manuscripts during the writing retreat, 7 of which were finished by end. We played an excessive amount of shuffleboard.
HCAT wins ComSHER Article of the Year
Delay Hypothesis Wins Top Paper at NCA
Our research on the delay hypotheses (aka, the Sleeper Effect) won a Top Paper Award in the Mass Communication Division of NCA. Jensen, J. D., Bernat, J. K., Wilson, K., & Goonwardene, J. (2009, November). Narrative persuasion and the sleeper effect: Further evidence that fictional narratives are more persuasive over time. Paper presented at…


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Drug Testing After an Accident for a Drug-free Workplace
It's true that some people who struggle with substance-abuse problems and addiction issues are able to maintain steady employment. This can sometimes become a complicated situation for employers to navigate, especially if the suspected employee is generally reliable and has worked there for some time. However, workplace safety is paramount and establishing a completely drug-free workplace is essential to the continued safety and productivity of the business. It's a complex circumstance that must be handled with the law in mind and with proper discretion.
Workplace Impact
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has implemented some new rules pertaining to workplace injuries and reporting them to employers. While it allows the continued practice of drug testing employees, it prohibits an employer from requesting a drug test as a form of retaliation for the injury or accident report. If your company has a policy in place that requires drug testing after an accident, injury, or illness then you must have a reasonable case for requesting the test. Also, more importantly, employees should know that they can report these incidences without the fear of retaliation in any way. Records of these events must be kept on file and promptly submitted to OSHA.
Workplace Policies
If you currently do not have a drug policy in place for your workplace, but you plan on implementing one, the first step is to inform your employees of your plans. Making it clear in your policy that you intend to test employees after accidents will eliminate any confusion or the sense that the testing is being done as a reprimand. Having this type of policy in place can also help avoid accidents because it shows your employees the type of atmosphere and work ethic that you expect them to operate under; even so, if you suspect that there are employees dealing with substance abuse or addiction, you must document these behaviors and incidences to properly address these concerns. Be sure that the policy is specific and clearly defines circumstances that would warrant additional drug testing.
Prioritizing a Drug-Free Workplace with G & M Services
G & M Services is proud of our employees and the dedication they have for safety in the workplace. Our employees are also rewarded for positive safety practices. We incorporate weekly and monthly discussions and meetings to ensure that all involved are aware of how to handle equipment and potential situations that could occur during a project.
G & M Services offers services in the way of concrete drilling and sawing, concrete scanning, and FireStop. To get started with G & M Services, call us today at 410-787-8828 or visit our contact page.
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