Faculty Research Interests

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Carmen Paula Alvarez, PhD, CRNP, CNM, FAAN

Carmen Alvarez, PhD, CRNP, CNM, FAAN

Research areas: Community-based research, health promotion, adverse childhood experiences, intimate partner violence, trauma-informed care, Latinx health
Shoshana V. Aronowitz, PhD, MSHP, FNP-BC

Shoshana V. Aronowitz, PhD, MSHP, FNP-BC

Research areas: substance use, opioid use disorder treatment, harm reduction services, equitable access to care, innovative treatment delivery models
Dr. Jose Bauermeister

José A. Bauermeister, PhD, MPH, FSBM

Research areas: LGBTQ+ Health; HIV/AIDS; mHealth; Public Health; Behavior change; Community-based Research

Casey Benchimol (they/them), MSN, CRNP WHNP-BC AGPCNP-C

Research areas: Queer and trans health, transgender family building, inducing lactation, HIV, STI care, nursing education, weight neutrality, health equity promotion, health education via social media.

Kathryn H. Bowles, PhD, RN, FAAN, FACMI

Research areas: Health information technology, health informatics, older adults, technology, telehealth, Discharge Decision Support System, D2S2, Readmission, Discharge

J. Margo Brooks Carthon, PhD, RN, FAAN

Research areas: Health equity; Inequality in health care; Vulnerable; Older adults; Seniors; Minority groups; Racial inequities; Patient outcomes; Hospital care
Alison Buttenheim, Penn Nursing

Alison M. Buttenheim, PhD, MBA

Research areas: Behavioral economics, Household health decision-making, Global maternal-child health, Vaccine acceptance
Dr. Pamela Cacchione

Pamela Z. Cacchione, PhD, CRNP, BC, FGSA, FAAN

Research areas: Gerontology, Gerontological nursing, Older adults, Elders, Clinician educator, Sensory enhancement, Vision and hearing interventions, Dementia, Delirium, Mental health
Portrait of Dr. Kenrick Cato

Kenrick Cato, PhD, RN, CPHIMS, FAAN

Research areas: Oncology and emergency Nursing, Clinical informatics, Data engineering, Data science, Software development, Implementation and evaluation of technology systems, Clinical decision support
Rebecca R. S. Clark, PhD, MSN, RN, CNM, WHNP-BC

Rebecca Clark, PhD, MSN, RN, CNM, WHNP-BC

Research areas: birth, health equity, midwifery, maternity care, intrapartum care, postpartum care, maternal outcomes, opioid dependence in pregnancy, maternity nursing, health services research
Charlene W. Compher, PhD, RD, LDN, FADA, FASPEN

Charlene W. Compher, PhD, RD, LDN, FASPEN

Research areas: Nutrition, Gut microbiome, Parenteral nutrition, Gastrointestinal disease, Clinical guidelines, Clinician educator

Peggy Compton, PHD, RN, FAAN

Research areas: Opioids, Pain Management, Addiction, Health Promotion
Pasquaney 2011

Cynthia Anne Connolly, PhD, RN

Research areas: Pediatric nursing, Healthcare history, Nursing history, Children, Children and pharmaceuticals, Tuberculosis, TB
Martha Curley, PhD, RN, FAAN

Martha A.Q. Curley, PhD, RN, FAAN

Research areas: Critically ill children; Families of critically ill children; Pediatric critical care; Pediatric intensive care; Synergy Model

Bart C. De Jonghe, PhD, BS

Research areas: Nutrition, Energy balance, Nausea, Vomiting, Chemotherapy, Brain

George Demiris, PhD, FACMI

Research areas: Gerontology, telehealth, informatics, hospice, smart homes
jie deng

Jie Deng, PhD, RN, OCN, FAAN

Research areas: Oncology

Monique Dowd, MA, RD, LDN, CDE, CSG

Research areas: Clinical dietician, Penn Nursing lecturer, Certified diabetes educator, Certified gerontological nutritionist, Community nutritionist
   Patricia D'Antonio, PhD, RN, FAAN

Patricia D’Antonio, PhD, RN, FAAN

Research areas: Nursing knowledge, History of nursing, History of health care, Nursing profession, Health care practice, Health policy

Dalmacio Dennis Flores, PhD, ACRN, FAAN

Research areas: HIV and STI transmission among sexual minority youth, parent-child sex communication, GBQ adolescents, risky sexual behavior
Karen Glanz

Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH

Research areas: Health behavior, Health Disparities, Obesity prevention, Cancer prevention and control, Nutrition
Holly M. Harner, PhD, MBA, MPH, RN, WHCNP-BC, FAAN

Holly Harner, PhD, MBA, MPH, RN, WHCNP-BC, FAAN

Research areas: nursing public Health, women’s health, women and incarceration, violence prevention

Karen B. Hirschman, PhD, MSW

Research areas: Transitional care, Transitional Care Model, Cognitive impairment, Dementia, Palliative care, Decision making

Nancy A. Hodgson, PhD, RN, FAAN

Research areas: Palliative care, Dementia, Older adults, Gerontology, Nursing home, End-of-life care, Caregiving
Sharon Y Irving, PhD, CRNP, FCCM, FAAN, FASPEN

Sharon Y. Irving, PhD, CRNP, FCCM, FAAN, FASPEN

Research areas: Pediatric critical care, Pediatric intensive care, Pediatric critical care nurse practitioner, Nutrition in pediatric critical illness; Critically ill infants; Clinician educator
Jacoby Office Headshot

Sara F. Jacoby, MPH, MSN, PhD, FAAN

Research areas: injury science, injury recovery, health systems and urban environments, patient outcomes, gun violence
Sarah Kagan 2024

Sarah Hope Kagan, PhD, RN, FAAN, FGSA, AOCN, GCNS-BC

Research areas: Gerontological nursing, Gerontology, Older adults, Seniors, Cancer, Oncology, Qualitative research methods, Grounded theory, Clinician educator

Melanie L. Kornides, ScD, RN, FNP-BC

Research areas: HPV, STD, sex disparities in pediatric and women’s health

Tanja V.E. Kral, PhD

Research areas: Obesity; adult and pediatric obesity; nutrition; prevention and treatment of obesity; familial predisposition; behavioral economics; behavioral genetics; Autism Spectrum Disorder
Eileen T. Lake, PhD, MSN, MA, BSN, FAAN

Eileen T. Lake, PhD, RN, FAAN

Research areas: Patient outcomes, Hospital environments, Nurse staffing, NICU, Practice Environment Scale

Karen B. Lasater, PhD, RN, FAAN

Research areas: nurse staffing, patient outcomes, healthcare policy, hospital re-admissions, nursing work environments, end of life care

Joseph R. Libonati, PhD

Research areas: Cardiovascular disease, Exercise training, Exercise, Exogenous stem cell therapy, Heart disease treatment, Heart failure, Physiology
Amy Jo Lisanti, PhD, RN, CCNS

Amy Jo Lisanti, PhD, RN, CCNS

Research areas: parent stress, mental health, developmental care, infant growth, family-centered care, intensive care, congenital heart disease
Jianghong Liu, PhD, RN, FAAN

Jianghong Liu, PhD, RN, FAAN

Research areas: Child, adolescent, emotional and behavioral outcomes, early risk and protective factors, environmental influences, maternal, infant, public health, epidemiology, nutrition, behavior, cognition, sleep, brain

Lauren Massimo, PhD, CRNP, FAAN

Research areas: neurodegenerative disease, older adults, cognitive decline, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, non-pharmacological intervention and neuroimaging
Lea Ann Matura, PhD, RN, CRNP

Lea Ann Matura, PhD, RN, CRNP, FAAN

Research areas: Biobehavioral research, symptoms management in cardiopulmonary disease, fatigue and sleep difficulty symptoms, pulmonary arterial hypertension
Catherine C. McDonald, PhD, RN, FAAN

Catherine C. McDonald, PhD, RN, FAAN

Research areas: Injury prevention, Teen, Adolescent, Driving, Pediatrics, Health promotion, Web-based intervention, Risky behaviors

Matthew D. McHugh, PhD, JD, MPH, RN, CRNP, FAAN

Research areas: Nursing outcomes, Health outcomes, Policy, Health policy, Nurse staffing, Nursing and health care administration, Training in nursing outcomes research
STEVEN PAUL MEANLEY, PhD, MPH

Steven Paul Meanley, PhD, MPH

Research areas: HIV treatment and prevention, LGBTQ+ health, mental health, health disparities, life course, stigma, resilience
Salimah Meghani, PhD, MBE, FAAN

Salimah H. Meghani, PhD, MBE, RN, FAAN

Research areas: Vulnerable populations, Racial disparities, Palliative care, Symptom outcomes

Mary D. Naylor, PhD, RN, FAAN

Research areas: Care of older adults and family caregivers, Transitional Care Model, Advanced practice nurses, Team-based care, Health system redesign, Transitional care, Population health

Adriana Perez, PhD, ANP-BC, FAAN

Research areas: Hispanic, Latino, Geriatrics, Older adults, Seniors, Health policy, Health promotion, Physical activity, Health insurance literacy

Jennifer A. Pinto-Martin, PhD, MPH

Research areas: Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental delays, Children, Public health, SEED, Epidemiology
Rosemary Polomano

Rosemary Carol Polomano, PhD, RN, FAAN

Research areas: Pain science, Pain management, Pain measurement, American Pain Society Patient Outcomes Questionnaire, Military, Veterans, Anesthesiology and critical care

Therese S. Richmond, PhD, RN, FAAN

Research areas: Trauma nursing, Depression, Post-traumatic stress, Health equity, Gun Violence, Injury and violence prevention research, Trauma research, Vulnerable populations, Community-engaged research
Halley Ruppel, PhD, RN

Halley Ruppel, PhD, RN

Research areas: pediatric critical care nursing, pediatric intensive care units, physiologic monitoring, health information technology, patient safety, clinical informatics, nurse work environments and outcomes

Amy M. Sawyer, PhD, RN

Research areas: sleep disorders, behavioral clinical trials and clinical trial methodology, evidence-based practice, engagement science

Heath D. Schmidt, PhD

Research areas: Drugs of abuse, Drug addiction, Relapse, Pharmacology, Neuroscience, Obesity, Cocaine, Nicotine, Opioids
Pasquaney 2011

Margaret C. Souders, PhD, CRNP

Research areas: autism spectrum disorder, phylogenetics, genetics, sleep medicine, insomnia

Diane L. Spatz, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN

Research areas: Breastfeeding, Lactation, Human milk, Infant, Critically ill, Premature, NICU, Evidence-based practice, Policy, Clinical educator
Dr. Laura Starbird

Laura Starbird, PhD, RN

Research areas: Substance use disorder, HIV, Hepatitis C, Women’s health, population health, health promotion, risk reduction

Connie M. Ulrich, PhD, RN, FAAN

Research areas: Clinical research ethics, informed consent, bioethics, ethical concerns, medical systems, ethical issues, nurse practitioners, patients, families

Abigail B. Wilpers, PhD, WHNP-BC

Research areas: High-risk pregnancy, advanced fetal diagnosis and management, maternal-fetal surgery, reproductive health policy, perinatal loss care, perinatal workforce development