Accolades

Winter 2012

Dr. Barbara Brush has been selected as one of 10 fellows in the inaugural class of the U-M Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT).  The ten fellows, five health services researchers and five individuals from the policy sector, will meet over the winter semester in a series of bimonthly all-day sessions to engage in discussions of health policy and legislative issues (particularly many of the "hot topics" currently underway in the state), work directly with health policy and legislative experts, and produce deliverables. Each academic and policy fellow is paired to work on a specific area of interest and expertise. In tandem with her policy partner, a state legislator, Dr. Brush will combine her community-based participatory research with vulnerable community populations and her workforce expertise to assess mental health delivery and capacity in Michigan and make recommendations for improving access to the state's mental health care.

Megan Eagle, a clinical instructor, has been awarded a Faculty Seed Grant from the Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG). The grant supports her project, “Addressing the Risk of Maternal Mortality in Rural Ecuador.” Her work advances the mission of the IRWG, which is to foster collaboration and further the research of all U-M faculty members and graduate students who use the lens of women and gender to pursue their studies. Ms. Eagle serves as an instructor in the Family and Adult Nurse Practitioner Programs and has lectured for other groups as well on the health needs of Latino populations. In addition, she has been providing primary health care services to underserved populations for the past fifteen years.

Susanne Quallich, a PhD student in the U-M School of Nursing, served as co-editor for the first ever Advanced Practice issue of Urological Nursing, the official journal of the Society of Urological Nurses and Associates (SUNA). The journal is written by and for urologic nurses and associates, and seeks to present the latest advances in urologic nursing practice. Susanne also co-authored the editorial for this issue, published in December 2011. In addition, she authored the first practice analysis of nurse practitioners working in urology. Her research paper, “A survey evaluating the current role of the nurse practitioner in urology,” was accepted for presentation at the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) conference in June 2012.

Elizabeth Kuzma, a clinical instructor, was selected for the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners AANP 2012 Nurse Practitioner award for excellence for the state of Michigan.  The AANP State Award for Nurse Practitioner Excellence recognizes a nurse practitioner (NP) in a state who demonstrates excellence in clinical practice. The AANP will present Elizabeth this award at their annual conference in June 2012. Elizabeth has particular experience working with underserved communities in Detroit and Ann Arbor. She also works in a clinic located within a local domestic violence shelter working with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and their families.

Jennifer Kittell was selected as the 2011 recipient of the Terri L. Murtland Scholarship. Ms. Murtland is currently a second year graduate student in the Nurse Midwifery Program who will graduate in May 2012.  She had her first degree in Women's Studies from U-M and then attended the second career program in nursing as part of her pathway to becoming a nurse midwife.  In addition to being a graduate student in the School of Nursing, she is also a Graduate Student Instructor in the Women's Studies program where she teaches in the Perspective in Women's Health course.  Her research focus has been on working with women with a high BMI during pregnancy to promote healthy weight gain and habits during the childbearing year.

 Dr. Marjorie McCullagh, an assistant professor, has been awarded the Medique Unique Leadership award by the Michigan Association of Occupational Health Nurses (MAOHN) at the Association’s recent meeting in Bay City, Michigan. Dr. McCullagh was selected to receive this award based on her demonstration of outstanding leadership qualities, including initiative, motivation, productivity, creativity, and commitment. Dr. McCullagh serves as Director of the U-M School of Nursing Occupational Health Nursing program.

Winter 2011

Dr. Beatrice Kalisch, Titus Distinguished Professor of Nursing and division chair at the U-M School of Nursing, was selected to receive the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation McDevitt Excellence in Research Award in the area of clinical research. In addition to the honor of being chosen for this prestigious award, Dr. Kalisch will receive unrestricted research funds that will be used to further her existing program of study through clinical trials or health policy research. Dr. Kalisch's most recent work has centered on the effects of missed nursing care on patient outcomes and the role of teamwork in delivering high quality healthcare, and it was her work entitled, “Hospital Variation in Missed Nursing Care” published in the American Journal of Medical Quality that earned her the BCBSM award.

Dr. Joanne Pohl, Professor at the U-M School of Nursing, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF). Each year, the organization’s board of directors selects an honoree whose contributions have been “visionary and stalwart in successfully developing and promoting the role of the nurse practitioner,” says Kitty Werner, executive director of NONPF. “Dr. Pohl was selected for the award for her extensive work in nurse practitioner education, policy, and research. Her tireless efforts to promote nurse managed health centers and to collect data on the populations they serve has been invaluable to gaining national recognition of their contributions to primary care and healthcare to underserved populations.”

Moira Visovatti, a student in the University of Michigan School of Nursing doctoral program, was recently awarded a selective National Research Service Award (NRSA) from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). Working with her faculty advisor, Dr. Bernadine Cimprich, Moira’s study is entitled, “Pretreatment Assessment of Cognitive and Immune Function in Individuals Newly Diagnosed with Colorectal Cancer.” The project builds on Moira’s dissertation research and seeks to examine if a relationship exists between attention/memory deficits and alterations in specific protein molecules that contribute to inflammation. It will also determine whether certain behavioral expressions of sickness are associated with impaired cognitive function prior to any treatment for the disease.

Dr. Lisa Kane Low, an assistant professor and coordinator of the Nurse Midwifery Education program at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Her study is entitled “Spontaneous vs. Directed Pushing: Analysis of Audiotapes of Second Stage Labor and Associated Outcomes” and builds on her clinical research which aims to answer questions about the ways in which women can be best cared for during the process of normal birth. This project in particular will provide evidence to help maternity care givers reduce the risk of incontinence associated with childbirth. It will also be the foundation for a future trial examining how care givers use evidence-based second stage labor management strategies in preventing adverse pelvic floor changes related to child birth.

Josephine Foley, a master’s student at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, was recently elected to be the president of the Michigan chapter of the National Hispanic Nurses Association (NAHN). Since 1975, NAHN has been working to promote Hispanic nursing professionals as well as to improve the health of the Hispanic community. Before being elected president, Josephine served as secretary of the organization for four years. To her new leadership position she brings business experience as well as a strong commitment to growing the membership and increasing access to scholarships for Hispanic nursing students. In addition to this important extracurricular commitment, Josephine will continue to pursue her graduate education in the Occupational Health Nurse Specialist program.

Vanessa Hoyos, a master's student in the Family Nurse Practitioner program and a staff member of a U-M School of Nursing Nurse Managed Center, has been invited to participate in a National Institutes of Health summer research training program. This program, the Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training (MHIRT), aims to increase the representation of socially or economically disadvantaged groups who have been historically underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral careers and to support the research training of students who will most likely contribute to the elimination of health disparities that exist among disadvantaged populations in the U.S. For 12 weeks, Vanessa will travel to the country of Chile and conduct research with a U-M faculty member. Upon her return, Vanessa will continue with the Nurse Managed Center.

Dr. Marjorie McCullagh, assistant professor and director of the occupational health nursing program at the U-M School of Nursing, has been awarded $1.5 million by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Her 4-year study entitled "Effectiveness of an Intervention to Prevent Hearing Loss Among Farmers" seeks to compare the efficacy of two alternative approaches to promoting the use of hearing protection devices (HPDs). Ultimately, this research will determine if significant changes in HPD use can be achieved through a one-time web-based intervention or by supplying HPDs. The project involves a partnership between the U-M School of Nursing, a major farmer organization, and the Center for Health Communication Research.

Dr. Jody Lori and Dr. Carol Boyd received a USAID/Child Survival Grant to work with Africare, a leader in development assistance and humanitarian aid to Africa and the oldest, largest African-American led nongovernmental organization. The 4-year project, “Innovation, Research, Operations, and Planned Evaluation for Mothers and Children (I-ROPE),” will take place in Liberia, West Africa. I-ROPE evaluates maternity waiting homes, developing interventions that increase the 1) availability of mother/child health services, 2) number of facility-based births, 3) attention paid to pre-/post-natal care, and 4) scientific evidence supporting a network of maternity waiting homes throughout Liberia.

Fall 2010

Dr. Christopher Friese, an assistant professor at the U-M School of Nursing, was the first nurse scientist to receive a Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The objective this award program is to "increase and maintain a strong cohort of new and talented NIH-supported independent investigators. The program is designed to facilitate a timely transition from a mentored postdoctoral research position to a stable independent research position" (NIH). This five-year, $930,000 grant has allowed him to develop his research, at first with guidance from an experienced investigator-mentor and then later independently. Having successfully transitioned into the independent phase of the award, Dr. Friese is working to identify opportunities for improving the organization of nursing care for patients with cancer.

Dr. Donna Marvicsin, a clinical assistant professor at the U-M School of Nursing, has been granted a $1.5 million award from the Division of Nursing at the Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA). As part of the Affordable Care Act, this 3-year grant provides important infrastructure support to consolidate and expand the U-M School of Nursing's two small existing Nurse-Managed Health Clinics (NMHC), which are currently affiliated with the University of Michigan Health System, into one large NMHC. The merger and expansion will also allow for an increase access to primary care services for underserved populations delivered within a nursing model of care, emphasizing health promotion, disease prevention, risk identification and remediation, patient empowerment and collaborative patient/provider and interdisciplinary relationships.

Dr. Marita Titler, a professor and associate dean at the U-M School of Nursing, has been honored as the first ever recipient of the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR) President's Award for her extensive and impactful career in translation science and research. According to FNINR's literature, “This year, the President’s Award is given by FNINR to acknowledge a nurse researcher whose work has focused on advancing deep understanding of translation of evidence to nursing practice and whose body of scholarship illustrates long-standing commitment to nursing research. Obviously an immense honor, when asked what the award means to her personally, Dr. Titler says, “It’s affirming that the science I do is meaningful to nursing and to nursing science.” Read more about Dr. Titler's award and about translation science.

Beverly Waller, a doctoral student at the U-M School of Nursing, was named as one of only five recipients of this year’s Minority Nurse Faculty Scholar award, presented by Johnson & Johnson in collaboration with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Originally launched to address the shortage of nursing faculty and to enhance diversity among nurse educators, this highly selective award program “provides financial support to graduate nursing students from minority backgrounds who agree to teach in a school of nursing after graduation” (AACN website). In submitting her application to join the community of only 38 total recipients since the award’s inception in 2007, Waller says “I didn’t realize that only five people would be selected, but I guess that would have made me even more nervous." Read more about Beverly and her award.

Dr. Carolyn Sampselle, a professor at the U-M School of Nursing, was awarded a $3 million, 5-year grant from the NIH for continuing work on a urinary incontinence intervention that has been years in the making. While Dr. Sampselle is an accomplished researcher with continuous financial support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for more than fifteen years, this grant stands out. Not only are the amount and duration of the grant impressive, but also the research has the potential to deliver a proven self-management program to women all over the country. In other words, through the grant, Dr. Sampselle will be able to translate the beneficial results her intervention has shown in small clinical studies and repackage it so that it becomes accessible to a much wider audience. Read more about Dr. Sampselle's research.

Dr. Sonia Duffy, an associate professor at the U-M School of Nursing, was granted $3.3 million from the NIH for her study entitled, Dissemination of Tobacco Tactics versus 1-800-QUIT-NOW for Hospitalized Smokers. This 4-year award resulted from a request for applications, or RFA, from  the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the National Insitute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) encouraging research on translating smoking cessation strategies initiated during hospitalization into effective interventions that continue after a patient is discharged. Essentially, the goal is to repackage proven programs so they can be easily implemented in routine clinical practice. A unique component of Dr. Duffy’s intervention is that it is delivered by nurses, an important recognition of nurses' key role in leading prevention efforts.

Dr. Maria Katapodi, an assistant professor at the U-M School of Nursing, was named a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Nurse Faculty Scholar for 2010. Currently selecting only twelve awardees per year, the foundation’s Nurse Faculty Scholars program recognizes and supports standout junior faculty who have demonstrated their promise and their commitment to becoming the “next generation of national leaders in academic nursing.” In addition to the prestige and honor of such a designation, Dr. Katapodi will receive grant funding for mentorship, leadership training, and research support over her  three year award period. Dr. Katapodi is the U-M School of Nursing's second Nurse Faculty Scholar since the program's inception in 2008. Read more about the School's two RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars.