Research Overview

Faculty Grants

Internal funding is available on a competitive basis through the Office of Vice President of Research, the University's Clinical and Translational Research Institute, the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs, and centers and programs across the University to support pilot studies and launch faculty toward external funding success.

Research Areas of Excellence

School of nursing research addresses health issues across the life span in local, state, national and global contexts. Areas of excellence include:

• Health promotion among vulnerable populations
  Associate Professor Melissa Horning, PhD, RN, PHN, is conducting community-based participatory research to address social determinants of health that influence health behaviors, nutrition and obesity of individuals and families living in underserved communities. She is exploring the role mobile food markets play in addressing healthy food access and reducing health disparities.
  
  Additional health promotion among vulnerable populations research being conducted by faculty include how family meals can prevent childhood obesity, healthy youth development interventions to reduce risky behaviors and preventing falls in older adults.
   
• Prevention and management of chronic health conditions 
  Associate Professor Niloufar Hadidi, PhD, APRN, ACNS-BC, FAHA, aims to reduce the burden of stroke in African American communities with research that builds trust and improves understanding of stroke risk factors and warning signs.
  
  Additional prevention and management of chronic health conditions research being conducted by faculty include exercise interventions to improve functioning in patients with peripheral artery disease, promoting healthy transitions into adulthood for youth with chronic illness, and telehealth and mobile app interventions for children with chronic conditions and their family caregivers.
   
• Symptom management
  Clinical Assistant Professor Erica Timko Olson, PhD, RN, is discovering how nature-based therapies, like forest bathing, can improve mental health and overall wellbeing.
  
  ​​Additional symptom management research being conducted by School of Nursing faculty include development of mobile health strategies to monitor symptoms and improve health outcomes, management of urinary and fecal incontinence, and memory care management.

• Health/nursing informatics and systems innovation
  Clinical Associate Professor Priya Rajamani, PhD, MBBS, MPH, and Assistant Professor Robin Austin, PhD, DNP, DC, RN-BC, FAMIA, FNAP, are leading a first-of-its-kind partnership to help harness the power of public health data to develop disease-prevention and wellbeing improvement initiatives.
  
  Additional health/nursing informatics and systems innovation research being conducted by faculty include improving quality and patient safety in multiple settings (e.g., acute care, home health, long-term care) and developing and testing natural data and informatics standards.