Doctoral Faculty in Nursing

Profiles in nursing leadership

Profiles in nursing leadership Following are College faculty members who direct doctoral studies and advise PhD students. Click on names below for profiles and publications.

Name		Research Interests

Sue Barnason, PhD		Cardiovascular Weight management Symptom management Care Transitions Vulnerable populations Comparative effectiveness Technology/Telehealth Intervention Delivery and Monitoring
Ann Berger, PhD		Cancer Survivorship Fatigue Sleep intervention Physical activity Circadian rhythms Quality of life Rural/Urban population
Diane Brage-Hudson, PhD		Vulnerable families Social support interventions Parenting Depressive symptoms Technology Health care utilization
Marlene Z. Cohen, PhD		Cancer & Palliative Care Qualitative research – esp. phenomenological methods Experience of cancer, treatments, symptoms and quality of life End of life and palliative care
Mary Cramer, PhD		Nursing Workforce Outcomes & impact evaluation Health policy Rural health services/populations Community partnerships
Janet Cuddigan, PhD		Pressure Ulcers Physiological measurements of pressure ulcer risk in critically ill patients Quality improvement strategies Development of decision support tools for prevention of pressure ulcers Guideline development of strategies Implementation/evaluation of pressure ulcer programs
Julia Houfek, PhD		Smoking/Tobacco Use, Genetics Nicotine addiction Genetic contributions to psychiatric disorders, particularly tobacco use/nicotine addiction Self-regulation theory Mental Representations of illness; Schema Theory, including self-schemas
Polly Hulme, PhD		Adults who experienced childhood sexual abuse HPA axis regulation Obesity Diurnal cortisol rhythms Bariatric surgery AND Culture and Hispanic health issues
Katherine Kaiser, PhD		Life Transition & Health Effects in Women Intensity of need for nursing care Self-reported health status Health management Health services use in women and children Health promotion and clinical prevention interventions
Bunny Pozehl, PhD		Heart Failure Patients Heart failure Exercise/Physical activity interventions Self-efficacy/Adherence Physical functioning
Carol Pullen, EdD		Rural, Mid-Life & Older Women: At-risk populations Weight reduction and weight maintenance Health promotion Cardiovascular risk reduction Eating & activity Technology Tailored/Non-tailored messages
Michael Rice, PhD		Education Social constructivism Social networking as an educational model Distance education strategies Synchronous platforms in distance education Social nodes in asynchronous education Clinical Stress response – Sympathetic attenuation Perinatal mental health & infant outcomes
Sheila Ryan, PhD		Patient Centered Care systems Complex Adaptive Systems Quality Improvement System Redesign Transformational Leadership Health Reform: ACA and ACO’s
Karen Schumacher, PhD		Caregivers & Pain Management Mixed methods Qualitative Cancer patients Family Caregivers
Bernice Yates, PhD		Cardiac Rehab Delivery The stressors, social supports and recover outcomes of cv patients/spouses Physical activity and healthy eating interventions for cv patients/spouses Testing alternate methods of delivering cardiac rehabilitation
Lani Zimmerman, PhD		Cardiovascular (CV) Population At-risk CV populations Symptom management for cardiac interventions Self-management for risk factor modification or chronic disease management Using technology to deliver interventions and monitor outcomes Care transitions and Health Care Utilization for chronic disease management

Fast faculty profile

A leading authority on health promotion among rural populations, Dr. Carol Pullen was awarded a $1 million federal grant to launch a Healthy Heart Center, an interdisciplinary distance-technologies collaborative for health professionals and patients throughout Nebraska. She is also team leader of the UNMC-wide bioterrorism preparedness education collaborative among all health professions.

Fast faculty fact

Of the College's over 130 total faculty members, more than 60% hold doctoral degrees.