Biography

Dr. Kovaleva is a tenure-track assistant professor and a geriatric nurse scientist with research interests focused on acute, perioperative, transitional, and primary care for persons living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, as well as interventions to support unpaid caregivers of persons living with dementia. To date, Dr. Kovaleva received $62,000 in research funding as a principal investigator ($44,500 extramural). She has 18 peer-reviewed publications, 2 book chapters, and 4 not peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Kovaleva’s goal is to develop and implement an efficacious, scalable, and interprofessional transitional care program for older adults living with cognitive impairment, as they transition from hospital to institutional or home settings. The goal of this program is to provide education and support to persons living with dementia and their caregivers throughout the continuum of healthcare transition, thereby making these transitions as seamless and humane as possible, while helping caregivers prepare for long-term care provision and save unnecessary expenditure.

Dr. Kovaleva’s second area of research focus is on perianesthesia and perioperative care for persons living with dementia. Dr. Kovaleva’s goal is to develop a nurse-led transitional care program that may begin prior to surgery, prepare person-caregiver dyads for surgery, and provide post-hospitalization follow-up to ensure persons’ and caregivers’ healthcare, information, and social support needs are met. Likewise, Dr. Kovaleva is interested in geriatrics in rural settings and developing innovative respite interventions for caregivers, including with the integration of health sciences students as respite providers. Dr. Kovaleva’s methodological areas of research interests include longitudinal, interventional, health outcomes, and multi-method research.

While completing her dissertation at Emory University on a full scholarship and as a Laney graduate fellow, Dr. Kovaleva received a post-master’s certificate as an adult-gerontological primary care nurse practitioner. She is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and currently maintains part-time faculty practice as a nurse practitioner at Home Instead Center for Successful Aging at Nebraska Medicine.

Dr. Kovaleva is strongly interested in nursing education and she received a Certificate in College Teaching at Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching in 2021 while completing her post-doctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing She has been co-teaching NRSG 602 Nursing Scholarship course for Masters of Science in Nursing students since 2022 (over 70 students to date). She has also worked as a teaching assistant and teaching associate at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University and delivered 6 invited lectures.

Research

Research Interests

• Geriatrics
• Acute, perioperative, perianesthesia, transitional, and primary care for persons living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias
• Health services research
• Support, education, and respite interventions for caregivers of persons living with dementia
• Geriatrics in nursing education
• Rural health
• Telehealth
• Longitudinal, interventional, health outcomes, and multi-method research

Grant Support (Previous 5 years)

July 2023 – June 2025
Remote Assessment of Social Connectedness Between Rural Dementia Patients and Family Caregivers Using Laboratory in a Suitcase Assessment (LISA). $100,000. Chen, K.-H. (PI). Role: Co-I.

September 2022-August 2024
Telehealth Transitional Care for Persons Living with Dementia: A Feasibility Study, $2,000. Kovaleva, M. (PI)

March 2022-February 2025
Informing the Perianesthesia Period for Persons Living with Dementia: A Multi-Method Study of Nurses, Persons Living with Dementia, and their Caregivers, $$10,000. Kovaleva, M. (PI)

January 2022 – January 2024
Faculty Practice Program. University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing. $5,000. Kovaleva, M. (PI).

November 2019-April 2021
Addressing Caregiver Burden during Persons’ Living with Dementia Hospital-to-Home Transitions. Southern Nursing Research Society. $7,500. Kovaleva, M. (PI)

October 2019-April 2021
Perioperative Settings: Nurses, Persons Living with Dementia, and their Caregivers. Association of periOperative Registered Nurses – Sigma Theta Tau International. $5,000. Kovaleva, M. (PI)

October 2019-April 2021
Addressing Caregiver Burden during Persons’ Living with Dementia Hospital-to-Home Transitions. Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses. $10,000. Kovaleva, M. (PI)

June 2019-April 2021
Tele-Savvy during Hospital to Home Transition. Center for Clinician Advancement: UnitedHealth Group Award, Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association. Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses. $5,000. Kovaleva, M. (PI)

May 2019-April 2021
Telehealth-Enhanced Patient-Oriented Recovery Trajectory after ICU: TelePORT ICU. Vanderbilt Discovery Grant. $100,000. Boehm, L. (PI). Role: Co-I.

May 2019-April 2021
Improving ICU Recovery in Survivors of Critical Illness. American Association of Critical Care Nurses. $49,999. Boehm, L. (PI). Role: Co-I.

Publications

Shade, M. Y., Kovaleva, M., Harp, K., & Martin-Hammond, A. (2023). Older adults’ pain outcomes after mHealth interventions: A scoping review. JMIR Aging. e46976. doi: 10.2196/46976.

* Kovaleva, M. A., Kleinpell, R., Dietrich, M.S., Jones, A., Boon, J., Duggan, M., Dennis, B., Lauderdale, J., & Maxwell,      Caregivers’ experience with Tele-Savvy Caregiver Program post-hospitalization. (2023). Geriatric Nursing, 51, 156- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2023.03.002 

*Kovaleva, M. A., Jones, A. C., Kimpel, C. C., Lauderdale, J., Sevin, C. M., Stollings, J. L., Jackson, J. C., & Boehm, L. M. (2023). Patient and caregiver experiences with a telehealth intensive care unit recovery clinic. Heart & Lung , 58, 47-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrtlng.2022.11.002

*Kovaleva, M. A., Kleinpell, R., Dietrich, M.S, Jones, A., Boon, J., Duggan, M., Lauderdale, J., & Maxwell, C. (2023). Addressing caregiver burden during persons’ living with dementia post-hospitalization period. MedSurg Nursing, 32(6), 386-394.

*Kovaleva, M. A., Jones, A., Kimpel, C. C., Lauderdale, J., Sevin, C., & Boehm, L. (2022). Patients’ and caregivers’ perception of intensive care unit hospitalization and recovery. American Journal of Critical Care, 31(4), 319-323. https://doi.org/10.4037/ajcc2022945 This article was selected by the American Journal of Critical Care for a video presentation on the journal’s web-site (July 2022).

View all publications »

Service

11/2023 – Present, Midwest Nursing Research Society annual conference planning committee for the UNMC CON

10/2023 – Present, LiveGreen Ambassador, UNMC

07/2023 – Present, Co-chair, Mentorship and Post-Doctoral Fellowship Committee, Center for Patient, Family, and Community Engagement in Chronic Care Management (CENTRIC)

2023, Application judge to attend 2023 nursing student academy conference, UNMC CON

2023, Volunteer, Annual Black Family Health and Wellness Fair, Omaha, NE

2022, 2023, Honors Program interviewer, UNMC CON

2022 -2023, Volunteer, OneWorld Community Health Centers, Inc., Omaha, NE

2021, 2022, Midwest Nursing Research Society PhD student poster competition reviewer, UNMC CON

09/2022 – Present, Member, PhD Affairs Committee, UNMC CON

09/2022 – 05/2023, Member, Global Health Committee, UNMC CON

2023 – Present, Reviewer, Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology

2022 – Present, Reviewer, Clinical Nursing Research

2021-Present, Editorial board member, Journal of Applied Gerontology

2021, Reviewer, INQUIRY

2021, Reviewer, Journal of the American Medical Directors Association

2021, Reviewer, Canadian Geriatrics Journal

2020, Reviewer, BMC Geriatrics

2020-2021, Reviewer, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

2020-Present, Reviewer, Geriatric Nursing.

2019, Reviewer, Clinical Gerontologist.

2017-Present, Reviewer, Journal of Applied Gerontology.

2021-2022, Member, Educational Research Interest Group.

10/2019-10/2020, Chair of the Vanderbilt Post-Doctoral Association Symposium, Vanderbilt Post-Doctoral Association.

10/2019-04/2021, Scholarly Learning sub-committee chair, Vanderbilt Post-Doctoral Association.

07/2019-09/2020, Junior Co-Chair, Vanderbilt Post-Doctoral Association.

05/2020-12/2020, Member, Zoom informal working group, Vanderbilt University

07/2019-07/2020, Member, Vanderbilt Center for Gerontological Nursing Excellence, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.

07/2019-11/2019, Member, Learning Healthcare Platform Committee, Vanderbilt University.

05/2019-03/2021, Member, Age-Friendly Health Systems/4Ms.

05/2019 Poster, judge, Sigma Theta Tau International Iota Chapter conference.

2021 – Present, Member, Midwest Nursing Research Society

2019 – 2021, Member, Association of periOperative Registered Nurses

2019 – 2023, Member, American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses

2019 – 2022, Member, Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses

2017-2018, Student Network Chair, Southern Nursing Research Society

2016-2018, Program Committee member, Southern Nursing Research Society

2015 – 2022, Member, Southern Nursing Research Society

2017-2018, Member, American Nurses Association/Georgia Nurses Association

2016-2017, 2019-2022, Member, Research Committee Member Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association

2015-2021, 2022, Member, The Gerontological Society of America

2015-2016, Member, Georgia Gerontology Society

2022 –2023, Philanthropy Co-chair, Gamma Pi-at large chapter of Sigma Nursing Honor Society at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, Omaha, NE

2016-2018, Assistant Treasurer, Alpha Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA

2013 – 2022, Member, Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society

Recognition

2023 Dr. Nancy Bergstrom Early Career Research Award, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, Omaha, NE

2018 Alpha Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, Conference Travel Scholarship.

2016 Georgia Nursing Leadership Coalition, Research Doctorate Award.

2016 Alpha Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, Conference Travel Scholarship.

2015 Georgia Gerontology Society, Virginia M. Smyth Graduate Scholarship

View all recognition »