The University of New Mexico
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Research Faculty

Vinn Diagram, Wit hSymptom appraisal and Management, Child Adolescent and Womens Health, Health Policy& Advocacy, and Vulnerable Populations in the middle.

Major areas of emphasis at the College of Nursing are symptom appraisal and management in chronic illness; child, adolescent, and women’s health promotion; and health policy.  Cross-cutting science areas of focus among the research faculty include an emphasis on vulnerable populations, rural health, health disparities/equity, and social determinants of health.  Examples of faculty research programs in these areas are described below.

Symptom Appraisal and Symptom Management

Our current work involves a combination of descriptive and intervention research.  Dr. Mark Parshall, along with his interdisciplinary team of colleagues, investigates the development of a standardized rating scale to measure dyspnea symptoms for patients with chronic or acute heart or lung conditions in the emergency department setting.  Dr.  Cindy Mendelson is studying how women with autoimmune disorders, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and scleroderma, manage their symptoms in the context of their daily lives.  Dr. Robin Meize-Grochowski examines the impact of complementary and alternative therapies, such as mindfulness meditation, on management of pain symptoms among older adults with post-herpetic neuralgia.  Dr. Jennifer Averill is utilizing a community based participatory research approach to work with her community partners in a rural New Mexico community to develop and test interventions related to home based palliative care.  Dr. Emily Haozous focuses on reducing health disparities for American Indian people with cancer, specifically on improving cancer outcomes by reversing the trend of late stage at diagnosis and improving symptom management and end of life care among Native people.

Child, Adolescent and Women’s Health Promotion

One area of emphasis at the College of Nursing is health promotion research among children, adolescents and women.  Dr. Beth Tigges is a Co-Investigator with a team of interdisciplinary researchers at UNM on the National Children’s Study, a longitudinal study of children’s health and development that will follow children across the US from before birth until age 21 years.  The goal of this multi-site Study is to improve the health and well-being of children and to increase understanding about how factors such as the environment, community and culture, and genetics contribute to health and illness.  Dr. Marie Lobo is a Co-Investigator at the interdisciplinary UNM Pediatric Pulmonary Center and studies family management of children with chronic pulmonary conditions, such as asthma.  Dr. Jongwon Lee investigates community-based interventions to increase cervical and breast cancer screening among Asian women in New Mexico.  Dr. Rebekah Salt’s work focuses on understanding more about social determinates of health and how women’s participation in microcredit programs may provide social support that buffers stress and other effects of poverty and improves health and quality of life.  Dr. Kim Cox investigates processes and outcomes of midwifery care, particularly for rural and vulnerable populations.  Dr. Geoff Shuster studies health promotion among elderly Hispanic women. 

Health Policy

Health policy research is a major emphasis at the College of Nursing.  Our College, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, offers a PhD in Nursing with a Concentration in Health Policy.  The faculty members who lead this focal area are distinguished scholars in health policy and advocacy at the national, state and local levels.  Dr. Sally Cohen investigates nurses’ political activity and is currently focusing on the dissemination and adoption of important clinical research findings, particularly focused in children’s health, to policy makers utilizing social network analysis methods.  Dr. Barbara Damron studies interventions to reduce health disparities in cancer care and strategies to move this work into state and national health policy.  Dr. Dorinda Welle investigates health policy and a range of public health issues and is currently conducting a state-wide study of school nurses and health policy advocacy. 

College of Nursing Research Staff

Mindy Tinkle, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC is the Chair, Research & PhD Studies at the College of Nursing.  She is actively involved in consulting with faculty on proposal development and grant preparation.

Casey Burnett is our Administrative Assistant for the research office and provides assistance with applications to the Human Research Protections Office and the Institutional Review Board. Shari Bowie is the grant coordinator for the College of Nursing.  She assists faculty with grant preparation and submission and is the liaison with the UNM Office Grants Management/Preawards.  Sima Tubbeh is the College of Nursing financial specialist and assists faculty with preparation of grant budgets and management following award.  Cristina Murray-Krezan, a faculty member with the UNM Biostatistics and Design group, provides statistical consulting support for faculty in the College of Nursing.  Anne Mattarella provides technical editing services for faculty in grant and manuscript preparation.  Additional research resources are available to faculty through the UNM Clinical and Translational Science Center.