CONHI Honors Women in Research: Providing Healing, Promoting Hope Celebrating Women’s History Month

Tuesday, Mar 29, 2022

This Women's History month we commemorate and encourage the study, observance, and celebration of the vital role of women in America. According to UIS data, less than 30 percent of the world's researchers are women, and the U.S. Census reports women account for only 27 percent of STEM workers in the United States, despite making up nearly half of the country’s workforce.

This year’s theme is Women providing healing, promoting hope. At The University of Texas at Arlington College of Nursing and Health Innovation (CONHI), we strive to break barriers that may discourage women from entering scientific research fields. This Women’s History month, and throughout every year, we honor our female researchers. Today, we highlight just a handful of our notable women in CONHI making a difference in research and teaching of our next generation of scientists:

Dr. Kathryn Daniel
Professor Kathryn Daniel has dedicated her career to improving the lives of older adults. An experienced educator, Dr. Daniel views teaching as the means by which she can touch the lives of older adults through future nurses who will be caring for them in their communities. She has also dedicated her research to patient safety for older adults. In 2016 Daniel and her team unveiled a ground-breaking “Smart Care” apartment at the Lakewood Village Senior Living Community in Fort Worth. Infused with intelligent care technology, the apartment is designed to reduce risks encountered by older adults and those with disabilities. She has been with CONHI since 2007 and is well known for her interprofessional collaborations with faculty across the university. “Nursing as a career has been and still is, a wonderful career for anyone to consider, male or female,” said Daniel. “There are rapidly growing opportunities for nurses to be a part of really making a significant difference in the lives of people in our communities, both at the individual and community level.”

Dr. Zui Pan
Professor Zui Pan is passionate about teaching both classroom-based didactic courses and individual-based independent study. Dr. Pan’s teaching interests include biotechnology, physiology, pathophysiology and cell imaging, and her research is focused on calcium signaling in esophageal cancer, muscle and heart diseases. She has been with CONHI since 2016 and founded Pan’s Lab, which focuses on the study of intracellular calcium signaling and its pathophysiological implications in human diseases, particularly cancer. “I’m happy and proud to be a woman scientist, an identity I choose,” Pan says. “Just as my male peers with passion and dedication, I can lead my research team to solve one puzzle of a disease at a time as we work together toward better overall human health.”

Dr. Rhonda Prisby
Professor Rhonda Prisby’s passion for research led not only to her life’s work studying vascular function in bones, but also a groundbreaking discovery: the presence of microscopic particles of bone in the bloodstream, large enough to clog the smallest blood vessels in the vascular tree. This insight could help physicians detect and treat potentially life-threatening conditions. Dr. Prisby has been with CONHI since 2009 and continues her research as the director for the Bone Vascular and Microcirculation Laboratory, examining the interaction between blood vessels and bone in states of health and disease. "The importance of women in research and science has nothing to do with the sex of the individual,” says Prisby. “The importance lies in the absence of a potentially great scientific mind if they are silenced, discouraged, and/or excluded."

Dr. Gabriela Wilson
Gabriela Wilson (pictured, far right) is an internationally recognized health informatics expert who brings solid academic rigor and scientific expertise in the areas of Pharmaco and Health Informatics. Dr. Wilson is passionate about education and harnesses the power of research to translate it into impactful community action. She has been with CONHI since 2020 and serves as co-director of the Multi-Interprofessional Center for Health Informatics. “Although we still lag behind, when we look at the number of women in science, we see that women are more likely to start a research career now than they were 20 years ago,” Wilson says. “As a scientist trained in chemical engineering, molecular biology and biotechnology, and computational biochemistry, I recognize that these scientific fields might not be the most popular fields for many women. This is precisely why those of us who successfully navigated through these disciplines must encourage others to do the same.” She adds, “Looking at the greatest challenges we are currently facing as we continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, the equal participation and leadership of women in the science and technology communities is a top priority. We all need to work together to smash stereotypes and ensure that women have equal access to technical, less explored, high-paying jobs. Only by working together can we help close the wage gap and motivate more participation of women in research and science.”

Dr. Jingsong Zhou

Professor Jingsong Zhou works closely with her lab members to explore the roles of calcium signaling and mitochondrial dysfunction in striated muscle pathophysiology and neuromuscular diseases, particularly Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Years ago Dr. Zhou’s lab made a discovery in the muscle defects of ALS, and her research team has been looking closely at the disease ever since. A respected leader in her field, Zhou serves as a current standing member for the NIH Center for Scientific Review’s Skeletal Muscle and Exercise Physiology Study Section. Zhou joined CONHI in 2018 and serves as the associate director for the Bone-Muscle Research Center. “I have been encouraged to see an increase in women scientist leaders throughout my academic work and services to NIH study sections,” Zhou says. “Women may face unique challenges when considering a career in science and research that their male counterparts do not. It’s important for our female students to be encouraged to obtain all avenues of support – both academically and personally – throughout their careers.” ­

These notable women researchers at CONHI are forging a path ahead for future female scientists, and we commend them for their work and dedication to their fields. They are part of the larger sum of our outstanding women researchers in the College, who are making impactful strides in research from pediatric health outcomes to cardiovascular physiology and disease prevention, and so much more in between. Join us as we celebrate all of the outstanding women researchers in CONHI: 

Kinesiology

Dr. Kyrah K. Brown, Assistant Professor. My research examines the factors that shape the birth outcomes and health of Black women across the lifespan.

Dr. Rebecca Garner, Clinical Associate Professor, BS Public Health Program Director. My passion and purpose is focused on creating positive educational experiences which contribute to student's personal and professional growth.

Dr. Jody Greaney, Assistant Professor. My research studies the neurovascular dysfunction in depression to address depression-associated cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Xiangli Gu, Assistant Professor. My research seeks to improve the health and well-being of children and adolescents.              

Dr. Chueh-Lung Hwang, Assistant Professor. My ultimate goals are to enhance human health by addressing problems that lie at the intersection of cardiovascular physiology, physical therapy, and
alcohol-related health across the lifespan.

Dr. Yeonwoo Kim, Assistant Professor. My research investigates how neighborhood environments impact health outcomes and behaviors.

Dr. Tiffany Kindratt, Assistant Professor. My research is focused on evaluating predisposing (e.g. race and ethnicity, specifically Arab Americans) and enabling (e.g. patient-provider communication, patient experience) factors that influence individuals' morbidity, mortality and use of health services with big data methodologies.           

Dr. Yue Liao, Assistant Professor. My research promotes active living using wearable sensors for chronic disease prevention.

Dr. Priscila Tamplain, Associate Professor. My research investigates the development of motor behavior in children and adolescents.

Dr. Cynthia Trowbridge, Associate Professor. My research investigates the clinical efficacy and therapeutic intervention in athletic injury.

Dr. Judy Wilson, Associate Professor. My research focuses on the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy as a tool to improve clinical outcomes, specifically stroke, as well as the physiological responses of wheelchair athletes and able-bodied athletes.

Nursing

Dr. Marion Ball, Professor. My research interests are in Health Informatics with special emphasis on Point of Care enabling technologies and adherence issues, as well as Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform.

Dr. Deborah Behan, Associate Clinical Professor. My research specializes in the Nurse Work Environment, which includes robotics to assist nurses, and mixed reality for use in teaching/training as well as patient outcomes.

Dr. Daisha Cipher, Associate Professor. My work focuses on health outcomes research, specializing in conducting research aimed at determining the causes of successful outcomes in clinical, educational, and medical settings.

Dr. Kristin Gigli, Assistant Professor. My focus is on conducting research to improve pediatric health outcomes by optimizing care delivery systems’ utilization of nurse practitioners and through evaluation of health policies.

Dr. Florence Haseltine, Presidential Distinguished Professor, Executive Director of Health Research NTGC. My research is centered around UTA's North Texas Genome Center, which is a service center for genomic sequences and has been the site of the UTA Athletic COVID-19 testing program.

Dr. Leslie Jennings, Clinical Assistant Professor. My focus includes exploring the predictive factors of nursing school success in students as well as what variables impact persistence.

Dr. Zhaoli Liu, Assistant Professor. My research focus is on promoting health and quality of life in vulnerable population, especially older adults living with chronic conditions (e.g., cancer, type II diabetes, and other comorbidities), through preventive strategies including lifestyles modification, screening, and early detection interventions.

Dr. Elizabeth Merwin, Professor, Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Innovation. My research focuses on improvements in health outcomes and reduction of health disparities in rural, minority, and vulnerable populations, using large, national health care datasets for population health studies.

Felicia Adejoke Ogidan, Clinical Assistant Professor. My research focus is investigating the best innovative educational approach that will prepare pre-licensure nursing students in delivering quality end-of-life care to the elderly population, especially those with chronic health conditions.

Dr. Jaquetta Jada Reeves, Assistant Professor. My research focus is to develop creative and innovative strategies that will improve sexual health services, increase access to high-quality care and decrease the spread of STIs and risk of HIV among at-risk populations in underserved communities.

Dr. Meagan Rogers, Clinical Assistant Professor. My research involves investigating the use of telepresence robots to mitigate COVID-related clinical experience challenges.

Dr. Jennifer Roye, Clinical Assistant Professor. My research focus is healthcare simulation. My primary areas of interest are evaluation, innovation, and learning theory related to simulation education.

Dr. Barbara Schneider, Professor. My research focuses on skeletal muscle inflammation, injury and recovery.

Dr. Yaewon Seo, Assistant Professor. My research focuses on symptom management (particularly, dyspnea), breathing pattern, functional status, quality of life, use of health care utilization and underlying bio-physiological effects of how deep and slow breathing training to reduce dyspnea and improve functional status (e.g., cardiac baroreflex sensitivity, pulse wave velocity, etc.) in patients with heart failure.

Dr. Jessica Smith, Assistant Professor. My focus is on generating knowledge about how nursing resources could be modified to result in safer care for rural communities.

Dr. Mari Tietze, Professor, Myrna R. Pickard Professorship. Grounded in the translational research approach, I have focused on research aimed at enhancing the adoption of best practices in the community, for patients, as well as for providers. Primarily, this focus has been on patient safety and quality in urban and rural areas.

Dr. Regina Urban, Assistant Professor. My research focuses on topics specific to nursing education in academic and clinical practice settings, including research that contributes to improving student success and persistence in undergraduate settings, and research concerning new graduate nurses in the transition to professional practice.

Dr. Jing Wang, Associate Professor. My research interests lie in the development of statistical models and methods for analyzing multilevel and survival data and the general statistical application.

Dr. Sharon Wilson, Clinical Assistant Professor. My research focus is exploring the connection between spirituality and health with the primary objective of examining the impact of faith-based physical activity strategies on health-related behaviors in African Americans.

 

– Written By Amanda Wenzel, Assistant Director, Marketing & Communications, CONHI