Top Student Posters from the 36th Annual Conference
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Student Poster Winner – Christine Liang, BSN
Christine Liang began her journey in nursing research as an undergraduate nursing honors student at Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. She worked with Dr. Jinbing Bai, her honors thesis mentor. During her junior year of nursing school, they began the recruitment process for a study on the associations between the gut and oral microbiome, psychosocial determinants of health, and mental health in Asian American immigrants in the greater Atlanta area. Christine developed her honors thesis on the effects of immigration and acculturation on the oral and gut microbiome and its associations with anxiety for Asian American immigrants.
Christine is a second-generation Asian immigrant and both of her parents immigrated from China to the US. She has always been interested in psychology and mental health, especially in Asian American first and second-generation immigrant populations. Asians face a specific set of cultural barriers that may prevent them from seeking out mental health services. Christine is familiar with the mental health struggles that many of her Asian peer’s face, and believes that minority mental health research will be able to aid in improving the long-term quality of life for many individuals. Dr. Bai introduced Christine to the gut-microbiome-brain axis, and she was intrigued with the potential linkages between the microbiome and the brain.
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Student Poster Winner – Laurie Dimisko, BSN, BS, RN
As a PhD student, Laurie Dimisko has been studying healthcare disparities and clinical outcomes in patients with neurological emergencies, including stroke or brain hemorrhage. Laurie's research investigates how social determinants of health, including biological sex, influence outcomes in this population. She aims to develop predictive models that guide family members and providers in complex decision-making and to help understand how healthcare disparities affect clinical outcomes. Her recent work demonstrated that, in patients undergoing thrombectomy for stroke, females fare worse in terms of outcomes than males. This difference was in part attributed to less stringent selection criteria in females. She is currently exploring the differences in recovery patterns across biological sex to determine why females demonstrate less profound post-stroke recovery. As an aspiring nurse-scientist, Laurie believes that her pursuit will allow her to uniquely address multidisciplinary aspects of complex medical decision-making and use them to rigorously investigate areas of improvement.
Laurie’s interest in neurovascular health stems from personal experiences. Her grandfather passed from a subarachnoid hemorrhage, and no one in her family really understood what was happening at the time. After this event, she left her previous career to pursue nursing. Laurie began her nursing career working in the neuro intensive care unit and developed a passion to continue to help her patients and their families, through patient advocacy, leadership and research.
Laurie plans to continue with her research interest but is always open to new opportunities. Her goals for the next five years include graduating with her PhD and APRN from Emory and completing a post-doc to develop her research skills. Eventually Laurie would like to enter the academia world to continue her research and translate the findings into clinical practice.
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Student Poster Winner – Jamie Gilley, APRN, MSN, NNP-BC
Jamie Gilley is a Board-Certified Neonatal Nurse Practitioner at Texas Children’s Hospital. She is also a PhD candidate at UT Health Cizik School of Nursing and a member of The Laboratory for Regenerative Tissue Repair at Baylor College of Medicine where she is completing her PhD laboratory coursework. Jamie’s research involves infants born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), where the diaphragm fails to form completely in utero leading to organ herniation and lung compression. CDH is also accompanied by pulmonary hypertension (PH), leading to high morbidity and mortality. Despite advances in therapy, CDH-PH remains a major medical challenge. Her research evaluates mechanisms contributing to CDH-PH at the cellular level, specifically endothelial to mesenchymal transition. Jamie’s goal after graduation is to obtain a postdoctoral position where she can continue her laboratory work on CDH-PH as a translational nurse scientist, performing bench to bedside research in the CDH population. Jamie’s lifetime career goal is to help decrease the neonatal mortality rate in CDH and improve overall outcomes. We must do more for this population, and she plans to devote her career to help these precious babies and their families.
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Alison Davis, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE
Dr. Alison Davis has been a nurse for over 20 years and during that time, she discovered her passion for nursing education and research. She comes from a family of educators: her mother taught 5th grade for 30+ years, and her father was an 8th grade counselor who taught history and was involved in research at the K-12 level. After serving as a preceptor for several years and truly enjoying helping students put theory into practice, Dr. Davis decided to formally start her journey into nursing education. In 2002, she began teaching at a small community college in Jacksonville, NC. During this time, she enrolled in the MSN Nurse Educator program at Duke University where her project focused on high-fidelity simulation. Dr. Davis’s interest in research and simulation was sparked and she decided to do even more research and obtain her PhD. She received her PhD from Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University in 2012 and the rest is history.
Dr. Davis’s program of research includes simulation, nursing education, and interprofessional education (IPE). She has also discovered an interest in mentoring, especially exploring what makes the mentoring relationship among faculty successful for the promotion of scholarship. Her recent publications include topics such as new graduate nurses and their transition into the intensive care unit setting, the impacts of long-term IPE simulation on student learning outcomes, perceptions of in-group pre-professional stereotypes during a longitudinal IPE experience, and implementing disaster simulations in an undergraduate curriculum. Dr. Davis’s clinical background is neonatal intensive care, and she was recently able to expand her research interest into women’s health through grant funding. In July 2021, she became the Project Director for the three-year HRSA grant: LSU Health Advanced Nursing Education Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Program. This grant is exciting as it provides the means to train RNs to become sexual assault nurses throughout the state of Louisiana.
Alison H. Davis, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE
Associate Professor of Clinical Nursing
Louisiana State University Health New Orleans School of Nursing (LSUHNO SON)
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Shameka L. Cody, PhD, AGNP-C
Dr. Shameka Cody is a board-certified Adult-Geriatric nurse practitioner and research scientist whose work focuses on sleep quality and cognitive function in older adults with HIV. She serves as the Principal Investigator on three externally funded grants, two funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and one funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Dr. Cody’s pilot study funded by the National Institute of Aging and University of Alabama in Birmingham’s Deep South Resource Center for Minority Aging Health examines the relationship between sleep quality and cognitive function in people with HIV (age 50+).
Dr. Cody’s research is highly interdisciplinary and community-focused. She served as a Principal Investigator/Project Director on a HRSA Opioid Planning Grant designed to expand and strengthen existing prevention, treatment, and recovery resources for adults and youth with opioid and methamphetamine use disorder in rural Alabama. Dr. Cody’s Diversity Supplement, funded in 2020 through the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, builds on her previous work with HIV, insomnia, and opioid use. She has 20+ publications in the field of HIV and aging. Dr. Cody is a manuscript reviewer for several scientific journals, and she disseminates HIV and aging research at local and international conferences. She mentors undergraduate and graduate students across disciplines.
Dr. Cody is committed to building academic-community partnerships and improving quality of life for people aging with HIV. Her passion is to inspire nurse clinicians to translate research findings into practice that directly benefits patient outcomes.
Shameka L. Cody, PhD, AGNP-C | Assistant Professor
Capstone College of Nursing, The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa
NHCGNE Distinguished Educator for Gerontological Nursing
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Nancy Crego, PhD, RN, CCRN, CHSE
Dr. Crego is an assistant professor at the Duke University School of Nursing. She is Latina, originally from Miami, Florida, and speaks Spanish fluently. Her research areas of interest include patient safety, healthcare utilization, and disparity. Most recently, her research concerns understanding and improving the quality of care of chronically ill and vulnerable adults and children, particularly those diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and reducing harms associated with pain. Dr. Crego’s broad knowledge and twenty years of clinical experience working in the acute setting with chronically ill children, adolescents, and their families has informed her work. She has expertise in the use of secondary datasets and has worked with and analyzed a number of these. She also uses qualitative methods to identify barriers to care and needs of patients with SCD, using participant survey data and individual interviews focusing on barriers and care needs of SCD patients seeking out-patient care.
Dr. Crego is currently analyzing prescription data focusing on the effect of hydroxyurea and opioid use on utilization outcomes in SCD. She also completed a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute small grant, using a clinical data set to study the relationship between fetal hemoglobin and hydroxyurea use in SCD. An understanding of this relationship will provide preliminary data for development of individualized models of hemoglobin F responsiveness that can be incorporated into future hydroxyurea adherence interventions by providing visual feedback to patients. The need for interventions targeting patient perceptions of the value and effectiveness of hydroxyurea until optimal dosing is achieved was identified as a barrier to adherence in prior qualitative work conducted by her research team.
At Duke, Dr. Crego teaches in the DNP and PhD programs and also enjoys mentoring students. She currently chairs the Faculty Governance Association Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at Duke and the Health Systems/Health Policy Research Interest Group at SNRS.
Nancy Crego, PhD, RN, CCRN, CHSE
Assistant Professor Duke University School of Nursing
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Benita Chatmon, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE
Dr. Benita N. Chatmon is an Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean for Clinical Nursing Education at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing in New Orleans, LA. She holds an appointment in the School of Graduate Studies at LSU Health New Orleans and also serves as a Nurse Researcher at Children’s Hospital New Orleans. She is currently the recipient of the Sister Henrietta Guyot Endowed Professorship in Nursing. Dr. Chatmon is a certified nurse educator, as well as a certified Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor. Dr. Chatmon has demonstrated exemplary contributions to the profession of nursing through service and mentoring and her commitment to her university community as well as the general public. She serves as President of the Epsilon Nu at Large Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, as well as President-Elect for Louisiana State Nurses Association. Dr. Chatmon also serves as a member of the Louisiana Action Coalition, the Board of Trustees for Louisiana Nurses Foundation, and the Board of Trustees for CrescentCare.
Dr. Chatmon’s research focuses on mentoring in nursing education. She is particularly interested in understanding how mentoring improves or supports success among nursing staff, faculty, and students. As the current recipient of the Sister Henrietta Guyot Endowed Professorship in Nursing, Dr. Chatmon is studying the impact of peer-to-peer mentoring among underrepresented student nurses. Other research interest includes mental health among underrepresented populations and children. In the past few years, Dr. Chatmon has received various awards. She was inducted into the Louisiana Great 100 Nurses (2017) and selected as a CityBusiness 2019 Health Care Hero. In addition, she was awarded the Daisy Award for Extraordinary Faculty in 2019. She was also nominated as a 40 under 40 nominee at her alma mater, the Southern University and A&M College as well as for the National Black Nurses Association.
Dr. Chatmon is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated and serves as Chapter President for River Parishes Alumnae Chapter. Notably, Dr. Chatmon is also a veteran of the United States Army.
Benita N. Chatmon, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE
Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing
Louisiana State University Health New Orleans School of Nursing (LSUHNO SON)
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How many times have you heard someone say, “If I just get that raise or hit that sales target, I will be happy”? Many believe that success comes first and then happiness occurs. The only problem is that this formula is flawed. If success causes happiness, then every professor who receives a promotion should be happy. This is not the case as with each victory, our goal posts of success keep moving further and further out. Happiness gets pushed over the horizon.
Research in the field of positive psychology and neuroscience has shown the relationship between success and happiness works the other way around. Happiness is the precursor to success and not the result. Happiness fuels performance. By cultivating positive brains, one is more creative, resilient, efficient, and productive which improves performance.
There are seven ways to cultivate a positive brain. (1) Meditate for 10 minutes a day. Meditation can grow the left prefrontal cortex which is the part of the brain most responsible for feeling happy. (2) Look forward to a future reward, as anticipating future rewards can light up the pleasure centers in the brain. (3) Perform deliberate acts of kindness daily such as acts of altruism which can decrease stress and enhance mental health. (4) Infuse positivity into your surroundings by placing pictures of loved ones in your office. Each time you glance at the pictures you will receive a positive emotion. (5) Participate in exercise daily. Exercise is a powerful mood booster and can enhance work performance. (6) Perform a signature strength such as giving advice or baking a cake. Each time we use a strength we experience a burst of positivity. (7) Invest in meaningful experiences and activities with others. By doing so positive emotions will be produced that are lasting and meaningful.
By implementing these interventions into your daily routine, you will begin to create a positive brain which fuels success in work and life. Happiness leads to success!
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We are happy to introduce Darchelle Excellent as the incoming Associate Editor, taking the place of Dr. Ashley Rivera. Darchelle is a rising fourth-year PhD student at the Duke University School of Nursing in Durham, North Carolina. Her research interest is broadly focused on understanding breastfeeding among Black women in order to identify how to improve opportunities for them to reach their breastfeeding goals. Darchelle’s work also highlights the importance of identifying root causes that contribute to health disparities among her population of interest. Her current dissertation work involves exploring how breastfeeding outcomes are impacted by clinician support during the postpartum stay using a respectful maternity care model as a guide. She hopes to instill the same passion she has for her research into her responsibilities for this new position. She is excited to collaborate with the SNRS team to share ideas on how to continue the work that has been established already. |
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Update from SNRS Development Committee: Dreaming Big |
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Research efforts essential to progress have been disrupted during the COVID pandemic. Amidst setbacks, a surprising bit of data emerges—philanthropic giving held steady with corporate giving increasing, particularly in the areas of human services and health organizations.
In the first quarter of 2022, more than sixty SNRS members supported nursing research: $817 in small donations, $845 in raffle tickets, and $217 for $22 for 2022. As nurse researchers, we know the power of support for an innovative idea or how a single small grant can bloom into a trajectory that moves nursing practice forward.
Your SNRS Development Committee is dreaming big. We want to expand the financial resource base available to members to help fund your research. We are envisioning an increased number of small endowments that will grow over time to support more members now and in the future. We will need your help to make this dream reality. We invite you to consider “paying it forward” with a gift as you renew and/or register for next year’s conference (details forthcoming) as we work together toward the goal of expanding research funding for members.
Drs. Demetrius Abshire, Mary Cazzell, Robin Chard, Carolyn Kleman, Lynn Rowe, Armiel Suriaga, & Jo Ann Long
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SNRS President
Elizabeth Reifsnider
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Communications Committee
Ashley Rivera, Chair
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Southern
Connections
Subcommittee
Todd Tartavoulle, Editor
Darchelle Excellent, Associate Editor
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