When you participate in a research training program at IU School of Nursing, you join an elite group. These pre- and postdoctoral fellowships prepare you to conduct high-impact research, lead interdisciplinary teams, and create innovative approaches to the management of chronic conditions as you work with recognized nurse scientists to increase your knowledge and acquire intense research experience.
Predoctoral Fellow
Programs: Indiana University Leadership Education in Adolescent Health (IU LEAH)
Faculty Advisor: Kelly Wierenga, PhD, MSN, BSN, RN, FAHA
Jennifer is a predoctoral research fellow who is passionate about supporting self-management among individuals with type 2 diabetes. She is interested in how health beliefs and family health communication influence individuals’ self-management of their type 2 diabetes. Jennifer has worked as a research assistant at Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Nursing for five years, contributing to numerous studies and serving as a nurse interventionist. She aims to develop educational interventions and health campaigns that promote diabetes self-management and aid individuals in avoiding complications. In 2020, Jennifer graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor's degree in Nursing with honors and highest distinction. She also a past research fellow on the IU School of Nursing NIH T32 grant (Advanced Training in Self-Management Interventions for Serious Chronic Conditions).
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program: Interdisciplinary Training in Cancer Prevention and Control (NCI T32)
Faculty Advisor: Sheri L. Robb, PhD, MT-BC
Elizabeth Harman, PhD, MT-BC, is a postdoctoral research scholar focused on the development and testing of music-based interventions that mitigate the impact of medical trauma for children experiencing invasive medical treatment and their families. Dr. Harman has extensive clinical experience as a music therapist working in the pediatric hospital setting and earned her master's and PhD at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program: Interdisciplinary Training in Cancer Prevention and Control (NCI T32)
Faculty Advisor: Catherine Mosher, PhD
Shieun Lee received her MPH degree and PhD at Indiana University Bloomington. Shieun’s research interests include identifying subgroups of cannabis using cancer patients that may warrant different approaches to clinical care and characterizing longitudinal relations between cannabis use and symptom outcomes for patients undergoing cancer treatment.
Predoctoral Fellow
Program: Interdisciplinary Training in Cancer Prevention and Control (NCI T32)
Faculty Advisor: Douglas Landsittel, PhD
Jonas Ndeke comes to us from Central Michigan University, where he graduated with a Master's in Public Health. He holds a graduate certificate in secondary teaching and a medical degree from the University of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He is currently an Epidemiology Ph.D. candidate within the School of Public Health at Indiana University Bloomington. He's part of our Interdisciplinary Training in Cancer Prevention and Control T32 program, which allows him to continue researching evidence-based epidemiological approaches to improve cancer prevention and outcomes, particularly among underserved populations and in low-resource settings. His current research focuses on cervical cancer patient survival outcomes in the DRC, among others by characterizing patient treatment trajectories. He enjoys traveling, watching documentary films, and playing soccer in his spare time.
Predoctoral Fellow
Program: Community Outreach and Engagement Diversity Scholars
Faculty Advisor: Todd Skaar, PhD
Wilberforce obtained a Doctor of Pharmacy at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Boston. He is currently a Clinical Pharmaceutical Science Ph.D. Student within the School of Pharmacy at Purdue University. His current research focuses on the discovery and implementation of genomic predictors of drug response. In his spare time, he enjoys watching basketball, playing soccer, and traveling.
Predoctoral Fellow
Program: Interdisciplinary Training in Cancer Prevention and Control (NCI T32)
Faculty Advisor: Karen Hudmon, DrPH
Yejin (Jin) Seo is a licensed pharmacist and PhD student in Health Services, Outcomes, and Policy at Purdue University. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her MS from Purdue University. Jin’s research aim is to improve the health outcomes of cancer patients, particularly those receiving orally administered anticancer medications. She employed a participatory co-design approach to develop patient and family-centered interventions that address unmet medication management needs in cancer care. She is currently working on further developing these interventions with the goal of implementing them in clinical settings.
Predoctoral Fellow
Program: Interdisciplinary Training in Cancer Prevention and Control (NCI T32)
Faculty Advisor: Catherine Mosher, PhD
Stella Snyder is a third-year student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at IU Indianapolis. She earned her B.S. in Biology from The University of Saint Francis and her M.S. from Purdue Fort Wayne. She worked for three years in Behavioral Science at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her research focuses on financial toxicity due to cancer treatment and the development and evaluation of psychosocial interventions for cancer patients and their caregivers. Her research aims to explore mindfulness-based interventions, such as acceptance and commitment therapy, to enhance emotion regulation and adjustment to cancer, ultimately improving quality-of-life outcomes for patients. Key outcomes of interest include the reduction of psychological distress and physical symptoms. Stella’s future research will investigate emotional expression and regulation and the potential benefits of supportive resources like meaning-making, mindfulness, and social support in psychosocial intervention trials.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program: Interdisciplinary Training in Cancer Prevention and Control (NCI T32)
Faculty Advisor: Victoria Champion, PhD, RN, FAAN
Christa Torrisi is a T32 postdoctoral research fellow with research interests in cancer previvorship advocacy; decision-making and outcomes surrounding cancer prevention and risk-reduction; and supporting psychosocial aspects of cancer survivorship and previvorship, particularly in young people living in rural and medically underserved areas. She has worked as a nurse for over 15 years, earning her PhD in nursing from the University of Missouri, Columbia in 2024.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program: Interdisciplinary Training in Cancer Prevention and Control (NCI T32)
Faculty Advisor: Victoria Champion, PhD, RN, FAAN
Jeanne Ward is from Louisville, KY, and she earned her Bachelor degree at Washington University and her Master degrees and PhD from the University of Louisville. She has experience as an oncology nurse and with rural cancer and suicide prevention efforts. Her research interests concern rural disparities and the factors associated with the wellbeing of cancer caregivers and patients. Dr. Ward also has worked in communications and consulting and recently led a statewide rural health promotion campaign in Kentucky.
Predoctoral Fellow
Program: Interdisciplinary Training in Cancer Prevention and Control (NCI T32)
Faculty Advisor: Sheri L. Robb, PhD, MT-BC
Betsey is a predoctoral research fellow building a program of research at the intersection of cancer survivorship, stress reduction and music therapy. She is interested in how the reduction of stress through active participation in music can affect feelings of loneliness for cancer survivors.
Betsey has worked in the field of music and music therapy for 20 years. In 2008 Betsey founded the Cincinnati-based non-profit, Melodic Connections. She spent the next 12 years building a team of music therapists, music educators and musicians at Melodic Connections. Together they created partnerships with key institutions in the city like the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, The Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Cincinnati, and Cincinnati Public Schools. In 2020, 2021 and 2022 she has been a regular speaker at professional conferences, conceptualizing the intersection of music and resilience for the practitioner.
Betsey received her BM in Music Therapy from the University of Iowa. She has an MM in Oboe Performance from University of Cincinnati, College Conservatory of Music and her MEd from University of Cincinnati in Special Education.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program: IU School of Nursing Fellowship
Faculty Advisor: Rebecca J. Bartlett Ellis, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, FAAN
Sarah is a postdoctoral research fellow focused on medication adherence, habits, and mental health in chronic diseases. Her postdoctoral research aims to develop behavioral interventions toward better habits and mental states for persons living with chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. In addition to her BSN and MSN in nursing from IUI, Sarah has a BA in Psychology and earned her PhD at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Sarah’s dissertation studied the relationships of illness perceptions, fear of recurrence, and perceived stress in acute myocardial infarction survivors.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program: The Center for Enhancing Quality of Life in Chronic Illness (CEQL)
Faculty Advisor: Janet S. Carpenter, PhD, RN, FAAN
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program: Advanced Training in Self-Management Interventions for Serious Chronic Conditions (T32)
Faculty Advisor: Kelly Wierenga, PhD, MSN, BSN, RN, FAHA
Research Focus: Improving chronic disease outcomes by addressing physical activity behaviors in older adults.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program: Dean's Diversity Fellows
Faculty Advisor: Robin Newhouse, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
Research Focus: Intervention development using a relational coordination training intervention to improve staff outcomes among healthcare professionals in the intensive care unit
Predoctoral Fellow
Program: Advanced Training in Self-Management Interventions for Serious Chronic Conditions (T32)
Faculty Advisor: Susan Rawl, PhD, RN, FAAHB, FAAN
Research Focus: SPADE (Sleep disturbance, Pain, Anxiety, Depression, and low Energy/fatigue) symptom management and self-management in adolescents with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)
Predoctoral Fellow
Program: Advanced Training in Self-Management Interventions for Serious Chronic Conditions (T32)
Faculty Advisor: Wendy Trueblood Miller, PhD, RN, CNS, CCRN, FAAN, FAES
Research Focus: Improving bowel self-management for adults with spina bifida
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program: Advanced Training in Self-Management Interventions for Serious Chronic Conditions (T32)
Faculty Advisor: Susan Rawl, PhD, RN, FAAHB, FAAN
Research Focus: Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction among Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program: Dean's Diversity Fellows
Faculty Advisor: Robin Newhouse, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
Research Focus: Evaluating associations between the occurrence of palpitations and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in neurotransmitter and potassium channel genes in women with breast cancer
Predoctoral Fellow
Program: Advanced Training in Self-Management Interventions for Serious Chronic Conditions (T32)
Faculty Advisor: Wendy Trueblood Miller, PhD, RN, CNS, CCRN, FAAN, FAES
Research Focus: Self-management among people diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program: Advanced Training in Self-Management Interventions for Serious Chronic Conditions (T32)
Faculty Advisor: Susan Pressler, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN
Research Focus: Construct a phenotype of pain in heart failure (HF) from a biologic and behavioral perspective which will be used as a foundation for novel self management interventions for pain
Predoctoral Fellow
Program: Advanced Training in Self-Management Interventions for Serious Chronic Conditions (T32)
Faculty Advisor: Wendy Trueblood Miller, PhD, RN, CNS, CCRN, FAAN, FAES
Research Focus: Experiences of African American/Black women with self-management of cardiovascular disease following pregnancy complicated by hypertensive disorders of pregnancy
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program: Advanced Training in Self-Management Interventions for Serious Chronic Conditions (T32)
Faculty Advisor: Wendy Trueblood Miller, PhD, RN, CNS, CCRN, FAAN, FAES
Research Focus: Adolescent Self-, Family-, and School-Management of Functional (Nonepileptic) Seizures.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program: Advanced Training in Self-Management Interventions for Serious Chronic Conditions (T32)
Faculty Advisors: Yvonne Lu, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN & Eileen Hacker, PhD, APRN, AOCN, FAAN
Research Focus: Behavioral interventions for improving quality of life for older adults in long-term care settings
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program: Advanced Training in Self-Management Interventions for Serious Chronic Conditions (T32)
Faculty Advisor: Wendy Trueblood Miller, PhD, RN, CNS, CCRN, FAAN, FAES
Research Focus: Development of a patient-tailored leisure activity intervention for people living with HIV who have neurocognitive decline
