SCHOLAR DIRECTORY

William G. Danchanko is a 1999 graduate of the Pennsylvania State University (BS) and a 2006 Graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He is certified as both an Adult Nurse Practitioner through the ANCC as well as an Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse Practitioner through ONCC. His clinical practice areas have focused mainly on inpatient oncology as well as end-of-life and palliative care. In 2010, he deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to Kandahar, Afghanistan where he served as the Department Head of Urgent Care at the NATO Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit. Following his return, he became the Service Chief of Inpatient Oncology through the merger of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and National Naval Medical Center. He was selected for full time doctoral education in 2012 at the Uniformed Services University, where he is currently studying the impact of military grade metal alloys on skeletal tissue. He hopes to determine the long term impact of retained shrapnel on the bone health of wounded veterans. He has also been selected to attend the NINR Summer Genetics Institute held at NIH. He has received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (2 awards), the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (2 awards), the Afghanistan Campaign medal and numerous other commendations.

Krystyna de Jacq began her nursing career after graduating from Columbia University School of Nursing. She then pursued an advanced practice degree, also at Columbia University, and became a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. She is originally from Poland, but left her native country for France after graduating from high school. She studied economics in France and when she was pursuing an advanced degree, she also worked as adjunct at various French colleges, including the University of Sorbonne. She came to the USA in 1999 and viewed her relocation as a way to change fields of study and work. She pursued a B.A. in psychology, switching later to a more technical approach of psychology and become a PMHNP. She worked for the Project Renewal and The Bowery Residents’ Committee with one of the most challenging populations: New York City homeless men and women, who lived with the stigma of homelessness, mental illness and/or substance abuse. Her research interests surround trauma and resilience, mostly in under-served populations. She will undertake doctoral research studies in the area of mental health among the Veterans, with focus on the sexual/gender minority status and how the stigma and stress affect the development of resilience among this population.

Ms. Delaney is entering the DNP program at the Vanderbilt School of Nursing and will obtain training as a Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, specializing in Palliative Care. This interest has grown as an extension of her work with Veterans at the End of Life. She is a Certified Hospice Palliative Nurse and currently works as the Clinical Coordinator of the Hospice/Palliative services at a VA facility in southern Arizona. She has received two Special Contribution Awards from the Rehabilitation and Transitional Care Line at the VA during her tenure. She serves as the chairperson of Tucson’s Veteran Hospice Partnership, an organization to include community hospices in the special care of Veterans at the end of life. She represents the Palliative team on the Medical Center’s multidisciplinary Cancer Committee. With a background in working with Veterans with acute psychiatric issues, her current clinical research interest was developed by observing the need to develop interventions to assist Veterans with PTSD exacerbation at the End of Life.

Susan J. Dempsey is a doctoral student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Nursing. Ms. Dempsey also is a graduate of the UCLA Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Program. She is ANCC certified in Pain Management and is a member of ANA, ASPMN, AACN, and Sigma Theta Tau. Ms. Dempsey has a comprehensive nursing career and has practiced as a CNS in critical care, progressive care, and acute medical-surgical units. Currently, she is on faculty at the California State University, Fullerton School of Nursing, adjunct faculty at Vanguard University, and a teaching assistance at the UCLA School of Nursing. Her research interests are focused on safe, effective pain management. Populations of interest include veterans, the elderly, and vulnerable populations at risk for under-recognition and under-treatment of pain. Previous research has included reducing opioid-induced sedation and respiratory depression using the Pasero Opioid-Induced Sedation Scale (POSS) and Inter-rater reliability, ease of use and applicability of the POSS and Richmond-Agitation-Scale for patient monitoring during opioid analgesia. Ms. Dempsey’s dissertation focus is in monitoring of patients receiving opioids for acute postoperative pain management for the prevention of unintended sedation and ventilatory impairment.

As a military dependent for 23 years, daughter and sister to Air Force veterans, and sister-in-law to an active duty Marine, I have been exposed to the unique challenges and experiences confronted by those who have chosen to serve our country that may put them at risk for developing chronic pain. And, as the number of women in the military continues to increase, research investigating the mechanisms of chronic pain in these women is imperative as their needs may differ from the general female population. As a first step in achieving these goals, I will be investigating the neurophysiological underpinnings of chronic urogenital pain in women as part of my dissertation study. Although not exclusive to female veterans, this study will provide me with the necessary training to conduct a comprehensive neurosensory evaluation of different chronic pain phenotypes. Throughout my doctoral education, I have been and will continue to participate in research, coursework, and seminars in order to broaden the breadth and depth of my knowledge about molecular biology, human genetics, and neuroscience as they relate to pain. These educational experiences in conjunction with my previous and current research and clinical experiences in nursing and psychology have provided me with a variety of research skills in bench, translational, clinical, and social science research. Ultimately, I plan to utilize these experiences to develop a program of research focusing on my own research agenda in providing mechanistic insight into the chronic pain experienced by female military and military veterans.