ALUMNI DIRECTORY

I am veteran, a military spouse, and a Staff Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) working for the Department of the Army. I left my native Germany when I was 21 years old and have lived in and around the military ever since. In the process of my travels I obtained degrees in Public Administration/Information Management and Management, before settling into a career as a nurse and CNM. As a CNM I am privileged to care for our military members and their families during one of the most vulnerable times in their life – pregnancy, labor, and birth. However, in maternity care, interventions are often guided by tradition and convenience rather than evidence. My research goal is to determine if there are specific observable neonatal behaviors immediately after birth that can help us determine that neonates successfully transitioned to extrauterine life. This will help us to further research how common intrapartum interventions may affect these behaviors. However, midwifery care is more than providing care. It is a philosophy that is based on the idea of women’s choice – something that sometimes gets forgotten in a large, bureaucratic health care system like the military. My long-term goal is to help create a women’s friendly health care system. Decisions in Women’s Health Care ought to be made by women. As a Jonas Scholar I hope that I will be able to become and be the women’s support and voice so that they can feel safe to make that choice.

I am a PhD student at the University of Colorado, Denver – Anschutz Medical Campus in my third year. My research interests are in health care systems and access to care, specifically for persons living with HIV. My career goals include the generation of knowledge, and the development and implementation of health policy at the national level that supports comprehensive and coordinated care across the health care delivery system. Through my professional experience in HIV service delivery, I have a wealth of expertise in the development, implementation and evaluation of urban, community and clinical models for HIV diagnosis and linkage to care in under-served populations.

Jennifer Min is a PhD candidate at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Her research interest is identifying barriers to adherence to medication, diet and exercise for management of type 1 diabetes among adolescents. This focus has grown from her experience in caring for children and adolescents with diabetes most recently in her position within the pediatric endocrinology division at Stanford. She previously worked at the pediatric intensive care unit at the Golisano Children’s Hospital in Rochester, NY and then at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. Her education includes an undergraduate degree in human biology from the University of California San Diego (UCSD), a BSN/RN-BC from the University of Rochester and an MSN/C-PNP from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau, and a scholarship recipient of the Adrienne H. Molseley Merit Scholarship from UCLA, and the Graduate Dean’s Health Sciences Fellowship from UCSF.

I am currently working on my PhD in Nursing. My current area of research is on the influence of distress on type 2 diabetes but I will likely investigate the influence of distress on the development of other prominent disease conditions, and or cost-effective interventions to prevent prominent disease conditions, following my dissertation. My educational preparation includes several courses on research method, theory, and biostatistics. Relevant work experience includes a pilot study on the the relationship between psychological stress, rephrased as distress for my dissertation, and the development of type 2 diabetes. In regards to my research on the influence of distress on the development of type 2 diabetes, I received a Discovery Award for extramural research from the institution where I work.

Currently enrolled at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, I am a DNP-PMHNP student in the Class of 2018. As the genesis of my passion for mental health nursing, I graduated from the University of Memphis with my BSN summa cum laude while also receiving all awards given at Nursing Convocation. Additionally, I have recently self-enrolled in Neuroscience Education Institute’s Master Psychopharmacology Program. From working at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, to psychiatric hospitals and intensive residential treatment centers, I have dedicated my life to improving the lives of some of the most vulnerable and marginalized populations. As part of underrepresented areas of nursing as a male, Hispanic, LBGTQ member, and from a disadvantaged background, I want to utilize this unique, millennial-tinted lens as a nursing leader to shape the future of healthcare. Specifically, I envision nearly endless opportunities to innovatively integrate technology in mental health and education. I aim to harness emerging research and technologies to improve outcomes, engagement, and efficiency. To meet patients’ needs, both on individual and broader levels, I want to explore the evidence in novel approaches to mental healthcare: artificial intelligence, virtual reality, mobile applications, social media, and more. Beyond clinical practice, I also want to serve as faculty, focusing on developing innovative course content and curricula for future nurses. Recognized for creating such inventive student presentations at UTHSC, I have been given the opportunity to work with current faculty who are leaders in the field in developing competency-based e-learning activities.