University of Michigan School of Nursing

Janis M. Miller

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Dr. Janis Miller, Associate Professor, School of Nursing

Janis M. Miller, PhD, ANP-BC

Associate Professor
Research Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, U-M Medical School
Division of Health Promotion and Risk Reduction (Division II)
Room 3218

University of Michigan School of Nursing
400 North Ingalls Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5482

Telephone: (734) 764-4545
Fax: (734) 615-1666

Scholarly Expertise / Activity

Interests:

  • Recovery from tissue trauma of the pelvic floor (bone, muscle, nerve) from obstetric labor complication with secondary prevention of pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence
  • Mechanistic insights about behavioral treatment of urinary incontinence
  • Effects of dietary intake, type and amount of beverages, in relation to lower urinary tract symptoms such as overactive bladder or urge incontinence
  • Race, posture, and load related stressors as they affect pelvic floor function
  • Ectopic ureters and subsequent hydronephrosis in canines

Dr. Miller's expertise lies in the treatment of pelvic floor disorders in women, such as pelvic organ prolapse, incontinence, or pain. As an investigator within the Pelvic Floor Research Group at the University of Michigan Health System, an internationally recognized team working to improve the understanding and treatment of pelvic floor disorders, Dr. Miller is part of the team whose research findings have produced cutting edge prevention and treatment strategies in nursing practice. In her own practice as a Nurse Practitioner, Dr. Millers draws on her particular expertise, working at the Taubman Obstetrics & Gynecology pelvic floor specialty clinic, which includes the Michigan Healthy Healing after Delivery Program.

Current Research Grants and Programs:

  • P50 HD HD044406-05 (DeLancey; Miller PI project 2), 09/31/07 – 07/31/12 NIH/NICHD/ORWH, ~$4,011,761 direct costs ($5,901,308 with indirects), Maternal Birth-Related Neuromuscular Injury and Recovery II, Common Name: Evaluating Maternal Recovery from Labor and Delivery II (EMRLD2) Supporting Project 2: $904,368 direct costs (~$1,330,385 with indirects) Goal: 1) Determine the validity of commonly accepted risk factors for PCM injury and variance in injury type, 2) Distinguish between pregnancy and vaginal birth as primary contributor to PCM alterations post birth, 3) Test if clinical parameters early postpartum predict long-term PCM muscle outcome, and 4) Further define what constitutes a woman being at high risk for long-term pelvic floor disorders associated with birth.
  • Pfizer Investigator Initiated Award (Brown, Miller Site PI)06/01/08 – 12/31/09, Pfizer $175,228 with indirects, Bringing simple urge incontinence diagnosis & treatment to providers, Common Name: BRIDGES, Goal: To determine if responses to a simple questionnaire can provide an accurate diagnosis of urge incontinence and to determine if fesoterodine is more effective than placebo in reducing the frequency of urge urinary incontinence.
  • 2U01NR004061 15A1 (Sowers; Miller Co-Investigator)5/1/09 – 4/30/14, NIH/NINR, $3,985,814 with indirects, Perimenopause, Bone and Arthritis in African Americans, Common Name: Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN IV Michigan), Goal: To continue to characterize the impact of menopause among Caucasian and African American women in relation to bone status, arthritis and blood pressure. (UR)
  • Institute of Research on Women and Gender (Seng; Miller Co-Investigator), 1/10-5/11, IRWG, $8,5000, Could the ‘Love Hormone,’ Oxytocin, Be a Mechanism of Pain in Pelvic Tissues?, Common Name: Oxytocin tissue study, Goal: The research question to answer is whether there are oxytocin receptors on smooth muscle sites from the bladder, urethra, fallopian tube, and perineum. We aim to answer the question by PCR work on mRNA harvested from cadaver tissue.

Affiliations / Service

  • Reviewer, Journal of Wound Ostomy Continence Nurses, 2002-current
  • Reviewer, International SportMed Journal, 2003-non-active
  • Reviewer, Neurourology and Urodynamics, 2005-current
  • Reviewer, Journal of Women's Health, 2005-current
  • Reviewer, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2007-current
  • Reviewer, International Urogynecology Journal, 2007-current
  • Reviewer, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 2008-current
  • Reviewer, International Journal of Clinical Practice, 2009-current
  • Reviewer, BJU International, 2009-current
  • Advanced Practice Advisor - Overactive Bladder (OAB), Watson Pharma, Inc., 2004-current
  • SWAN New Study Committee, 2006-current
  • Medical Advisory Board, Women’s Health Foundation , 2007-current
  • Conservative Treatment Research Group, International Continence Society Advisory, 2007-current
  • Executive Committee and Publications/Presentations Committee, BRIDGES, 2007-current
  • Study Design, Johnson & Johnson, 2009-current

Notable Awards / Honors

  • First Prize for Epidemiology and Outcomes (co-author on the abstract), International Continence Society - 35th Annual Meeting , 2005
  • George Padgett Award for most significant contribution to health of the Entlebucher Mountain dog, 2009
  • Exemplary Team Award, University of Michigan, 2008
  • Poster Honorable Mention, NIDDK Symposium Clinical Research, 2009
  • Best Poster Award, American Urogynecology, 2009
  • Best Paper Award, American Urogynecology, 2009

Education

  • Post-Master's Certificate ANP, School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2001
  • Postdoc, Institute of Gerontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 1999
  • PhD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 1996
  • MSN, Loyola University of Chicago, IL, 1988
  • BSN, Goshen College, Goshen, IN, 1981

Publication Highlights

  • Chakravarthy V, Tolbert M, Garcia CE, Miller JM. Overactive bladder and caffeine: comparing women with and without mental health diagnoses. IJUN 2010; 4(1):13-21. (award winning poster presentation of 600+ in 2008 UROP student presentation day).
  • Delancey JO, Fenner DE, Guire K, Patel DA, Howard D, Miller JM. Differences in continence system between community dwelling black and white women with and without urinary incontinence in the EPI study. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2010; 202(6):584 (award winning best paper from 2009 American Urogynecologic Society)
  • Miller JM, Brandon C, Jacobson J, Kane-Low L, Zielinski R., Ashton-Miller J, DeLancey J. MRI findings in patients at high risk for pelvic floor injury studied serially post-vaginal childbirth. Am J Roentgenol 2010; 195(3): 786-91. PMID:20729461.
  • Kearney R, Mbehan, Keane D, Miller JM, Delancey J, Co'herlihy: Levator ani injury in primiparous women with forceps delivery for fetal distress, forceps for second stage arrest, and spontaneous delivery. Internat'l J. of Gynecol & Obstet; 2010; 111(1): 19-22.
  • North C, Kruger J, Venta P, Miller JM, Winkler P, Rosenstein D, Randall E, Fitzgerald S Congential ureteral ectopia in continent and incontinent related Entlebucher mountain dogs: 13 cases (2006-2009). J. of Veterinary Medicine. 2010; 4(5):1055-62. PMID: 20666980.
  • Zielinski R, Ackerson K, Misiunas R, Miller JM. Feasibility of a longitudinal study of women anticipating first pregnancy and assessed by multiple pelvic exams: Recruitment and retention challenges. Contemporary Clinical Trials 2010; 31(6): 544-8. PMID: 20713182.
  • Miller JM, Guo Y. S. Becker-Rodseth S. Diary data subjected to cluster analysis of intake/output/void habits with resulting clusters compared by continence status, age, race. Nursing Research 2011; 60(2):115-123.
  • Zielinski R, Kane-Low L, Miller JM. Validity and reliability of a scale to measure genital body image. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 2011;**(in press).
  • Berger M, Fenner D, Patel D, Miller J, DeLancey J. Racial differences in self-reported healthcare seeking and treatment for urinary incontinence in community-dwelling women from the EPI study. Neurourol Urdodyn. 2011;**(in press). (Award winning second place fellow scientific poster presentation of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, MI section, annual junior fellow research day, 2010.)
  • Brincat C, DeLancey JO, Miller JM. Does urethral closure pressure differ between women with and without levator ani muscle defects after first birth? Neurourol Urodyn (in press).
  • Miller J. “The Knack maneuver”: Video instruction in the skill of contracting the pelvic floor muscles at the right time to prevent urine leakage. JOVE (accepted pending revisions).
  • Thomas, A. Low LK, Tumbarello JA, Miller JM, Fenner DE, DeLancey JO. Changes in self-assessment of continence status between telephone survey and subsequent clinical visit. Neurourol Urodyn 2009; 26:1–7. PMID: 19816917 (note award winning abstract from 2005 International Continence Society).
  • Yousuf AA, DeLancey JO, Brandon CJ, Miller JM. Pelvic structure and function at 1 month compared to 7 months by dynamic magnetic resonance after vaginal birth. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2009;201(5):514.e1-7. PMID: 19683686. (note award winning best poster from 2009 American Urogynecologic Society)
  • Brincat C, Lewicky-Gaupp C, Patel D, Sampselle C, Miller JM, DeLancey JO, Fenner D. Fecal incontinence in pregnancy and postpartum. Int J Gynec Obstet, 2009;106(3): 236-8. PMID: 19481750.
  • Miller J, Sampselle C, Ashton-Miller J, Son G, DeLancey J. Clarification and confirmation of the Knack maneuver: the effect of volitional pelvic floor muscle contraction to preempt expected stress incontinence. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dyfunct. 2008;19(6):773-782. PMID: 18204797.