Postdoctoral research fellows
Mentoring the next generation nurse researchers
Postdoctoral fellows focus on their scholarship with the benefit of strong mentoring relationships, helping develop the next generation of exceptional nurse researchers.
Dr. Amanda Bettencourt
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Bettencourt is a pediatric clinical nurse specialist and passionate advocate for nurses and nursing practice. Her primary research focus is implementation science, specifically, exploring the factors influencing the research-to-practice gap in critical care settings, and testing implementation strategies targeting the interprofessional team to improve the uptake of evidence-based care.
Dr. Jade Burns
Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Dr. Burns has more than 10 years of experience working with youth (ages 0-21) in a variety of clinical, community-based and academic settings. Her research is centered on innovative approaches using community-engaged research and technology (e.g., social media, mobile apps, messaging) to improve healthcare and sexual health outcomes among adolescents at community health care centers. Her secondary area of interest is improving nursing practice and training programs in underserved areas.
Dr. Kevin Joiner
Ph.D., University of California, San Franciso
Dr. Joiner’s research interests center on prevention of type 2 diabetes and improvement of health outcomes of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and the development of self-management interventions for populations that do not have adequate access to preventive and primary care health services. He is currently working to develop and pilot test a Spanish-language type 2 diabetes prevention self-management support intervention that is sensitive to unique Latinx cultural preferences and accessible to individuals who have limited English proficiency.
Dr. Sarah Peitzmeier
Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
Dr. Peitzmeier's research is in mixed-method research in public health, gender based violence, HIV/STI, LGBT health, and cervical cancer screening among sexual and gender minorities.
D. Anthony Tolentino
Ph.D., The University of Arizona
Dr. Tolentino has expertise in user experience with the EHR, health information technology life cycle, and EHR education principles. He uses the data-information-knowledge (DIK) model as his guiding framework in his practice as an informatics nurse. His dissertation research expanded nursing knowledge by examining nurses’ EHR workflow using data mining techniques namely Markov chain analysis and sequential pattern mining. Dr. Tolentino’s goal as a National Clinical Scholar fellow is to develop culturally-tailored, technology-based interventions for Filipinx-/Americans with Type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Alison Walsh
Ph.D., University of Michigan
Dr. Walsh’s research interests center around social network analysis, specifically, how individual and structural social features can encourage or inhibit behavior change. She is particularly interested in the application of network theory to enhance behavioral intervention adherence and effectiveness.
International Visiting Fellows
UMSN's global collaboration through the International Visiting Scholars program and the Fogarty International Training Program for Strengthening Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training Capacity, co-funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research (Grant No: 1D43TW009883-01) brings researchers from all over the world to campus.