Nursing Science

The Department of Nursing Science is a collaboration between Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College and the School of Medicine at Washington University. The Goldfarb School of Nursing emphasizes the reciprocation among research, clinical practice, and teaching based on the belief that clinical practice advises research, research advises clinical practice, and both research and clinical practice advise teaching. The school’s commitment to the preparation of the next generation of nurse scientists is reflected in the strong research emphasis of the PhD program in the science of nursing.

The goal of the PhD program is to educate nurse scientists whose career goals include conducting nursing research. Students bring a unique combination of nursing knowledge and clinical experiences to doctoral study, and these serve as the basis for the development of programs of study that are both compatible with the core doctoral curriculum and individualized to allow for the gaining of in-depth knowledge in a specialized area of study. The PhD in Nursing Science provides a solid foundation for graduates to pursue rigorous programs of nursing research that are clinically significant and contribute to the advancement of nursing science.

Contact:	Judith Frain
Phone:	314-362-3316
Email:	jfrain@wustl.edu
Website:	https://www.barnesjewishcollege.edu/doctoral-degree/phd-nursing-science/

Deborah Birk, PhD, RN, MHA, NEA-BC, is the Director of the Health Systems and Population Health Leadership concentration in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program and Assistant Professor at Goldfarb School of Nursing. Dr. Birk’s program of research involves executive nursing leadership and quality of nurse leaders in health systems.

Research interests: Executive nursing leadership, health systems, population health, health policy, women’s health, nursing curriculum, evidence-based practice, quality improvement in health care, and emotional intelligence and resilience in health-care leaders

Maryann Bozzette, PhD, RN, CLC, is an Associate Professor at Goldfarb School of Nursing. Dr. Bozzette's program of research is focused on the perceptual and social development of premature infants, developmentally supportive care, and parent-infant interaction.

Research interests: Sensory interventions for premature infants, biomedical measures, observational research, attachment, breastfeeding high-risk infants, and early communication behaviors of premature infants

Mary Curtis, PhD, DNP, RN, is the Director of the Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner concentration in the Master of Science in Nursing program and a Professor at Goldfarb School of Nursing. Dr. Curtis is a certified adult and family care nurse practitioner whose clinical practice focuses on adult primary care with an emphasis on end-of-life, palliative, and hospice care.

Research interests: Injury prevention interventions, quality, safety, end-of-life care, health promotion, and action research/scholarship of teaching and learning

Sarah Farabi, PhD, RN, is an Assistant Professor at Goldfarb School of Nursing. Dr. Farabi’s program of research is focused on understanding the biobehavioral mechanisms underlying obesity. She has a particular interest in the influence of diet and sleep on metabolic disturbances.

Research interests: Obesity, diet, sleep, diabetes, nurse-led interventions, and pregnancy

Judy Frain, PhD, RN, is the Director of the PhD in Nursing Science program and an Associate Professor at Goldfarb School of Nursing. Dr. Frain’s program of research is focused on improving quality of life in older adults, with an emphasis on those living with HIV.

Research interests: Symptom science, self-management of chronic disease, quality of life, and examining the intersection of aging and chronic disease

Heidi Holtz, PhD, RN, is an Assistant Professor at Goldfarb School of Nursing. Dr. Holtz was a research fellow at Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. Dr. Holtz’s program of research focuses on nursing students’ experiences and the consequences of faculty incivility, with a special interest in researching the construct of moral resilience and applying that research to develop innovative approaches to foster moral resilience in health-care environments.

Research interests: Civility in nursing, moral resilience among health-care professionals, and burnout among health-care professionals

James R. Kennett, PhD, RN, is an Assistant Professor at Goldfarb School of Nursing. Dr. Kennett’s program of research is focused on living with chronic illness and improving health-care outcomes.

Research interests: Theory development, chronic illness, the patient/provider relationship, collaborative research, engineering principles used in health care, communication patterning, behavior patterning, and the application of intermodernism

Pamela Newland, PhD, RN, CMSRN, is an Associate Professor at Goldfarb School of Nursing. Dr. Newland is a nurse scientist with expertise in symptom science and self-management in persons with disabilities and chronic conditions.

Research interests: Designing self-management interventions, validating patient-reported outcome measures, shared decision making, examining biobehavioral and quality improvement, promoting health and well-being, mobile health technology, and mixed methods

MaryAnn Niemeyer, PhD, MSN, RN-BC, is an Assistant Professor at Goldfarb School of Nursing. Dr. Niemeyer’s program of research investigates the improvement of safety and quality of nursing practice and health care. She is also interested in simulation research for the improvement of nursing practice, especially regarding practice and decision making.

Research interests: Health-care simulation research, failure-to-rescue research, nursing care handoffs, medical errors, clinical outcomes, and principles and techniques to promote patient health, communication, safety, comfort, and care quality

Amy Piontek, PhD, RN, CHES, is an Assistant Professor at Goldfarb School of Nursing. Dr. Piontek’s program of research is on the improvement of patient and caregiver self-efficacy in managing end-of-life symptoms through education and early referral to palliative and hospice programs.

Research interests: Creating effective virtual and simulation learning environments for nursing students, exploring technology to improve student engagement, and designing outreach platforms for health educators to educate the general population about end-of-life and palliative care options

Dominic Reeds, MD, is the Associate Dean for Research at Goldfarb School of Nursing and the Associate Director of Washington University’s Nutrition and Obesity Research Center and Center for Diabetes Translation Research. He is a Professor in the Geriatrics and Nutritional Science Division at Washington University School of Medicine, and he is Director of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Nutrition Support Service. Dr. Reeds is Director of Washington University’s KL2 program and Co-Director of the Master of Science in Clinical Investigation. His research focuses on the pathogenesis of HIV-associated diabetes and obesity.

Research interests: Clinical nutrition; diabetes and metabolism; prevention, pathogenesis, and management of cardiometabolic risk factors, including obesity, hypertension, and HIV; and nurse-led implementation science programs for the management of hypertension and diabetes

Nancy Ridenour, PhD, APRN, FAAN, is the President of Goldfarb School of Nursing. Dr. Ridenour’s program of research is focused on increasing health equity using health policy, population health and primary care.

Research interests: Advanced practice nursing, access and quality in primary care, underserved populations, global health, and health policy

Judy Smith, PhD, RN, GCNS-BC, is the Assistant Dean of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program at Goldfarb School of Nursing. Dr. Smith’s program of applied research addresses adults who are impacted by aging and its accompanying losses utilizing a biopsychosocial approach.

Research interests: Loneliness, dementia, and delirium and how these common geriatric syndromes impact the holistic health of older adults

Po-Yin Yen, PhD, RN, is an Associate Professor at Goldfarb School of Nursing and an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Medical Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Yen’s program of research is focused on applied clinical informatics research to promote a user-friendly health information technology environment for clinicians and patients.

Research interests: Clinical informatics, usability, technology acceptance, human-computer interaction, user-centered design, mixed methods, literature mining, data visualization, workflow analysis, and time and motion study

Program Chair

Judy Frain
Director, PhD in Nursing Science Program
Associate Professor
PhD, University of Missouri–St. Louis

Associate Dean for Research

Dominic Reeds
Associate Dean for Research, Goldfarb School of Nursing
Associate Director, Washington University’s Nutrition
   and Obesity Research Center
   and Center for Diabetes Translation Research
Professor, Geriatrics and Nutritional Science Division,
   Washington University School of Medicine
Director, Barnes-Jewish Hospital Nutrition Support Service
MD, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Faculty

Deborah Birk
Assistant Professor
Director, Health Systems & Population Health
Leadership concentration, Doctor of Nursing Practice program
PhD, University of Missouri

Maryann Bozzette
Associate Professor
PhD, University of Washington–Seattle

Mary Curtis
Professor
Director, Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
concentration, Doctor of Nursing Practice program
PhD, Saint Louis University

Sarah Farabi
Assistant Professor
PhD, University of Illinois–Chicago

Heidi Holtz
Assistant Professor
PhD, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis

James Kennett
Assistant Professor
PhD, University of San Diego

Pamela Newland
Associate Professor
PhD, University of Missouri–Columbia

MaryAnn Niemeyer
Assistant Professor
PhD, University of Missouri–Columbia

Tamara Otey
Assistant Professor
PhD, Indiana University

Amy Piontek
Assistant Professor
PhD, Southern Illinois University–Carbondale

Nancy Ridenour
President and Professor, Goldfarb School of Nursing
PhD, Texas Tech University

Mayola Rowser
Dean and Professor, Goldfarb School of Nursing
PhD, University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Judy Smith
Assistant Dean and Professor, Undergraduate Nursing Program
PhD, Saint Louis University

Po-Yin Yen
Associate Professor, Goldfarb School of Nursing
Associate Professor, Institute of Informatics,
Washington University School of Medicine
PhD, Columbia University

Visit online course listings to view semester offerings for M93 NrsSci.

M93 NrsSci 510 Sympton Science and Precision Health Care: Omics and Big Data

This course focuses on symptom science as a major branch of nursing research as it relates to precision healthcare. Precision healthcare considers individual variability in genes, environment and lifestyles. An introduction to the omic sciences, big data science, and their relationships is also provided.

Credit 3 units.

Nursing Science

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