Faculty Research Portfolio (Ph.D. List)

REBECCA BONI, PhD, MSN, RN, ACCNS-AG, OCN

Assistant Professor

Rebecca Boni is an adult-gerontological clinical nurse specialist who primarily specializes in acute oncology care. She has clinical experience with oncology, medical surgical, hematology, and stem cell transplant populations. She earned her PhD at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2019), her MSN with clinical nurse specialist and nursing education concentrations from Michigan State University (2013), and BSN from Michigan State University (2005). Her interest areas include oncology nurses’ professional quality of life, nursing workforce issues, telehealth, and chemotherapy safety and education. Most recently she led a team to develop and psychometrically evaluate a survey to measure oncology nurses’ professional quality of life, the ON-PQOL. . 

Research Area Interests:

• Professional quality of life in nurses, nursing workforce issues, chemotherapy and oncology nursing practice

CARRIE LYNN BUCH, PhD, RN

Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Faculty Affairs

Associate Professor

Dr. Carrie Buch has been a faculty member of the SON since August 2000 and has been serving as the Associate Dean since August 2018. In 2024, her role became more focused on graduate programs and faculty affairs. In this role, she is responsible for managing the operations of the graduate programs in the SON and supporting faculty development initiatives.  In addition, she has a significant role in accreditation and compliance including program assessment and evaluation.

Research Area Interests:

• Program Assessment and Evaluation

PATRICIA CAMERON, PhD, RN

Associate Professor

I have been a nurse since 1979, beginning with being an LPN, ADN, BSN, MS and now PhD.

Research Area Interests:

• Use of Technology with Self-care
• Infusion Nursing
• Palliative/Hospice Nursing

TRACEY CHAN, PhD, MSN, ANP-BC, FAANP

Assistant Professor

Dr. Tracey Chan is an Adult Nurse Practitioner and assistant professor at Oakland University.  Previously she was chair of graduate nursing and an associate professor at Madonna University.  She has clinical experience as an adult primary care provider predominantly with vulnerable and at-risk populations. Her area of expertise is nurse practitioner competencies and competency based education.  She has led numerous research projects and professional presentations that relate to both NP education and practice.  She serves as chair of the curricular leadership committee within NONPF and collaborated with committee members to produce the "Competency Implementation Guide for Nurse Practitioner Faculty".  She also serves as chair of the NP education enhancement and sustainment committee within AANP and has been developing preceptor resources. In 2024, she was inducted as a fellow into the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Research Area Interests:

• Nursing Education
• Competency Based Assessment
• Entrustable Professional Activities
• Chronic disease management
• Precepting

CHRISTOPHER LANCE COLEMAN, PhD, MPH, MS, BS, AS, FAAN, FADLN, PMHCNS-BC

Dean & Professor

Christopher Lance Coleman  began his tenure as Dean & Professor, May 2023.

Prior to his role at Oakland, he was the Mark & Maureen Miller Head & Professor at Purdue University School of Nursing, West Lafayette, and served as Associate Dean & Professor at the Indiana University School of Nursing, Fort Wayne Campus (IUFW) and as Department Chair and Professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Nursing Prior.  During his tenure at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, Dr. Coleman was Director of the Health Equity Collaborative, and the Fagin Term Associate Professor,  served as Chair of the Faculty Senate, and Chair of the Biomedical IRB Panel, and the MPH Admissions Committee in the Penn School of Medicine. Additionally, he served as the Co-Director of the former Center of Health Equity Research Center School of Nursing for 13 years.  Dr. Coleman brings extensive experience serving in key leadership roles in healthcare settings. 

Dr. Coleman’s clinical work has included mental health, HIV/AIDS and hospital administration in addition to working in private practice as a mental health clinician. Additionally, Dr. Coleman has extensive experience in the non-profit arena establishing services for persons living with HIV/AIDS and serving on both nonprofit and for profit Boards in the role of Chairman, President, Treasure, and hospital Board of Trustees. While in Indiana, he served as Co-Chair of the Development Committee and served on the Executive Committee at the Indiana Center for Nursing. He was recently appointed to the Board of  Springer Publishing Company, a nationwide publisher of health science and nursing products.

Research Area Interests:

Dr. Coleman’s research focuses on understanding factors that influence health-promoting behaviors of HIV infected middle-aged and older African American men and HIV risk factors among vulnerable populations. Additionally, he has also investigated symptom management strategies used by HIV infected populations. He has served as PI and Co-I on NIH grants, foundations, and intramural funding. Dr. Coleman’s program of research, which has focused on behavioral clinical trials and studies in international settings has collectively made a substantial and significant contribution towards reducing the transmission of HIV/AIDS to the general public in particular African American MSM and women. His work has been published in leading peer review journals to multidisciplinary audiences and presented regionally and nationally.

KAREN S DUNN, PhD, RN, FGSA

Professor

Dr. Karen S Dunn is a Professor. Her program of research is in promoting wellness among older adult populations through the effective use of holistic self-care practices with an emphasis on spirituality, end-of-life care, and pain management.

Research Area Interests:

• Holistic Self-care Practices
• Aging and Spirituality
• Chronic Pain
• Stress and Coping
• End-of-Life Care

OLGA EHRLICH, PhD, RN, CHPN

Assistant Professor

Dr. Ehrlich received her BSN from Arizona State University, her PhD from University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and was a post-doctoral research fellow at the Phyllis F. Cantor Center in Nursing and Patient Care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA. Prior to becoming a nurse, Dr. Ehrlich was a homebirth midwife. Her clinical career included working as a nurses’ aide, surgical technician, and Med-Surg ICU nurse before finding that her passion was palliative and hospice care, her board specialty. Dr. Ehrlich’s program of cancer pain research has focused on the intersections of perception, behavior, and social processes used by persons with end-stage cancers, their informal caregivers, and their nurses when managing pain, in order to identify and test interventions for poorly controlled cancer pain. Other research has focused on teaching undergraduate nursing instructors how to incorporate palliative care in competency-based learning activities and in reducing disparities in rural palliative care.

Dr. Ehrlich has taught students at all levels of nursing, developed and piloted a primary palliative care curriculum for undergraduate students, presented her research and workshops on teaching palliative care at national symposia, and served as a reviewer for journal manuscripts and conference posters, as well as foundation grants. She is a longtime member of Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA), serves on the HPNA Research Advisory Committee, and is a regional co-chair for the ELNEC Faculty support initiative. She currently serves as co-chair for the Oakland University Essentials/Competency-Based Education Faculty Work Group and self-published a manual to help instructors of baccalaureate programs incorporate hospice/palliative/supportive care content into their courses.

Dr. Ehrlich enjoys collaborative research with nurses and multidisciplinary scientists and practitioners, as well as engaging with students as they develop their authentic professional nursing personas.

Research Area Interests:

• Poorly controlled cancer pain, pain in persons with advanced cancers; primary palliative care professional and undergraduate nursing education; palliative care inequities

TONI L. GLOVER, PhD, GNP-BC, ACHPN, FAAN

Associate Professor

Dr. Glover is a researcher, an educator, and a geriatric nurse practitioner. Her research focuses on the care of older adults, palliative care, communication skills for serious illness, and pain. Dr. Glover has over 55 peer reviewed publications in journals such as the Western Journal of Nursing Research, Journal of Nursing Education, American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the Clinical Journal of Pain, and Arthritis & Rheumatism. She is dedicated to sharing primary palliative care knowledge and skills with nursing students.

In 2024, Dr. Glover was selected for induction for Fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). In 2023, Dr. Glover was recognized as a Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing by the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence. In 2022, Dr. Glover received national recognition for her work to advance palliative care education with the ELNEC Award of Excellence. In 2020, Dr. Glover was honored with the Nightingale Award from the School of Nursing and the Faculty Award in Research from Oakland University. Dr. Glover serves the community as the Ascension Providence Rochester Hospital Endowed Professor, working with nursing leaders and practice partners to enhance opportunities for research and education. Dr. Glover is a member of the Ascension Ethics Committee, the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, and Sigma Theta Tau – the international honor society for nursing.

Research Area Interests:

• Geriatric Palliative Care
• Care of Older Adults
• Communication Skills for Serious Illness
• Primary Palliative Care Nursing Education

MARY GOLINSKI, PhD, CRNA, FAANA

Associate Professor

Dr. Mary Golinski is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology,  and a nationally recognized professor, researcher and speaker.  Her focused area of scientific inquiry includes anesthesia-related outcomes based on anesthesia techniques, pharmacologic agents, technology, safety and quality processes, acute pain management techniques, preventing chronic postsurgical pain, and identifying anesthesia related healthcare disparities. She has been published numerous times herself and collaborated extensively with graduate nurse anesthesia students, adding evidence-based knowledge that has served to improve anesthesia-related outcomes.

Research Area Interests:

• Anesthesia Outcomes based on: anesthesia methods, pharmacologic agents, technology, safety and quality processes, education modalities, identifying and preventing anesthesia related healthcare disparities.

MEGHAN HARRIS, PhD, RN

Associate Professor

Chair, OU Telehealth & Digital Innovations Council

Project Director, Nurse Faculty Loan Program

Dr. Harris has clinical expertise in pediatric nursing while her research area has evolved from pediatric simulation in nursing education to patient safety and telehealth. Her recent work is focused on efforts to fund and implement telehealth in both simulation and clinical practice for students in an interdisciplinary context. Dr. Harris is engaged in building community partner relationships in an effort to increase clinical opportunities for students and scholarly opportunities for faculty while increasing the depth and breadth of health care services to underserved populations.

Research Area Interests:

• Telehealth
• Patient Safety
• Informatics
• Simulation

YVONNE KASINE, PhD, MSN, BNE, RN

Assistant Professor

Dr. Yvonne Kasine received her Master of Science and Ph.D. in Nursing from Western University, Ontario, Canada. Before joining Western University, Dr. Kasine obtained her Bachelor of Nursing Education from the University of Rwanda. Dr. Kasine’s international nursing career includes community nursing, home care nursing, and nursing education in Rwanda, Canada, and the USA. Dr. Kasine’s research program focuses on improving neonatal and maternal health outcomes, particularly in resource-limited settings and for underserved populations in developed countries. Dr. Kasine's international research explores how continuing professional development and mentorship for nurses and midwives influence maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Dr. Kasine collaborates with international researchers exploring adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health and rights services in low- and middle-income countries.

Dr. Kasine has taught nursing students at the undergraduate and graduate levels and has presented her research at several local, national, and international conferences. Her research output was published in reputable peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Kasine is licensed as a Registered Nurse in Michigan State, USA, and Ontario, Canada. Dr. Kasine currently serves as an appointed member of the Evaluation Committee for the School of Nursing, Oakland University, and as a member of the Teaching and Learning Committee for Oakland University.

Throughout her career, Dr. Kasine has received numerous competitive awards, including the Ontario Graduate Scholarship from the province of Ontario and the International Development Research Centre Doctoral Research Award from Global Affairs Canada.

Research Area Interests:

• Nurses’ and Midwives’ Continuing Professional Development in Resource-Limited Settings
• Improving Maternal and Neonatal Health Outcomes in Low and Middle-Income Countries and for Underprivileged and Underserved Populations
• Adolescent and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Services

ZORICA KAURIC-KLEIN, PhD, RN

Associate Professor

Dr. Kauric-Klein has been a faculty member since Fall 2017.  Her program of research focuses on behavior change interventions to promote adherence to self care behaviors in chronic diseases. She has conducted studies investigating the effect of self-regulation on blood pressure control in patients on chronic hemodialysis. She has also investigated the effect of sodium knowledge on blood pressure control in the chronic kidney disease population. Her research has expanded to mind body interventions to improve physical and psychological outcomes. Most recently, she has investigated the effect of a yoga intervention on physiological and psychological outcomes in patients on chronic hemodialysis which was funded by the American Nephrology Nurses’ Association. She has published her findings in several manuscripts in peer reviewed journals and has presented at several local and national conferences. Currently, she is investigating interventions to help promote exercise in the end stage chronic kidney disease population. 

Research Area Interests:

• Hypertension
• Chronic Kidney Disease
• Hemodialysis
• Interventions to Promote Adherence with Self-Care Behaviors
• Health Promotion Behaviors to Decrease Cardiovascular Risk

SUHA AL-OBALLI KRIDLI, PhD, RN

Professor

Dr. Kridli is an active researcher in the area of health beliefs and practices of the Middle Eastern population with a focus on health promotion and disease prevention. She has been funded for her efforts in conducting research in areas related to reducing falls in older Arab Americans, Improving health behaviors of Arab American Youth, improving wellness and health promotion in Chaldean Americans, investigating the epidemiology of Diabetes and its risk factors of Chaldean Americans and more.  Dr. Kridli is especially interested in the international aspect of nursing such as conducting international research in Jordan and Qatar, and serving on international Ph.D. dissertations. Dr. Kridli teaches research at the graduate and undergraduate levels, as well as diversity and vulnerable populations courses.

Research Area Interests:

• Middle Eastern Health Beliefs and Practices
• Women’s Health
• Health Promotion
• Disease Prevention

JULIE KRUSE, PhD, RN

Professor

Dr. Kruse has participated in five HRSA funded grant projects over the past 16 years related to diversifying the nursing workforce.  She is the current Project Director for a newly funded (July 2021) 4-year $2,195,252 HRSA Nursing Workforce Diversity (NWD) grant project (#D1942040) entitled ASPIRE (Achieving Success through Professionalism, Integrity, Resilience, and Engagement). The purpose of this grant is to increase nursing progression and graduation rates and retention in practice for students who are from diverse and/or disadvantaged backgrounds--specifically those from racial and ethnic minorities underrepresented among RNs.

Dr. Kruse has over 16 years of experience as a nurse educator and has dedicated her career to working with underserved populations. She currently serves as an inaugural member of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)  Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership Network and is the Chairperson of the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Public Health Nursing Section.

Dr. Kruse has disseminated research and scholarly activities at 44 local, state, national, or international organizational conferences or events (20 by invitation). She was the principal or co-investigator for over 8.5 million dollars in grant funding.

Research Area Interests:

• Assessment and Evaluation Processes
• Cultural Development
• International Health and Social Development
• Implicit Bias
• Mentorship & Preceptorship in Nursing Education
• Nursing Workforce Diversity
• Nursing Student Retention
• Population Health Nursing
• Sense of Belonging & Social Support: The Impact on Mental Health
• Underserved Populations

SARAH NEWTON, PhD, RN

Associate Professor

Dr. Newton has been a faculty member at Oakland University since 1997. Her clinical nursing specialty is adult liver transplantation and her scholarship focuses on the lived experience of being a liver transplant recipient and return to work post-transplant. In addition, she also writes about nursing education, specifically undergraduate program outcomes and pedagogy.

Research Area Interests:

• Adult Liver Transplantation
• Undergraduate Nursing Education Outcomes
• Writing for the Discipline of Nursing

RON PISCOTTY, PhD, RN, NI-BC, CNE, FAMIA

Associate Professor & PhD Program Director

Dr. Piscotty completed his BSN at Wayne State University and his masters and PhD in nursing systems with a focus in nursing and healthcare informatics at the University of Michigan. Dr. Piscotty has successfully obtained both internal and external funding for his research. Dr. Piscotty’s research focus examines the impact of technology on nursing practice, leadership, education, and research. Dr. Piscotty has a strong history of publications in peer reviewed journals and conferences. Dr. Piscotty has received several awards for his work including the Junior Researcher Award from the Midwest Nursing Research Society, SIGMA: Theta Psi Chapter Award for Innovation in Nursing, and an AACN and Johnson and Johnson Minority Nurse Faculty Scholar award.

Dr. Piscotty was honored and recognized for his impact in healthcare informatics being named a Fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association. Dr. Piscotty is board certified in nursing education from the NLN and informatics nursing from the ANCC. Dr. Piscotty has served the nursing profession through leadership and participation in several national organizations including: The Alliance for Nursing Informatics, SIGMA, The American Medical Informatics Association, Summer Institute for Nursing Informatics, and serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Nursing Education and Computers, Informatics, Nursing. Dr. Piscotty identifies as Gay, Disabled, and Native American and is a Member of The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

Research Area Interests:

• Nursing and Healthcare Informatics
• Impact of technology on nursing practice, leadership, education, and research
• Clinical Decision Support
• Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
• Quality Improvement

LAURA PITTIGLIO, PhD, RN

Associate Professor

Dr. Laura Pittligio has been a faculty member at Oakland University since 1999. Her research interests include coping mechanisms of African American mothers who are living with HIV/AIDS and sexual risk-taking behaviors that put young African American women in jeopardy of contracting HIV. As a certified HIV Test Counselor, Dr. Pittiglio implemented a free HIV and syphilis screening program on campus. Additionally, she continues to examine the impact of simulation on student outcomes.

Research Area Interests:

• The Impact of Learned Helplessness on Sexual Risk Taking Behaviors Among Adolescent and Young African American Females
• Sexual Risk Taking Behaviors in Adolescent and Young Adult African American Women
• HIV Infected Mother's Coping Strategies
• Simulation and Patient Outcomes
• The use of simulation to improve LBTQ+ Health Care Competencies