News

UArizona Nursing Professor Selected as Recipient of 2023 Sensor Seed Grant to Test Gardening Intervention for Cancer Survivors

Sept. 12, 2022

University of Arizona College of Nursing Assistant Professor Meghan Skiba, PhD, MS, MPH, RDN, has been selected as the recipient of a $50,000 Sensor Seed Grant. As the study’s principal investigator, Dr. Skiba will pilot test an evidenced based mentored gardening intervention for cancer survivors that will be active from August 2022 through June 2023. The pilot is adapted for Arizona through a research project titled “Feasibility of Integrating UV Sensors and Just-in-Time Feedback in a Mentored Community Vegetable Gardening Intervention for Melanoma Patients.”

“Being the recipient of the 2023 Sensor Lab Seed Grant is sensational!” Dr. Skiba says. “This grant provides the opportunity to expand wearable technologies into community engaged research for cancer survivors in a unique way and brings together an interdisciplinary team of experts.”

Dr. Skiba’s co-investigators on the grant are Delaney Stratton, PhD, DNP, FNP-BC from the UArizona Cancer Center, and Caitlyn Hall, PhD, B.S., M.S. of UArizona Biosystems Engineering. The researchers will partner with Community Gardens of Tucson, the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners, Banner Dermatology, Clinica Amistad, and the Skin Cancer Institute. They will also work closely with the Sensor Lab to bring in a wearable technology to University of Arizona researchers from Shade, a company that develops UV dosimeters and a mHealth app that provides data on UV exposure.


This grant provides the opportunity to expand wearable technologies into community engaged research for cancer survivors in a unique way and brings together an interdisciplinary team of experts," ~ Meghan Skiba, PhD, MS, MPH, RDN


What was the inspiration for this new intervention?

Gardening has been shown to promote cancer preventive behaviors for cancer survivors and melanoma is a cancer control priority in Arizona.  This intervention was inspired by the uniqueness of our area, including the arid southwest environment, five distinct growing seasons, the needs and limited resources for melanoma survivors, and expansive Cooperative Extension office and community gardens across the state that show promise for scaling the intervention. Prior to submitting this grant, stakeholders were engaged to adapt an existing evidence-based intervention, Harvest for Health, in a meaningful way to build capacity and sustainability. Adapting and testing, prior to dissemination and implementation, of existing effective interventions to meet the needs of diverse populations prevents us from redundancy in research.

Meghan Skiba, PhD, MS, MPH, RDN

What will the structure of the intervention be?

Harvest for Health Together Arizona (H4H2-AZ) is an adapted multimodal mentored community garden intervention. Thirty diverse melanoma patients will be recruited to participate in a six-month intervention to grow two seasonal vegetable gardens. Participants will be matched to a ‘near peer’ Master Gardener and provided with a lease for a shared garden plot through the Community Gardens of Tucson with necessary gardening supplies including seeds and sun protection. Following a five-module handbook custom designed for H4H2-AZ, participants will work together with their Master Gardener to prepare, plant, harvest, and preserve their garden. Additionally, Master Gardeners will deliver workshops that align with module content. The innovation of this intervention comes from collecting real-time UV exposure and providing feedback to participants while in the garden. Diet, physical activity, and quality of life will be measured before and after the intervention.

What is particularly important about the research you’ll be undertaking?

This is the first study designed to improve supportive cancer care by integrating melanoma patients with existing community gardening networks in Pima County and includes wearable UV sensors and just-in-time feedback to evaluate impact on cancer preventive health behaviors -- including diet, physical activity, energy balance, and UV protection. Our findings from this study will provide important feasibility and acceptability data to inform future large-scale interventions. This work will also show the benefits of application of sensor technologies in behavioral interventions to provide objective outcome data on modifiable health behaviors.

Tell us more about the wearable technology that will be in the works with the help of Shade.

We will be integrating wearable UV sensors, or dosimeters, to monitor and provide just-in-time feedback of UV exposure to participants aiming to reduce sunburns and improve sun-protective behaviors.  The reusable UV sensors are made by Shade and come with a complementary mobile app where participants can securely share their data with us as well as see their cumulative and instantaneous UV exposure. This sensor technology has been previously used at the University of Arizona but we will be among the first to integrate it in a behavioral intervention for melanoma patients.

How did you gather your partners for this project?

The partners on this project are community leaders and experts already doing important work in our community and we hope this intervention will elevate it. The partnerships were built from conversations with members of the UACC Skin Cancer Institute, UArizona Cooperative Extension, and original H4H investigators. Dr. Delaney Stratton is a cutaneous oncology nurse practitioner brings important clinical perspective and partnerships and Dr. Hall brings in key stakeholders for environmental sustainability. In particular, Parker Filer, an extension agent with the Cooperative Extension has been a key player establishing the community connections necessary for the intervention’s success. Parker has assisted with engaging the Community Gardens of Tucson as well as the Pima County Master Gardeners.

How do you hope the results of this research improve cancer preventive health behaviors among melanoma survivors?

UV exposure is the primary modifiable risk factor for melanoma, but melanoma is also an obesity related cancer; survivors of which may benefit from adhering to current cancer prevention guidelines. H4H2-AZ promotes cancer preventive health behaviors and emphasizes sun safety, which is often absent in gardening interventions but is important for melanoma prevention and survivorship. Currently, there are limited active supportive lifestyle interventions for melanoma patients in Arizona, which makes our multiple health behavior approach fill a current need in the population. H4H has previously shown improvements in vegetable intake and physical health for cancer survivors, and we anticipate similar findings from H4H2-AZ

Can you share any details about the larger extramural grant application you’re planning for next year?

We will build on the partnerships established from this pilot and will also engage the Arizona Melanoma Task Force in scaling the intervention. H4H2-AZ is intervening on multiple levels, including the intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, and organizational, therefore we will be submitting a grant to further study optimization of the delivery of H4H2-AZ and distal outcomes, expanding the program across all AZ counties. Findings from this intervention will provide preliminary data to support an extramural grant application that has been a work in progress as part of my participation as a fellow in the 2022 cohort of the National Cancer Institute’s Multilevel Intervention Training Institute.

Big picture, where do you hope this work will lead?

We anticipate that this work will lead to sustainable connections between clinics and community to promote the health of cancer survivors and their families in Arizona. The big picture is a collage of individuals gardening in their neighborhoods and building networks of support to reduce melanoma incidence and mortality.

Learn more about Dr. Skiba’s project by visiting the Healthy Harvesters program page.

Julienne Rutherford, PhD, Joins the University of Arizona College of Nursing as the John and Nell Mitchell Endowed Chair for Pediatric Nursing

Sept. 7, 2022

Last month, Julienne Rutherford, PhD, joined the University of Arizona College of Nursing as the John and Nell Mitchell Endowed Chair for Pediatric Nursing. In her new position, Dr. Rutherford will act as a national leader in discovering and disseminating new knowledge in pediatric nursing. She will also build and lead interdisciplinary research teams that will have an impact on the complex care of vulnerable infants, children, adolescents, and pregnant people of all ages.

“I’m so deeply gratified, honored and humbled,” Dr. Rutherford says of being named the John and Nell Mitchell Endowed Chair for Pediatric Nursing. “This is an incredible next step for me and I’m so excited to be taking it with the University of Arizona. The generous endowment from the Mitchell family will allow me to do the research I’ve been dreaming of and even things I haven’t dreamed of yet.”


I focus on pregnancy, on reproduction, and on the placenta in particular, as an environment that’s connected to the past and the future in terms of health," ~ Julienne Rutherford, PhD, John and Nell Mitchell Endowed Chair for Pediatric Nursing


Dr. Rutherford comes to the UArizona from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she was Associate Professor and Associate Department Head of Human Development Nursing Science in the College of Nursing. She has been a Robert Wood Johnson Future of Nursing mentor and has received numerous awards including: the UIC Researcher of the Year Rising Star in Clinical Sciences, American Society of Primatologists Legacy Award, National Academy of Science Kavli Foundation Fellow, the American College of Nurse Midwives Excellence in Teaching Award, an NIH Loan Repayment Program Award, and the Teaching Recognition Program Award and Award in Teaching Excellence both from UIC.

Dr. Rutherford is a biological anthropologist whose work integrates evolutionary theory with biomedical science. For 20 years, she has sustained a program of research exploring the intrauterine environment as a biosocial determinant of health. “I pull from several threads of biological anthropology and health sciences,” she explains, noting that her work centers on the dynamic intrauterine environment of the fetus and how lived experience of the mother across her own life course and even prior generations shapes that environment. “That drives not only pregnancy outcomes and fetal outcomes but really health across the life course for individuals,” she says. “I focus on pregnancy, on reproduction, and on the placenta in particular, as an environment that’s connected to the past and the future in terms of health.”

Dr. Rutherford’s current research focus is her “Womb to Womb” model of reproductive health and pregnancy outcomes in the marmoset monkey. Using data provided by the NIH-funded Southwest National Primate Research Center in San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Rutherford examines how different intrauterine conditions shape birth outcomes, growth and development, and even ultimately pregnancy outcomes of future generations. “We’ve shown in the marmoset that it is not a mother’s age or weight at the time of the pregnancy – the things we focus heavily on in human clinical contexts – that have the strongest impact on her pregnancy, but things that happened during her development, things she didn’t have any control over,” Dr. Rutherford said, explaining that the marmoset’s variable litter size provides the opportunity to study several factors. “If a marmoset female is born as a triplet or on the smaller end of birth weight, she is more likely to have worse pregnancy outcomes when she grows up. This gives us a lot to think about in the way we tend to blame mothers for their pregnancy outcomes, not taking into account their entire lived experience, in ways that contribute to disparities and injustices in maternal and infant mortality.”

As part of UArizona Nursing’s new Nurse-Midwifery program, Dr. Rutherford will be a passionate and knowledgeable player. She hopes to help students contextualize pregnancy as a process beyond anatomy and physiology and show how the world around us can shape those experiences negatively through stress and discrimination, but also positively through social, systemic, and structural kinds of support. In addition to teaching the anatomy and physiology of pregnancy and birth to midwifery students for the past decade, she has direct experience with midwifery from giving birth to her daughter – an experience she calls life-changing. “I was already studying the biological process of pregnancy, but experiencing it in a midwifery model, being cared for as a whole person, was really incredible,” she says.

As the John and Nell Mitchell Endowed Chair, Dr. Rutherford will continue her research on the intrauterine environment, which focuses on more than the early postnatal life to include infancy, childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. “I’ll be developing my own program of research, as well as supporting other faculty and PhD students to develop synergies of work that encompass a life course approach to health in thinking about pediatric research, and ultimately pediatric care,” she says. For example, one area of research she is excited to explore more deeply at UArizona is the underlying biological mechanisms of postpartum hemorrhage. “Excessive bleeding at birth is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality globally,” Dr. Rutherford notes. “There are many kinds of hemorrhages and likely many pathways, but we really know very little about how the risk develops early in pregnancy. I am so excited about the intersections between basic science and clinical care that I and other faculty in the College of Nursing have in this area and can’t wait to start collaborating!”

She was drawn to UArizona Nursing for numerous reasons, including its focus on collaboration and innovation, but also its commitment to engage in honest conversations around equity, diversity, and inclusion. “And, I would add, justice,” she says, pointing out that academia broadly, and nursing in particular, tend to be very white fields. “We don’t match the communities that we’re serving through our scholarship and through our clinical practice. Coming from one of the most diverse universities in the country, these are really important issues to me, so that’s hugely meaningful to see them being so openly engaged with in the UArizona College of Nursing.”

UArizona Nursing ED&I Professional’s Bali Trip Will Open Doors for Cultural and Inclusive Experiential Learning Opportunities

Aug. 31, 2022

In June, José Muñoz, University of Arizona Nursing's Senior Professional, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, packed his bags and headed for Bali to experience firsthand the opportunities and benefits offered by UArizona’s Cultural & Inclusive Experiential Learning Opportunities (CIELO) program.

Formerly known as Global Experiential Learning (GEL) under the Office of Diversity & Inclusion, CIELO integrates travel, multicultural education, and service learning to empower students with knowledge and skill sets to utilize as they continue their careers at UA and beyond. CIELO seeks to provide a valuable holistic student experience in the form of short-term trips both domestic and abroad. CIELO programming explores themes of interdisciplinary learning through civic engagement, cultural immersion, environmental justice, and social equity. One of the program’s goals is to provide historically marginalized students the ability to participate in global experiential learning.

Muñoz was invited to join the Bali trip because of his efforts to investigate ways the College can advance experiential learning and service learning for nursing students. The College's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Nursing Committee (EDI-NC) had been actively brainstorming ideas for ways to offer health equity related learning to students, so when the travel opportunity arose, Muñoz was thrilled for the chance to learn more. “They asked if I wanted to see how the program is run, so I could learn behind the scenes and experience a CIELO trip” he says. “I immersed myself as a participant and learned not only about Bali, but also about how CIELO trips are managed, and the impact they have on participants.”

Muñoz joined a pilot trip that was the first time faculty and staff joined a CIELO trip, which normally focus on student experiences. With a longstanding commitment to issues of inclusive excellence in higher education, Muñoz was able to meet like-minded colleagues from across campus and share knowledge about ways to enhance the learning experiences of historically marginalized students.


“Some of these students are used to learning within the four walls of a classroom, and this trip really takes that learning outside. They get to talk to local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to learn from the local community, so it’s a very immersive trip," ~ José Muñoz, Senior Professional, Diversity Equity and Inclusion


“We are providing greater access and participation for the students that do not historically go on these global learning experiences," says Dan Xayaphanh, Director, CIELO. "If you thought these programs were not for you because of specific barriers, CIELO is here to help open these doors and provide these life-changing opportunities!”

“There’s a lot of research that connects study abroad activities with retention and persistence,” Muñoz points out, noting that financial barriers and time constraints are often the cause of students’ lack of opportunity. CIELO aims to guide students on study abroad experiences at very low cost and offers programs that are more manageable timewise, such as one or two-week stretches rather than semester or month-long programs that are more typical.

“Those are some of the barriers that CIELO is looking to address and really get students to think outside the box,” Muñoz says. “Some of these students are used to learning within the four walls of a classroom, and this trip really takes that learning outside. They get to talk to local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to learn from the local community, so it’s a very immersive trip. There’s a lot of reflection time for the participants, and we’re able to have those critical conversations on issues such as climate change and health care.”

The Bali trip was packed with activities. CIELO participants learned about local Balinese culture through cooking classes, Legong dance performances and the annual Galungan celebration, a holiday celebrating the time when the ancestral spirits visit the Earth. In addition to the cultural immersion activities, participants were also able to visit to various local NGOs, including a local coral restoration center working to reverse the effects of global warming on local waters, and the PKP Women’s Center, which has an overall goal to facilitate female empowerment and gender equality to Balinese women and girls. Each day concluded with personal reflection time as well as small group work geared around processing the day’s activities.

“The program was very intentional,” Muñoz says. “It helped me center myself. As I was learning about different cultures, I reflected on my own culture.” Studying abroad, he says, sparks cultural humility and breeds a sense of empathy that makes us think critically about how we enter spaces when we’re travelling. “The CIELO program focuses on the historically marginalized faculty and staff population, which in itself was really empowering.”

Inspired by his experience, Muñoz returned to UArizona Nursing with new connections, and a firm desire to apply concepts like cultural humility to the College’s curriculum and programming. “As an ED&I professional, I want to see how we can continue to move that so our students will have those skillsets to help address some of these disparities that exist within our own community,” he says. “We want them to be culturally responsive to the needs of our own community.”

As Fall semester looms, Muñoz is looking forward to going back to the drawing board, working with CIELO as well as UArizona Nursing colleagues to reimagine what education looks like and discover the best ways to provide these opportunities to nursing students. “We’re exploring all our options to provide these kinds of experiences to our students and our faculty to participate,” he says. “There’s definitely momentum growing here. What CIELO is doing is amazing and I’m so proud to say the UArizona has a program like this that is forward thinking and working collaboratively with other colleges and units to afford these experiences to students, faculty and staff.”

For more information about CIELO, please visit diversity.arizona.edu/cielo

Mother-Daughter MEPN Dyad Takes the Stage Together at Summer Convocation Ceremony

Aug. 15, 2022

The Hooding Ceremony at a nursing convocation is a pivotal moment for master’s degree candidates. When a faculty member invests their hood over the student, it signifies the student's successful completion of their graduate program. It’s a proud moment both for faculty and students. But for Assistant Clinical Professor Lorre Laws, PhD, and her daughter Katie DiBene, who graduated from the University of Arizona College of Nursing’s Master of Science for Entry into the Profession of Nursing (MEPN) program at the August 11 Summer Convocation ceremony, it had a special twist.

In what is possibly the very first mother-daughter dyad in the UArizona MEPN program’s history, Dr. Laws proudly hooded DiBene during the ceremony. “From the time my kids were young, my job was always to follow their bliss,” Dr. Laws, who graduated from the MEPN program in 2013, says. “Never did I forecast that my daughter would pursue the same career path as I did. I’m so very proud but I’m also so humbled that she would resonate facilitating healing as deeply as I do. It’s a proud mom moment but it has deeper connections to our shared healer’s heart.”


Never did I forecast that my daughter would pursue the same career path as I did. I’m so very proud but I’m also so humbled that she would resonate facilitating healing as deeply as I do. It’s a proud mom moment but it has deeper connections to our shared healer’s heart," ~ Lorre Laws, PhD


It's rare for a parent and their child to pursue similar career arcs, but Dr. Laws and DiBene’s urge to care for society’s most vulnerable people caused their professional aspirations to intersect, albeit through different pathways. After a midlife career pivot out of the real estate industry, Dr. Laws devoted her energies to nursing. “I wasn’t making a difference in the way I was called to do,” she says. “So, I went through the MEPN program and I just flourished.”

She fell in love with nursing as a profession and as a discipline, but also found she loved both teaching and research. Her path from MEPN student to DNP student to faculty member was marked by strong mentorship and guidance from College faculty, a dynamic she watched play out when it came time for her daughter to go through the program. “It’s one thing to see me benefit, but it’s a whole other thing when you’re watching your child go thru this process and see how richly she was supported and mentored by the MEPN faculty.,” Dr. Laws says. “It was truly beautiful to behold.”

For her part, DiBene gravitated toward nursing after her aspirations to join the Peace Corps fizzled in the wake of COVID-19. Having watched her mom go through the UArizona program, she knew that it was a career that could afford her the opportunity to further her dream of working with rural, indigenous populations. Knowing how much her mom loved the profession, she saw it as a great opportunity with a lot of stability within it. “She definitely influenced me to get into MEPN,” DiBene says. “And also before joining the program, seeing that she went through it, that she could do it.”

Dr. Laws was a resource throughout DiBene’s time in the program. “If I had questions or if there was something I didn’t understand from the professors, she was a great resource because she had been through the program herself,” DiBene says. “And she was my mom so it was a win-win because we already have a relationship.”

DiBene found the 15-month program fast-paced and challenging, but she worked hard and gained confidence, ultimately earning a 4.0 grade average. In her final semester, during her preceptorship, she decided she would pursue hospice work, which is what she plans to pursue after convocation. “It's hard and fast but you learn a lot,” she says. “You gain a lot of knowledge and a lot of skills about how to care for people and what resources there are in the community.” In the future, she hopes to offer her skills to help vulnerable, rural populations internationally.

As a professor, Dr. Laws was delighted to watch her own daughter be instructed by some of her own former faculty during her time in the MEPN program – as well as members of her own cohort. And when Convocation rolled around and the two of them took the stage together, albeit with different roles, she was overjoyed.

“My mom heart is full,” Dr. Laws says, reflecting on the moment she got to hood DiBene. “When you have them in your arms as an infant, you can never in a million years forecast this parallel path that we find ourselves on. As both a mom and as a nurse faculty member, it’s so rich. There have been so many students that I have taught along that way that I don’t have the opportunity to hood or pin, so not only am I hooding my daughter but it’s a moment where I can celebrate all the students that I’ve had the privilege of supporting along the way.”

UArizona Nursing's New Nurse-Midwifery Specialty Will Increase Workforce Diversity and Access to Care

Aug. 12, 2022

In August, the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) granted the University of Arizona College of Nursing's Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Nurse-Midwifery program pre-accreditation status.

One of three new University of Arizona Health Sciences (UAHS) degree programs recently approved by the Arizona Board of Regents, UArizona Nursing's Nurse-Midwifery DNP specialty will soon begin enrolling students for 2022.  Alongside UAHS’ new physical therapy and physician assistant programs, the specialty will create an expanded pipeline of skilled providers to provide greater access to care for patients in Arizona’s diverse rural and urban communities.


My goal is to establish a midwifery program that creates more nurse-midwives and develops a more diverse profession that is representative of the communities that we serve," ~ Erin McMahon, EdD, CNM, FACNM, Director, Nurse Midwife Program


According to Erin McMahon, EdD, CNM, FACNM, Director, Nurse Midwife Program, a nurse-midwife can care for a person throughout their lifespan and address all aspects of their reproductive and sexual health, which can include cancer screenings, family planning, contraception, perimenopausal or menopausal care. “It really covers a breadth of clinical needs,” Dr. McMahon said. “We do so by looking at the individual, their support systems, and taking a holistic view of their health and wellness.”

The need for nurse-midwives is growing as the field of obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN) is seeing its workforce shrink. According to a 2017 report from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, nearly 1 in 3 OB-GYN doctors were aged 55 or older and nearing retirement. At the same time, younger doctors were trending away from general OB-GYN practice in favor of more specialized fields.

Erin McMahon, EdD, CNM, pictured in front of a birthing manikin in the Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center.

The United States is experiencing a maternal health crisis. According to the CDC, in 2020 861 women died related to childbirth and that is up from 754 in 2019. Women of color are disproportionately impacted by these statistics.

Additionally, access to prenatal and obstetric services are decreasing in rural areas due to closures of obstetric units and rural and critical access hospitals. Several of Arizona’s counties have very few or even no obstetric providers. Nearly half of the women in some rural areas must travel for more than 30 minutes to receive maternity care.

Dr. McMahon believes the new nurse-midwifery specialty will address those issues. She hopes to recruit registered nurses from communities across the state who can then return to work in their communities as nurse-midwives.

The Nurse-Midwifery program will prepare the certified nurse-midwife (CNM) to independently provide care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. The CNM scope of practice includes gynecologic care, family planning, preconception care, and care of the healthy newborn for the first 28 days of life. CNMs provide primary care to individuals across the life span, inclusive of all gender identities and sexual orientations. Care may be provided in a variety of settings including, but not limited to, private practice, community health centers, ambulatory clinics, hospitals, birthing centers and the home setting.

The Nurse-Midwifery (DNP-NM) specialty is a hybrid program utilizing a mixture of online didactic coursework, on-campus intensives and clinical placements. Applicants may enter the DNP program as a post-BSN student or a post-MSN student. The program has both full-time and part-time options. Graduates of the NM specialty are prepared according to the ACNM Core Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice and are eligible to apply for certification through the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB).

“My goal is to establish a midwifery program that creates more nurse-midwives and develops a more diverse profession that is representative of the communities that we serve,” Dr. McMahon said.

Nurse-Midwifery specialty program page

UArizona Nursing ANCAT Students Share College’s Unique Approach to Student Diversity at 2022 GlobalMindED Conference

Aug. 5, 2022

In June, when the annual GlobalMindED Conference was held in Denver, CO, 11 students and five faculty from the UArizona College of Nursing’s HRSA-funded Arizona Nursing Career Apex Transitions (ANCAT) program were there to share their success building a pathway toward a more diversified nursing workforce.

Geared toward improving access to education, employment, and economic mobility for first generation college students, poverty-affected, and minoritized students hardest hit by COVID, GlobalMindED was the perfect forum for UArizona Nursing to share its success story.

“It was a transformative experience, both for the faculty involved and for the students,” says Assistant Clinical Professor Timian Godfrey, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, one of the faculty members who accompanied the students. “The GlobalMindED Conference is unique because it looks at health equity through a broader lens that includes the commercial space, K-12, as well as policy.”


It was a transformative experience, both for the faculty involved and for the students. The GlobalMindED Conference is unique because it looks at health equity through a broader lens that includes the commercial space, K-12, as well as policy," ~ Timian Godfrey, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC


Diversity is a core value of UArizona Nursing, exemplified by the ANCAT program, which supports students with backgrounds that include American Indian/Alaskan Native or Native Hawaiian, Hispanic/Latino, first-generation college and/or graduate students, and students raised in a rural area and/or along the Mexican-American border. Additionally, the College’s Indians in Nursing: Career Advancement and Transition Scholars (INCATS) program is a five-year project aimed at increasing the number of BSN and advanced practice Native American nurses who will practice in tribal facilities. It creates new pathways for Associate Degree nurses to advance their careers and build new tribal-academic-practice collaborations that expand the Native American nursing workforce prepared to improve care of Native populations.

UArizona Nursing’s participation in the GlobalMindED Conference was part of this year’s summer intensive, a six-week program geared toward helping students develop an academic identity as well as strengthen their professional identity.

Dr. Godfrey and her colleagues were thrilled to provide the students with their very first academic conference. “I did not have the opportunity to attend my first academic conference until I was a doctoral student,” she says. “It was in that arena that I got to network and meet people from other areas and other backgrounds, which broadened my perspective of what I could do and the impact it could have. To be able to provide the chance for pre-licensure and undergrad students to participate in an academic conference was a unique opportunity to help them envision themselves and what their potential could be, and hopefully cultivate and strengthen those identities.”

Students from the ANCAT program participate year-round in professional development and support activities, which makes them eligible to attend Summer Intensive. At GlobalMindED, they were able to disseminate their experiences to a wider audience, sharing interventions and strategies championed by UArizona Nursing such as holistic admissions, holistic retention, proactive mentoring, and cohort building. “We’ve found these strategies effective in our college and any time we present at national conferences there’s a lot of interest that arises from that,” Dr. Godfrey says. “It’s motivation for us to continue to improve and build upon what we’ve already done. What we see is that we are forerunners in nursing education when it comes to supporting and cultivating a more diverse workforce.”

Dr. Godfrey and her colleagues see it as vital that the College shares its experience. “UArizona Nursing is one institution out of hundreds of schools,” she says. “If we really want to make an impact on the representation of the diversity of our nursing workforce then we must disseminate, we have to publish, and we have to present. But what was also great about this presentation is that we involved students in it. We were able to share what we’re doing and hopefully collaborate and learn to improve our efforts but also give students an opportunity to engage and be a part of that process.”

Angela Acuna, a Tucson Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) student, served as a panelist on UArizona Nursing’s presentation. A member of the Tohono O'odham Nation, Acuna was introduced to the ANCAT and INCATS programming in her first semester. She feels that the program – which she likens to a close-knit family -- has allowed her to network with her peers and has introduced her to a variety of opportunities to provide care for underserved populations. Her number one goal is to work in her community post-graduation. “At GlobalMindED, I was part of a panel with UArizona faculty that looked at the minority aspects in the health care setting for being a health care professional,” she says. “As a student nurse, I was able to share my story of resiliency, as well as the challenges and struggles I’ve been through, and what I’ve learned from it.”

For Acuna, participating in the conference was also a transformative experience. “To me, it was taking a step forward in the right direction in seeing the positive things we as minorities can do,” she says, noting that she hoped to guide younger generations of Native American nursing students away from the kinds of problems she encountered during her nursing journey. “I don’t want them to struggle like I did. I want to see where a curriculum could be tailored to address more of the minority experience.”

ANCAT scholar Kayla Cooper, a first-generation college student from Phoenix, was also wowed by her time at the GlobalMindED conference. “It was inspiring how like-minded and how progressive all of the individuals were who were sitting at the table,” she says. “It was really cool to sit in a room with such a diverse audience.”

Cooper learned about issues of health equity surrounding mental health care and gained a new perspective about her path in the nursing field. She found it eye-opening to learn more about the kinds of patients she would be working with post-graduation and was inspired for the future. “Being able take all this information away, confident about my ability to apply it in a clinical setting, is the most invaluable thing I’m going to take away from college. The conference really supported that and was able to help me see a lot of new things I hadn’t been able to see before, especially in Arizona.”

Aware of the valuable developmental experiences academic conferences give to students like Acuna and Cooper, Dr. Godfrey hopes to continue offering such opportunities in the future. When the Western Institute of Nursing (WIN) holds its annual conference in Tucson next year, she plans to bring a new crop of undergrads.  For her, it’s all about getting the word out about what health care, as a system, can do to help decrease barriers, to increase support systems, and to make the links between the University, the community, and public policy stronger.

“Working in nursing education and knowing that we have a profession and workforce in crisis exacerbated by COVID-19, it’s easy to get discouraged,” she says. “But seeing the light in these students’ eyes and watching their thought processes shift toward a bigger purpose, is motivating. It’s inspiring for me to continue to do what I can to help with various issues plaguing our nation’s health care system.”

The ANCAT project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $2,219,204 with 0% financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov

American Academy of Nursing Selects Timian Godfrey, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC for 2022 Class of New Fellows

Aug. 2, 2022

On July 26, the American Academy of Nursing (Academy) announced that it has selected a new crop of distinguished nurse leaders to be inducted into the 2022 Class of Fellows. University of Arizona College of Nursing Assistant Clinical professor Timian Godfrey, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, was one of 250 inductees who will be recognized for their significant contributions to health and health care at the Academy’s annual Health Policy Conference. The conference takes place on October 27-29, 2022 in Washington, DC. This year’s conference theme is “From Reflection to Impact: Positioning Nursing's Future.”

Dr. Godfrey will be part of a cohort of new Fellows that represent 35 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 17 countries. In welcoming these Fellows, the Academy will be comprised of more than 3,000 leaders who are experts in policy, research, administration, practice, and academia that champion health and wellness, locally and globally.


This recognition affirms my commitment to address health equity by continuing to foster relationships between underserved communities, academia, and practice. I’m grateful for my mentors and UArizona Nursing for supporting my passion to reduce health disparities and promote health equity by evolving a nursing workforce in partnership with diverse communities," ~ Timian Godfrey, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC


Dr. Godfrey, teaches in the College’s advanced practice DNP-FNP program, has more than 18 years of health care experience within the fields of hospice, gerontology, emergency medicine, medical/surgical, telemetry, cardiac intensive care, pain management, and orthopedic spine surgery. In addition to being faculty with UArizona Nursing, Dr. Godfrey is advanced practice clinician with TribalHealth, a healthcare leadership company that works with government and tribal health programs.

“It is a tremendous honor to be selected as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing,” Dr. Godfrey said. “This recognition affirms my commitment to address health equity by continuing to foster relationships between underserved communities, academia, and practice. I’m grateful for my mentors and UArizona Nursing for supporting my passion to reduce health disparities and promote health equity by evolving a nursing workforce in partnership with diverse communities. As a Fellow in the Academy, I hope to strengthen my capacity to provide a rich future-oriented perspective on what is possible, practical and important to having a diversified nursing workforce and healthy, sustainable working and learning environments that are enrichingly diverse and inclusive.”

“As the American Academy of Nursing’s President, it gives me great pride to announce the largest class of Fellows since the organization began nearly 50 years ago,” said Kenneth R. White, PhD, RN, AGACNP, ACHPN, FACHE, FAAN. “At a time when investments in, and policy to address, health equity, innovation, and access are paramount, the Academy is thrilled to welcome these dynamic and courageous nurse leaders who will support our collective vision of healthy lives for all people. Induction in the Academy is a powerful moment in a nurse’s career. When we gather this fall, to award the Fellowship credential, I look forward to celebrating each Fellow’s incredible accomplishments that have improved the well-being of communities across the globe.”

Through a competitive and rigorous application process, the Academy’s Fellow Selection Committee, which is comprised of elected and appointed Fellows, reviewed a record number of applications, representing a 30% increase from the previous year, ultimately selecting the 2022 Fellows based on their contributions to advance the public’s health. Induction into the Academy is a significant milestone in which past and current accomplishments are honored by their colleagues within and outside the profession.

New Faculty Profile: Get to know Elise Erickson, PhD, CNM

July 29, 2022

The University of Arizona College of Nursing is excited to announce that Elise Erickson, PhD, CNM, has joined the College as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Erickson comes to the UArizona from Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, where she was Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing. Originally from West Michigan, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and her Master of Science (MS) from the University of Illinois Chicago before heading west to complete her PhD at Oregon Health & Science University.

Dr. Erickson was drawn to UArizona Nursing not only because of its stature as a powerful research institution, but also because of its upcoming nurse-midwifery program. “I knew that UArizona Nursing would be an excellent environment for supporting this next phase of the research I have been conducting,” she says. “Midwifery education was also a priority in my choice, and I'm pleased that the College will be offering nurse-midwifery in the DNP program soon as well. Arizona, as a state, also has unique health challenges in terms of maternal health and I think my research will align well with some of the key concerns of the communities that I hope to serve in my practice and research.”

Dr. Erickson looks forward to providing content as needed to the midwifery education program as well as mentoring students from the DNP and PhD programs. Her dream is to eventually teach an elective course on perinatal physiology and developmental origins of health and disease.


As midwives, we have a strong emphasis on caring for the emotional and social or spiritual health of the person in addition to the core physical aspects. All of these factors play into the pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience and supporting them all will benefit the transition to motherhood or any other reproductive health experience," ~ Elise Erickson, PhD, CNM


What drew you to a career in nursing?

My interest in nursing was instigated from a course I took as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan -- a women's health course taught by a certified nurse midwife. I had not really considered nursing and had no exposure to midwifery prior to this point, but light bulbs were turned on for me during that course. I transferred into the school of nursing, intent on pursuing midwifery, and I haven't looked back since.

What drew you to enter the nurse-midwife field?

During this course, I learned a great deal about the intersection between healthcare related to pregnancy, birth and reproduction, and women's health broadly, with political and philosophical concepts rooted in feminist and social justice principles. I did a lot of reading about the history of pregnancy care, the midwifery approach to health during pregnancy and birth and found that it resonated with me on multiple levels. I had a desire to pursue biological or health sciences but didn't feel that medicine was calling me. The focus of midwifery is on health maintenance and prevention rather than a focus on pathology and attention to the whole person is really a core principle of the philosophy. As midwives, we have a strong emphasis on caring for the emotional and social or spiritual health of the person in addition to the core physical aspects. All of these factors play into the pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience and supporting them all will benefit the transition to motherhood or any other reproductive health experience.

Can you tell us more about your research interests/focus?

Very broadly, I'm interested in the physiology of the labor and birth processes and understanding the reasons it may deviate from a healthy path to giving birth. In conjunction with this, and with the midwifery philosophy of care, I'm looking at ways that the social environment could influence birth outcomes, positively and negatively, by causing the body to work differently through epigenetic differences, epigenetic aging, stress, or other mechanisms. We have a crisis of maternal morbidity/mortality and severe disparities between racialized groups in the United States. One factor in poor outcomes could be rooted in how social disadvantage takes a toll on the body, causing changes early in life that influence the reproductive process, even in young people.

In addition, I've focused a lot of my career on how the hormone, and commonly used medication, oxytocin works during labor and the ways that our care practices might be causing more complications like postpartum hemorrhage. I also look at genetic differences in how oxytocin works in the body and am working toward understanding ways to use pharmacogenomic strategies to personalize the kind of care we provide people during labor, to minimize harm and maximize benefits of oxytocin. Finally, I have ongoing studies using a wearable device that can detect physiologic changes in the body. The goal of this study is to try to predict changes in the pregnancy state through real-time non-invasive wearable technology.

How are you building your research program?

Because I have several overlapping yet distinct areas of research, I feel like I spend a good deal of time just trying to keep all the balloons in the air. However, I have been lucky enough to receive a couple of training and early career grants from the National Institutes of Health, which have allowed me valuable time to focus on developing and conducting my studies, analyzing data, and then taking the next steps in the process. One of the most important building blocks has been developing and sustaining collaborations across campus, disciplines, and the nation. Most of my collaborators are in other departments like genetics, epigenetics, biomedical engineering, psychology, reproductive biology, pharmacy, and physiology. However, coming to UA, I have a strong desire to bring more students into my research program, people who are eager to tackle pieces of the puzzle I'm trying to put together.

What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe in collaborative active learning and facilitative leadership in the classroom. Depending on the topic, I think that working in teams can be a very valuable way to stimulate inquiry and solidify difficult content. I have used a lot of 'flipped' classroom approaches and am eager to try new ideas that stimulate genuine curiosity. For example, in learning embryonic and fetal development, I had students do a great deal of reading, discussion, visit a fetal development exhibit at a museum and then make various stages of embryos using different colors of Play-Doh. After all these steps, I could see students start to fully grasp this very difficult and nebulous subject, finally realizing the three-dimensions of human development. 

What do you like to do in your free time?

As a family, my husband, two boys and two dogs enjoy getting into nature, exploring with hiking and camping or riding bikes. As a busy mom and academic, my bike commute to and from campus is sometimes my most valuable, or only, free time. I’m looking forward to doing that here in Tucson.

UArizona Nursing Alumna Advances Health Equity as Cone Health’s Executive Director of Primary Care and the MedCenter for Women in Greensboro, NC

July 26, 2022

Walidah Karim-Rhoades, DNP, CNM, began her college career at the University of Arizona as an engineering major, but she quickly discovered that ensuring that healthcare was accessible and equitable for all was her true calling. After realizing that building structures and machines wasn’t for her, she dipped into her first nursing courses and never looked back. “I fell in love,” she says, the enthusiasm about her profession still evident in her voice.  “I loved child development and all the human-related courses.”

That passion has led Dr. Karim-Rhoades on a nursing journey that has focused on putting women and family first and making a difference in the overall community. Currently, she is Executive Director of Cone Health’s Primary Care & Women’s Health in North Carolina, where she oversees 29 primary care practices and 11 OBGYN practices in three counties.  Her women’s health work consistently addresses disparities in health care, such as maternal and infant mortality. 


“My first rotation was labor and delivery at University Medical Center, which made me realize how much I loved women’s health, loved everything about birth. I still remember standing outside the door. At that time, students could just look through the window...and I thought, ‘This is what I want to do,’" ~ Walidah Karim-Rhoades, DNP, CNM


Born and raised in Phoenix, Dr. Karim-Rhoades had strong nurse role models in the form of her grandmother and sister, making nursing a natural choice. As an undergraduate in UArizona Nursing’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) programs, she appreciated her instructors and the robust support she got from the College. Her community health courses got her to thinking globally about the importance of health care. “Those classes really led me to all the work that I’m doing now,” she says. “My community health nursing rotation showed me how nursing can influence community health and population health.”

But it was her passion for maternal/infant care that drove her further in her academic career. “My first rotation was labor and delivery at University Medical Center (UMC), which made me realize how much I loved women’s health, loved everything about birth,” she says. “I still remember standing outside the door. At that time, students could just look through the window. I remember seeing that birth and crying, and I thought, ‘This is what I want to do.’ I fell in love with everything birth-related.”

While working at UMC as a labor nurse, Dr. Karim-Rhoades noticed that the babies that were dying were predominantly Black. Concerned about the numbers she saw, she discovered that the statistics for Black births were severely lacking. That formative experience led directly to her desire to learn everything she could about infant mortality disparities across the nation.

After receiving her graduate degree, she worked as director of an infant mortality program in her native South Phoenix, and eventually earned her Certified Nurse Midwife credentials, before moving east to North Carolina. There she also became involved with an infant mortality reduction program, currently serving as board president. “My work is framed by looking at community health and social determinants of health,” she explains. “Looking at how we provide that within the system of care that we provide now, so it’s more holistic versus external to the practice.”

As Executive Director of Cone Health’s Primary Care & Women’s Health, Dr. Karim-Rhodes led a team that created a two-story MedCenter for Women.  The Center is a sort of one-stop health facility for women, including high-risk obstetrics and a variety of different medical services, as well as a food market to help patients with food needs. “Providers or staff members are able to put a referral in, and the person can get groceries and learn about healthy food choices,” she says. “All of that is in this one comprehensive space, which is like a dream.”

Above all, Dr. Karim-Rhoades treasures her ability to innovate the ways we provide care. “I have the ability to take what I’ve done in women’s health and ask, ‘How do we apply this lens to primary care?’” she says. “So now it’s pulling on that Family Nurse Practitioner experience and asking questions about how we address social determinants of health, and how we recreate health care to better support families. That’s what I love: The ability to be creative about how we deliver health care.”

Asked if she has any advice for nursing student seeking to follow in her footsteps, Dr. Karim-Rhoades encourages them to believe anything is possible. “Nursing is really a gateway for you to be able to affect change in a lot of different ways,” she says. “It’s not one set way for nursing, which I think is beautiful. I truly believe that my nursing degree is what helped me be a better leader, because I’m viewing things in a different, more holistic way.

UArizona Nursing Professor Receives Grant to Support Future Telehealth Innovations in Southern Arizona

July 1, 2022

University of Arizona College of Nursing Assistant Professor Meghan Skiba, PhD, MS, MPH, RDN, has been selected as the recipient of a $7,500 2022 Making Action Possible (MAP) Grant from the UArizona Eller College of Management. The funds will enable Dr. Skiba to work with a nursing PhD student and a graduate student in Geography on a research project titled “Uptake and Utilization of mHealth in Southern Arizona: The Role of Social Determinants of Health and Influence on Chronic-Disease Preventive Health Behaviors and Health Status.”

“I am excited by the opportunity to collaborate with Eller on this interdisciplinary project and connect individuals with various skills to inform healthcare delivery and ultimately improve health of Southern Arizonans and related economic impacts,” Dr. Skiba says. “It will highlight the interconnectedness of technology, health, and economy in Southern Arizona.”


I am excited by the opportunity to collaborate with Eller on this interdisciplinary project and connect individuals with various skills to inform healthcare delivery and ultimately improve health of Southern Arizonans and related economic impacts. It will highlight the interconnectedness of technology, health, and economy in Southern Arizona," ~ Meghan Skiba, PhD, MS, MPH, RDN


The project, which will span the fall 2022 semester, will utilize public datasets and GIS mapping to characterize and predict mHealth usage specifically among Southern Arizonans. The hope is that the results from this research – including a white paper on the MAP dashboard that will be publicly accessible to anyone to inform their programs and policies -- will support future telehealth innovations in healthcare delivery in Southern Arizona. Once the primary research is published, a webinar hosted by Eller will present the results and engage with community members and the MAP advisory board.

Meghan Skiba, PhD, MS, MPH, RDN

Can you tell us about the genesis of this project?

This project originated out of filling a need for Southern Arizona through Eller’s MAP Dashboard. The MAP Dashboard site provides Southern Arizona with information on social and economic indicators in our local community that can inform programs and policies. As a researcher, I have seen a clear gap in our development of telehealth interventions and our understanding of who can access and reach these interventions, through this project we hope to create a bridge that will improve health locally.

Can you tell us about the roles that mHealth have played up to now in Arizona health care?

Currently little is known specially about mHealth use, including ownership and use of smartphones, health-related mobile applications, and wearable devices specifically for Southern Arizonans and it has been unclear if national trends are accurate for our unique environment. In the setting of COVID-19, telehealth utilization rapidly accelerated, and now more healthcare services are available through mHealth.

How will the results from this research support future telehealth innovations in healthcare delivery in Southern Arizona?

Completion of this project will provide guiding data and insights that can be used by University of Arizona researchers and community stakeholders in Southern Arizona.  This data will help with the implementation of novel approaches to address social determinants of health and chronic disease prevention using mHealth and connect academia, industry, clinician, non-profits, healthcare organizations, and public health professionals to develop precision mHealth. My hope is that the results from our study will be used to support the design of multilevel and holistic telehealth interventions.

How will you select the Nursing student and Geography student who will take part in the project?

A PhD student in Nursing, Carlie Felion, was connected with the project through a graduate course during the grant writing process and was involved in the submission process. As a Co-I on the project, she helped develop the proposal and throughout the project period she will support interpretation and communication of our results. Carlie was a great match for this project due to her interest in digital health and experience as a family and mental health nurse practitioner. For Geography, I am working with Andrew Grogan, the assistant director of the UArizona’s Geography Information Systems Technology program to develop a paid internship opportunity as part of their course requirements as well as reach out to their alumni network to match interests and skills to analytical needs. Andrew has been a tremendous ally in the realization of this project.

Can you share your hypothesis as you approach this project?

Our hypotheses are that mHealth use will have increased overtime in Southern Arizona, that social determinants of health will influence who is using mHealth and that mHealth users in Southern Arizona will engage in more chronic-disease preventive behaviors – for example, eating fruits and vegetables, being physically active, avoiding alcohol and smoking -- resulting in higher perceived health status.

Once this project is completed, are you contemplating next steps in the future?

After this project is completed, this information can be used to develop tailored mHealth multilevel interventions -- those that include the individual and their connections -- that considers and addresses social determinants of health to reduce health disparities. Engaging with community partners, this information may further shape local policies related to access of technology and healthcare. Future research can explore the relationships of mHealth and social determinants of health on cancer screening behaviors and chronic disease burden.