New Faculty Profile: Get to Know Aleeca Bell, PhD, RN, CNM
July 30, 2020
Please join us in welcoming Associate Professor Aleeca Bell, PhD, RN, CNM, who joined the University of Arizona College of Nursing in mid-July. Dr. Bell worked most recently as an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), College of Nursing, Department of Women Children and Family Health Science. She earned a MS in Midwifery from UIC in 1998, practiced as a Certified Nurse Midwife, and earned a PhD in Nursing from UIC in 2009. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow at UIC from 2009-2011.
Dr. Bell has built a program of research conducting translational, multidisciplinary, biobehavioral clinical research on the intersection of perinatal mother-infant health outcomes and the underlying oxytocin system. These factors include women’s childbirth experience, intrapartum medical interventions, the endogenous oxytocin system (hormonal, genetic, and epigenetic), maternal postnatal mood/anxiety and caregiving attitudes, newborn behaviors, and mother-infant interaction.
"After 30 years in Chicago, I desired to live in a smaller, more intimate community close to nature while continuing to thrive professionally at a research-intensive university. UArizona meets those criteria and I am thrilled to be here amongst stellar faculty at the College of Nursing," ~ Aleeca Bell, PhD, RN, CNM, R, UArizona Nursing Associate Professor
What drew you to a career in nursing?
Giving birth to my son at home with a midwife in Northern California empowered my confidence as a new mother and planted the passion to become a midwife. Shortly thereafter, I initially learned midwifery through the apprentice model followed by an academic journey to become a certified nurse midwife.
What attracted you to the UArizona College of Nursing?
After 30 years in Chicago, I desired to live in a smaller, more intimate community close to nature while continuing to thrive professionally at a research-intensive university. UArizona meets those criteria and I am thrilled to be here amongst stellar faculty at the College of Nursing. The College’s biological laboratory is an exceptionally strong resource for faculty. Collaborators on the R01 include two faculty from UArizona’s Anthropology Department, and I have no doubt I will soon be collaborating with faculty in UArizona Nursing.