Faculty Research Portfolio

Research Interest:  Health Equity, Health Disparities, Health Promotion

Research Methods:  Quantitative, Qualitative, Behavioral Clinical Trials

Christopher Lance Coleman, PhD, MS,MPH,FAAN,PMHCNS  began his tenure as Dean & Professor, May 2023. Prior to this role 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 Tennesee 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 or 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 clinican. 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.

His work has been cited in interdisciplinary journals such as AIDS Patient Care and STDS, Clinical Psychology-Science and Practice, Journal of General Internal Medicine, Vaccine, AIDS Education and Prevention, and Ethnicity & Disease, as well as top tier nursing journals, including Nursing Research, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Journal of Nursing Scholarship, and Advances in Nursing Science.  Dr. Coleman has served on NIH & HRSA Study Sections, serves as peer reviewer for leading peer review journals, and on several editorial boards. Out of his body of scholarship emerged a book entitled “Dangerous Intimacy, which focused on 10 African American men with HIV, and he also authored the book “MANUP” A practical Guide for Men in Nursing published by Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society.

KAREN DUNN, PhD, RN, FGSA
Professor, Tenured
Endowed Chair, Maggie Allesee Geriatric Nursing

Gerontology and Critical Care Nursing

Dr. Dunn received her PhD in Nursing from Wayne State University, College of Nursing. 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. Current project involves the development of an evidenced-based checklist that long-term care facilities can utilize when implementing a dog therapy program.

Dr. Dunn has special interest in the geriatric population and has been awarded the position as Maggie Allesee Geriatric Nursing Endowed Chair. She has extensive experience as a faculty chair for graduate students’ research including topics such as: emotional intelligence and occupational stress in CRNAs, advanced practice registered nurses’ (APRNs’) level of knowledge in assessment and management of pre-diabetics, use of regional anesthesia in total knee arthroplasty, nurses’ knowledge regarding current care and chronic wound management practices, spiritual care practices of hospitalized patients, applying complexity theory to design new simulation models, resilience and ostomy adjustment, satisfaction with primary care among adult patients with chronic non-cancer pain, relocation stress syndrome, self-transcendence and medication adherence to antihypertensive medications, coping strategies among middle-eastern adult immigrants, APRN’s knowledge regarding heart disease in women, multi-sensory environmental interventions, the trajectory of terminal delirium at the end of life, APRN’s attitudes regarding urinary incontinence in older women, culture of caring, the lived experience of unexpected death of a child, self-care among patients with heart failure, and effects of electro-acupuncture and complementary/alternative medicine on pain intensity level.

ELIZABETH EISENHAUER, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor

Bioethics, Healthcare decision-making

Dr. Eisenhauer earned her PhD in Nursing at the University of Michigan. Having also earned a master’s degree in Library Science at the State University of New York at Buffalo, she is both an information scientist and a nurse researcher.

Dr. Eisenhauer’s current research involves bioethics and the role of information and personal values in health care decision-making. Her dissertation research involved participants’ understanding of informed consent for biobanking and the degree to which participants’ make informed choices about biospecimen donation. She was awarded the OU University Research Committee Faculty Fellowship for the summer of 2020 to refine and continue this work.

She has also conducted research on several population health issues including modifiable risk factors for delivering low birth weight infants and refugee health.

ELLEN GAJEWSKI, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE, ACNS-BC, CHSE
Assistant Professor
Interim Undergraduate Program Director

English Language Learners in Nursing Education; Simulation in Nursing Education

Ms. Gajewski has been teaching at Oakland University since 2010, implementing innovative teaching strategies in her classrooms, including a flipped classroom, team-based learning, simulation, and piloting the use of an academic electronic health record. She also works with the clinical instructors at the junior level and has presented workshops for all of the clinical instructors in the undergraduate program.

 RAJI GEORGE, DNP, FNP-BC
Full Time Adjunct Instructor

TONI L. GLOVER, PhD, GNP-BC, ACHPN
Associate Professor

Advanced Care Planning; Palliative Care

Dr. Glover is a researcher, an educator, and a geriatric nurse practitioner. She joined the School of Nursing at Oakland University in 2018, having previously been a member of the faculty at her alma mater, the University of Florida, from 2013-2018. Her early research focused on pain in older adults but a clinical rotation in hospice cemented her commitment to geriatric palliative care research. Dr. Glover has over 50 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 and recently received the OU Women & Philanthropy grant to enhance palliative care education in the undergraduate and graduate curricula at the School of Nursing. In 2020, she received 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. She leads the APRH-OUSON cohort, a dedicated clinical practice experience designed to strengthen nursing students’ relational competence in providing primary palliative care to seriously ill or dying patients and their families. Dr. Glover is a member of the APRH Ethics Committee, the American Nurses Association, the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, and Sigma Theta Tau – the international honor society for nursing.

MARY GOLINSKI, PhD, CRNA
Associate Professor, Tenured
Assistant Program Director, the Oakland University Beaumont Graduate Program of Nurse Anesthesia

Quality Healthcare: Nurse Anesthesia, Patient Safety

Dr. Mary A. Golinski, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) received her PhD in 2002 from Wayne State University College of Education, Department of Theoretical and Behavioral Foundations, in Educational Evaluation and Research (EER). The program encompasses educational statistics, research, measurement, and evaluation, which allowed her to make a significant and original contribution to the science of evaluation and research via her dissertation: Anesthesia Delivery in Office-Based Surgery: Quality of Care and Patient Satisfaction Outcomes.

Since completing her doctoral research, she has earned several accolades, including but not limited to, the Oakland University Board of Visitors Florence Nightingale award in Education and Research and numerous state and national scholarships by the American and Michigan Association of Nurse Anesthetists. Additionally, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists- Foundation recognized Dr. Golinski by awarding her Researcher of the Year (as an original member of the nationally known AANA Closed Claim Team).  Most recently Dr. Golinski was accepted as a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists and will be inducted in August 2021. 

JULIE A. KRUSE, PhD, MS, RN
Associate Professor, Tenured

Education Innovations: Diversity & Cultural Competence

Dr. Julie A. Kruse received her PhD in nursing from the University of Michigan, School of Nursing, in Health Promotion and Risk Reduction. Her research and scholarship focus is on vulnerable, underserved, and under-resourced populations. Much of her research has focused on how the concept of belonging impacts a variety of health concerns, from depression among post-partum women and female Navy recruits, as well as how belonging impacts student nursing persistence and retention. Additionally, she is concerned with the impact of cultural affiliation and how affiliation impacts access and quality of care.

Previous work has included the determination of cultural competence among faculty, students and staff at Lourdes University to provide interventions to enhance cultural development. These interventions included workshops, curriculum and policy change, so that strengths could be built upon and limitations addressed. Dr. Kruse’s research has been published and presented in peer-reviewed journals and forums. Future plans include a research project related to nursing workforce diversity.

LINDA McDONALD, DNAP, CRNA
Clinical Coordinator, Oakland University-Beaumont Graduate Program of Nurse Anesthesia

Education Innovations: CRNA Programs

Dr. Linda McDonald earned her DNAP from the University of Michigan, where she worked with Dr. Shawn Fryzel, DNAP, CRNA and Dr. Ronald Piscotty, PhD, RN, an expert in big data and informatics, to examine the correlation between team-based learning and Kolb’s learning style in student registered nurse anesthetists. Her research interests include the effectiveness of active learning strategies and the management of stress in student nurse anesthetists.

CARLY MILLER, MSN, RN, FNP-BC
Full Time Adjunct Instructor

Ms. Miller is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) with certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner. She is currently a full-time visiting faculty member at Oakland University, teaching in undergraduate basic BSN/ASD tracks and graduate FNP/AGNP Nurse Practitioner programs. In addition to her teaching, she maintains clinical practice as a Nurse Practitioner within the Department of Athletic Performance at Oakland University. Under a duel clinical-leadership role, she has implemented an in-house clinic offering primary care services, specifically tailored to meet the diverse health needs of Oakland University intercollegiate student-athletes. Ms. Miller has clinical expertise in primary care and internal medicine, sports medicine and orthopedics, and pediatric critical care nursing.

RENEE MIROVSKY, DNP, MSN, RN, ANP-BC
Full Time Adjunct Instructor

Dr. Renee Mirovsky became a faculty member at Oakland University in 2010, where she has worked primarily in the Nurse Practitioner program and is the lead faculty in the Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner track. She has worked as an Adult Nurse Practitioner in internal medicine, neurology, and neurosurgery. Dr. Mirovsky’s areas of practice interests are gerontology and health promotion.

ANNE MITCHELL, PHD, RN, CNM
Associate Professor

Dr. Anne Marie Mitchell is a Certified Nursed Midwife who has been a practitioner in women’s health for over 30 years. Dr. Mitchell published the first article in a nursing journal regarding key information on eating disorder among women of childbearing age. Her research and presentations have involved postpartum depression, umbilical cord blood stem cell studies and professional certifications. Her current research endeavors include collaborative efforts with Dr. Kristen Muyan to explore the ethical values and beliefs of nurses who practice in perinatal settings and the use of social media to support breastfeeding duration among women who choose to nurse their infants. Dr. Mitchell teaches in the ASD program and in the graduate MSN and PhD programs.

KRISTEN MUNYAN, DNP, RN
Assistant Professor

Education Innovations: Emotional Intelligence & Quality Care

Dr. Kristen Munyan holds a DNP (17') from Wayne State University. She is certified as a family nurse practitioner and has focused her clinical practice on individuals with chronic physical and mental health issues. Dr. Munyan's research interests include leveraging technology to expand access to marginalized patient populations, sexual health and nursing education. Dr. Munyan's recent publications (2020) include review articles on intact care (care of the non-circumcised client), disordered eating behaviors in transgender individuals and the application of social media in graduate nursing education. Dr. Munyan has received previous grant funding for instruction-related research with undergraduate students, including an interdisciplinary initiative on mobilizing patients of size and the redesign of the pediatrics course content to promote instructional inclusivity and remove barriers to student success.

KATIE MYSEN, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC
Full Time Adjunct Instructor

SARAH NEWTON, PhD, RN
Associate Professor, Tenured

Education Innovations: Nursing Discipline

Dr. Sarah Newton received her PhD in Nursing from the University of Michigan (U-M) in 1997. While a doctoral student at the U-M, Dr. Newton had the privilege of working under Dr. Carol Loveland-Cherry, as well as two great nursing theorists – Dr. Ann Whall and Dr. Donna Algase. Dr. Newton’s clinical nursing specialty is adult liver transplantation and her research and scholarship focus on adult liver transplant recipients’ lived experiences post-transplant. Writing about the discipline of nursing, specifically issues of relevance to baccalaureate-level nursing education (e.g. student/program outcomes and pedagogy), are a current research focus of Dr. Newton, and she is also a reviewer for several nursing education journals. Dr. Newton was the primary writer for the SON Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) (2012) accreditation self-study report, the SON Continuous Improvement Program Report (CIPR) for the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program (2015), as well as the CIPR for the Undergraduate and Master’s Programs (2017).

JULIA PAUL, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, CCRN, CWS, NP
Associate Professor

Chronc Wounds and Wound-related Itch: Omic Science

Dr. Julia Paul received her bachelor's degree from Valparaiso University and her master's and doctoral degrees from Wayne State University. Her dissertation work focused on itch that occurs with chronic wounds. Her more recent work has focused on metabolomic analysis of wound fluid, wound debris, and serum to determine physiological differences in specimens of persons with and without itch related to their venous ulcers. Additionally, Dr. Paul has been a co-investigator with Dr. Judith Fouladbakhsh and other faculty and students for a study regarding self-treatment of symptoms by community-dwelling older adults. Results have been presented nationally and internationally.. Dr. Paul has participated in the National Institute of Nursing Research's Summer Genetics Institute and Oakland University's PI Academy. She has received funding from Sigma Theta Tau, Oakland University's Faculty Research Award, and the School of Nursing's pilot funding and is working toward submission for funding through the National Institute of Health (NIH). Her areas of interest include chronic wounds, wound management, itch and other symptoms, omics.

Dr. Paul is the co-founder and continuing co-chair of the Research Focus and Support Group at OU's School of Nursing, which aims to strengthen and support research initiatives among faculty and students. She worked in collaboration with Dr. Fouladbakhsh to explore research activities and interests among OU faculty and continues to work with graduate and undergraduate students on various research projects.

LAURA PITTIGLIO, PhD, RN
Associate Professor, Tenured
PhD and PM DNP Program Coordinator

Vulnerable Populations: HIV & Learned Helplessness, & LGBTQ

Dr. Laura Pittiglio received her PhD in Nursing from Wayne State University (2007). Her research interests include coping mechanisms of African American mothers who are living with HIV/AIDS, sexual risk-taking behaviors that put young African American women in jeopardy of contracting HIV, the impact of learned helplessness on decisions regarding sexual risk-taking behaviors, and the use of simulation to improve nursing student knowledge and culturally competent LGBTQ care.

Dr. Poly-Droulard has been a faculty member since 2002 and is a Certified Nurse Educator through the National League for Nursing. Her areas of expertise interests include Cardiac and Emergency Department Nursing and Nursing Education with the use of simulation as a teaching/learning methodology. Her research also includes a focus on caring science in patient care, and also on the value of holistic admissions at the university level.

LAURA RODGERS, DNAP, CRNA
Adjunct Faculty
Simulation Coordinator, Oakland University-Beaumont Nurse Anesthesia Graduate Program

Education Innovations: CRNA Simulation

Dr. Laura Rodgers earned her DNAP from the University of Michigan where she worked with Dr. Shawn Fryzel, DNAP, CRNA and Dr. Jane Motz, DNAP, CRNA to conduct research examining the role of trigger films and simulation in the education of student registered nurse anesthetists (SRNAs). Her research interests include the use of trigger films, simulation and the effect that these forms of pedagogy have on enhancing the clinical decision-making behaviors of SRNAs in the simulation lab. Systematic evidence-based processes are utilized in the analytical review in her areas of interest.

Dr. Rodgers is a member of the AANA, MANA and the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSHC). She recently received a Graduate Certificate in Simulation from Bryan Health College. Dr. Rodgers research was presented, most recently, at the 2017 Michigan Associations of Nurse Anesthetist’s Fall Conference.

KATHLEEN SPENCER, DNP, RN, MA, ACNS-BC, CNE
Special Instructor

Dr. Spencer is a board-certified Clinical Nurse Specialist in adult health. She spent most of her career in plastic and reconstructive surgical and perioperative nursing. She is the faculty mentor for Students for Recovery, an OU student group which supports students in recovery from substance use disorders, and their allies. She is also working on developing the Collegiate Recovery Program at OU. Dr. Spencer teaches primarily online and is an honoree in Crain 2020 Notable Women in Healthcare. With backgrounds in journalism and creative writing, she is committed to enhancing students’ written and verbal communication skills. Her research interests include the use of the humanities in teaching nursing and enhancing nurse empathy towards marginalized patients such as with people with substance abuse disorders.

CAROLYN TIEPPO, DNP, RN, CPNP-PC, PSN
Special Instructor

Dr. Carolyn Tieppo has been a faculty member at Oakland University since 2012. In 2017, she became the Director of Undergraduate Programs in the School of Nursing. Prior to accepting the Director role, she led the Undergraduate Committee on instruction when developing a new curriculum for the School of Nursing. In addition to demonstrating expertise in the Undergraduate program, she has taught numerous Master and Doctoral level courses. She serves on the Bachelor of Integrative Studies Council and the University Autism Council. To complement her experience and expertise in curriculum, Dr. Tieppo's clinical background includes pediatric community mental health, school health, pediatric acute care, and pediatric primary care. She maintains her clinical practice as an Advanced Practice Provider/Nurse Practitioner and her current practice, in the care of vulnerable and at-risk populations, has a focus on disease prevention and treatment adherence, an area of her research. Dr. Tieppo has shared her expertise at local and state conferences and has served as a reviewer for the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Dr. Tieppo’s current community leadership includes service on the Detroit Head Start Advisory Committee, Schoolcraft College Nursing Advisory Board, the Michigan Center for Nursing Action Coalition, the Michigan Center for Nursing Mentoring Committee, and the QSEN Academic Task Force and the QSEN Task Force: High Quality Mathematics Education for Nurses.

STEPHANIE VALLIE, MSN, RN
Special Instructor
Simulation Coordinator

Perinatal Loss, Clinical Nursing Simulation

Ms. Stephanie Vallie has been a faculty member at Oakland University since 2002. Her position as Special Instructor affords her tremendous opportunity to bring didactic and clinical expertise to undergraduate nursing students. Professional expertise in the areas of women's health, obstetrical nursing, and simulated clinical experiences supports her teaching responsibilities for Introduction to Professional Nursing Practice, Nursing Care for the Childbearing Family, and Human Trafficking. In addition, best practice indicates that simulated clinical experiences are beneficial for students at all levels of their nursing program and her role of Faculty of Record provides the avenue for this simulation component to be integrated in her clinically related courses.