Curricula Vitae in Biobehavioral Health & Nursing Science

Name	Personal Focus	Summary
Dr. Demetrius Alexander Abshire Associate Professor		Dr. Abshire teaches Nursing 212: Evolution of Nursing Science at the University of South Carolina. He has previously taught classes on culture and diversity, research and evidence-based practice, program planning and evaluation, and foundations for professional nursing.
Dr. Swann Arp Adams, PhD Professor	Breast cancer racial disparities, Cancer epidemiology, Cancer survivorship	Dr. Adams' extensive research has focused on disparities in breast cancer screening and epidemiology; premature discontinuation of cancer treatment; dietary and physical activity interventions, subject recruitment strategies; inflammation processes and cancer.
Jean Davis Professor	study of sleep and circadian rhythm disruption in vulnerable populations, effects of nonpharmacological interventions to improve sleep	Dr. Davis received a BS in nursing from Michigan State University; a MS in nursing as a clinical nurse specialist from Hunter College, the City University of New York; and a PhD in clinical nursing research with a major in physiology from the University of Arizona.
Dr. Robin M. Dawson, PhD Associate Professor	Nursing	Dr. Dawson’s scholarship builds on her clinical experience as a certified pediatric nurse practitioner. Her multi-level program of research is focused on understanding the context and processes of communication and the development of practical and innovative interventions designed to facilitate optimal patient-provider communication. She focuses on three specific areas of communication research: language discordance, technology-based interventions, and care provider communication skills.
Dr. Sara Belle Donevant Assistant Professor	Exploring Patients' Use of Mobile Health Applications to Manage Multiple Chronic Conditions, Development and Usability Testing of STORY+ App to Improve Treatment Adherence to Endocrine Therapy, Healthcare Professionals’ Perception of mHealth Features that Promote Positive Patient Outcomes	Dr. Donevant worked as a staff nurse on general medical/surgical unit and adult medical intensive care unit in an acute care facility in South Carolina. During this time, she become interested in mobile apps to assist patients with managing chronic health conditions and participated in several informatic projects involving the intensive care units. She also has extensive experience in managing geriatric patients with complex health issues.
Kayla C. Everhart Assistant Professor		Kayla C. Everhart, PhD, RN is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department Nursing, College of Nursing.
Dr. Tisha M Felder Associate Professor	Cancer, Health services research, African American health	The goal of my research is to ensure that people have access to quality care and services, particularly underserved groups (e.g., African Americans, Medicaid-insured) diagnosed with cancer. I desire to identify strategies that help patients overcome barriers to accessing the health-related services they need and provide patients with support to adhere to their prescribed regimen.
Donna Kazemi Professor	use of mHealth digital technology to address disparate risks and outcomes in Substance Use Disorders	Dr. Kazemi, a national and internationally recognized nurse scientist, has a program of scholarship in applied and clinical research. She is one of the few nurses working in the area of addiction among populations at high risk, such as adolescents, young adults, college students, military, and underserved ethnic minority populations. She played an instrumental role in developing mHealth techniques to assess, treat and prevent substance-induced disorders among vulnerable populations.
Jennifer May Assistant Professor	advancing health for older adult sexual and gender minorities	Dr. Jennifer May is a nursing researcher who worked as a registered nurse for over 10 years. Her research focuses on the advancing health for older adult sexual and gender minorities. She is developing skilled nursing resources for older adult care of LGBT individuals and studying social determinants of health in LGBT adults as well as health care experiences of sexual and gender minority adults living with dementia.
Dr. Karen Kane McDonnell Associate Professor	Intervention Research, Cancer Survivorship, Cancer Risk-reducing Behavior Research	Dr. McDonnell’s primary research interests include developing and testing interventions for cancer risk-reducing behavior modification when a diagnosis of lung cancer exists within a family. Concept areas include low intensity physical activity, smoking reduction, decision making, mindfulness-based stress reduction, health-related quality of life, and dyadic analysis.
Malissa Mulkey Assistant Professor		Dr. Malissa Mulkey is an Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing.
Crystal Murillo Assistant Professor	educational disparities particularly in underrepresented nursing students	Dr. Murillo received her ADN and AAS from Florence-Darlington Technical College in Florence, SC in 2006. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from USC in 2009. Dr. Graham received both her Master’s in Nursing Education (2011) and PhD (2016) from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC. Her PhD area of emphasis during her tenure at MUSC was educational disparities particularly in underrepresented nursing students
Dr. Phyllis Ann Raynor Assistant Professor		Dr. Raynor has returned to USC College of Nursing as a Clinical Assistant Professor. Earlier in her professional career, she worked for several years as a clinical instructor in Medical Surgical Nursing for the University of Southern Mississippi College of Nursing and the University of South Carolina College of Nursing. She left teaching after that time to pursue other practice related opportunities.
Jewel Scott Assistant Professor		Jewel Scott, PhD, RN, FNP-C is an Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing.
Dr. Allison Marie Sweeney Assistant Professor	developing community-based interventions for underserved communities	Dr. Sweeney received her B.A.in Psychology from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR in 2010. She received her PhD in Social and Health Psychology from Stony Brook University in 2016, with a focus on health-related motivation and mechanisms of health behavior change. After receiving her doctorate, Dr. Sweeney received additional training in community-based interventions and health promotion as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of South Carolina in the Department of Psychology.
Dr. Curisa M Tucker Assistant Professor		Dr. Tucker received a BA in Biology from the College of Charleston in 2005. She received an AD in Nursing Science from Cabarrus College of Health Sciences in Concord, NC in 2009. In 2015, she received a Master’s degree in nursing education from Excelsior College. In 2021, she received a PhD in Nursing Science from the University of South Carolina, College of Nursing. After her doctorate, Dr. Tucker received additional research training as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University, SOM.
Lori Vick Assistant Professor	Hydroxyurea adherence strategies for persons with sickle cell disease: A systematic review.	In a recently completed systematic review a synthesis of variables from a human behavior perspective were identified that may promote adherence to hydroxyurea in persons with SCD. The findings will be used as a foundation for an intervention study.
Dr. Kristen Ronn Weaver-Toedtman Assistant Professor		Kristen Weaver-Toedtman, PhD, CRNP is an Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing.
Dr. Karen Ellen Wickersham Assistant Professor	Symptoms related to oral targeted therapy, Adherence to oral cancer medications, Aging and cancer	I have over 20 years' experience in clinical research in both the pharmaceutical and academic research environments. My research investigates issues related to cancer survivorship, particularly for individuals living with “chronic” advanced cancer.
Dr. Michael David Wirth Assistant Professor	Circadian Disruption, Diet, Cancer	My research interests include environmental/behavioral and cancer epidemiology, specifically focusing on the relationship between circadian disrupters (i.e., shiftwork, sleep disruption, clock genes) diet, and physical activity. I am particularly interested in relationships with intermediate outcomes associated with cancer development (e.g., inflammation). Additionally, I have a strong interest in exploring associations between the Dietary Inflammatory Index and various health outcomes.
Dr. Pamela J. Wright Assistant Professor	Advancing Knowledge of Exercise as Therapeutic Management for Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Developing Smart Technology to Detect Medication-Taking Gestures, Virtual Home Assistant Use and Perceptions of Usefulness by Older Adults and Support Person Dyads	Pamela J. Wright, PhD, MS, MEd, RN, CEN is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nursing, College of Nursing.