About Students

Charles Alexandre, RN, MS, is the Chief of Health Professions Regulation for the Rhode Island Department of Health, where he has oversight of the regulation and licensing of all health and health related professions.  His research interest is in health policy regulation and program evaluation.

Susan Alix, MS, RN is a faculty member at Worcester State College where she teaches Medical-Surgical Nursing and is an adjunct summer faculty at Simmons College. In addition to her teaching Susan maintains her clinical skills by working part-time as a staff nurse in the ICU at UMassMemorial in Worcester. Entering in the fall of 2007 Susan’s research interests are in the area of the delivery of Geriatric and long-term care services. Specifically she would like to examine: How elderly people understand what their health care providers are telling them? What happens when elderly people can’t afford their prescriptions? And, How do elderly people in other countries deal with these issues?

Maureen Banks, RN, MS,MBA is President of the Skilled Nursing Division at Partners HealthCare System and Director of the 4NEXT Project.  Maureen’s areas of interest include access to care for undocumented immigrants and skilled nursing care access for population with psych/substance abuse histories.  Relating to her study interests are her responsibilities at 4NEXT, a national web based application, which matches patients being discharged from acute care with the next provider in the continuum, based on clinical needs and demographics.

Jean M. Bernhardt, MHSA,MSN,CNAA,NHA,RN/NP is Director of Nursing and Chief Compliance Officer, for the North End Community Health Center in Boston.  Her research interest is in nursing's influence on the reduction of health disparities, particularly nurse education and support of self-management goal setting.  Jean has a special interest in program evaluation research.

Gloria Harris Cater, APRN is the Associate Director of the Health Service at Wellesley College and an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.  Her area of interest is health disparities in the African American community, specifically and identifying ways that faith communities can address these disparities.

Peg (Margaret J.) Cushman, MSN, MS, FHHC, FAAN is a full-time student and part-time  research assistant at UMB. Her research interest is in the use of herbs as therapeutic agents by various populations and the integration of complementary and alternative medicine with conventional healthcare. Peg’s second master’s degree is in herbal medicine and she maintains a small practice as a clinical herbalist. She is a former home care executive, and holds an adjunct faculty appointment as Associate Clinical Professor at Yale University School of Nursing.

Donna Dello Iacono, RN, MSN is a Neuroscience Nurse Clinician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and a Senior Lecturer at  Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts.  Donna’s areas of interest include brain tumors, pain management, and hydrocephalus. Her research will examine the quality of life of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus patients who have undergone the implantation of a shunt.  Donna is married to Paul Dello Iacono, and is the mother of Brad, a 2006 graduate of the Air Force Academy and Andrea, who attends Quinnipiac University.

Joe-Ann Fergus RN, MA, is an Associate Director for the Division of Labor, at the Massachusetts Nurses Association.  Joe-Ann’s areas of interest include exploring the changing voice of Nurses and the Nursing profession while examining how nursing empowerment affects patient outcomes.

Eva Gómez, RN MSN an entering student in the Fall of 2007 is a Staff Development Specialist at Children's Hospital, Boston. Her position focuses on Cultural Competence education for staff nurses. She is a former member of the Governor’s Task Force for Healthy Carolinians, the board of directors of the NC Healthy Start Foundation, and the advisory council for the North Carolina Center for Nursing. She is a 2005 fellow of the National Hispana Leadership Institute. She is a member of the Society of Pediatric Nurses, National Association of Hispanic Nurses, American Public Health Association, and Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society. In North Carolina she hosted a radio show called: "La Clínica del Pueblo". The goal of the radio program was to educate the growing Latino community on health, wellness, and injury prevention topics. Her research interests are meeting the healthcare needs of the Latino community, eliminating health disparities, and access to healthcare for minority and migrant populations.

Anne H. Gross, MS, RN, CNAA is Vice President for Adult Ambulatory Services and Director of Adult Ambulatory Nursing at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Her research interest is hope – specifically the factors that influence hope in patients diagnosed and living with ovarian cancer.   She is also interested in staff renewal and rejuvenation programs as a key strategy to maintaining clinical and therapeutic effectiveness in the nurse-patient relationship. 

Patricia A. Hickey, MS, MBA, RN, CNAA is Vice President, Cardiovascular and Critical Care Services. Co-Director, Center for Medical Simulation, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA. Her area of interest is patient safety and specifically how communication and interdisciplinary collaboration affect patient and family satisfaction and outcomes. For the past 18 years, Patricia has served as a volunteer consultant for Project HOPE where she has been actively involved in the development and evaluation of nursing and patient care services at Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China.

Kathleen Hickson, MN APRN, BC is a Research Nurse in Vascular Surgery at the Boston VA Healthcare System.  Kathleen continues working at the Boston VA coordinating research studies in both Vascular Surgery and Spinal Cord Injury.  Her research interests are the role of the APN in influencing outcomes in Vascular Surgery and policy formation in the area of Human Studies Protection.

Terry Kahlert Eng, MS, RN formerly the Director of Cardiovascular and Medical Nursing at Brigham and Women’s Hospital is now working on a patient oriented teamwork project at the Center for Patient Safety at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Terry’s areas of interest include patient safety, acute care delivery models, uninsured populations, patients as health care team members, and effects of nursing working conditions on patient safety.

Julie Lynch, RN, MA, MBA with previous graduate and undergraduate degrees in business, Julie entered UMB’s Nursing Program earning a BSN in 2007. This Fall she will be one of first two BSN to PhD “fast-track” students. Currently a Research Analyst and consultant to the biopharmaceutical industry focusing on new drug development and clinical trials. Julie is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, American Society of Clinical Oncologists, Oncology Nursing Society, National Organization for Rare Diseases, and American Congress of Rehabilitative Medicine.

Patricia M. Noga, RN, BSN, MBA, CNAA, BC is the Chief Retention Officer in Patient Care Services at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.  Her accomplishments and areas of interest include program start up and development, enhancing models of patient care, teamwork improvement initiatives, leadership development, improving patient throughput, reducing patient observation costs, nurse retention and recruitment strategies.  Ms. Noga is a member many professional nursing organizations and a member of the Nursing Spectrum Advisory Board.

Mary Jane O’Brien, R.N., M.S.N, C.P.N.P is a School Nurse in the Boston Public Schools. She is a founding member of the Massachusetts School Nurse Research Network. The Network promotes evidence-based practice in school nursing.  Mary Jane’s research will examine school health services and the quality of health care delivery in the urban school setting.

Sharon D. Perryman, MHA, RN is a Consultant specializing in Diversity and Cultural Competency in Nursing and Health Care Organizations.  Sharon’s research interests include health disparities in African American Women with Lung Cancer.  She has a secondary research interest in the study of workforce development and career paths of nurses from diverse backgrounds in academic teaching hospitals.  

Leslie Rideout, APRN, a Pediatric Trauma Nurse Coordinator at Floating Hospital for Children, Tufts-NEMC.  Research interests include pediatric trauma and trauma prevention analysis. Leslie is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.  She grew up in northern Maine and is a long distance runner.

Kristin Roper, RN, MS is the clinical research nurse for the department of radiation oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital. Her area of interest includes the HRQOL of young adult survivors of cancer. Specifically, Kristin will explore policy initiatives relating to the return to work for the cancer survivor.

Kristine Ruggiero, MS, NP is an entering student for the Fall 2007. She is an Assistant Professor at Bunker Hill Community College where she teaches Pediatric nursing. She received a Biology degree from Fairfield University. After working in research at Mass General Hospital in Radiation Oncology, she went to graduate school at Yale University where she attained a Master’s in Nursing, as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She has worked as a nurse on the Pediatric Oncology and Adolescent Medical-Surgical floors at Yale New-Haven Hospital. After graduation, she began working as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Kristine’s goal in coming to UMass Boston PhD Program is to build on her interests in research, education and healthcare.

Linda Samia, MS, RN, has a research interest in home care workforce issues and healthy aging evidence-based translation research. Her dissertation, a case study involving two home care agencies, was funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). She served as a project manager for the Home Healthcare Nurse Job Retention Study. Linda is currently project director for a three year healthy aging demonstration project funded by the Administration on Aging. She also serves as consultant for other evidence-based healthy aging grants in Maine. Linda resides in southern Maine.

Julio A. Toro, RN was born in Puerto Rico. He came to Massachusetts in 1984 to earn a biology degree from Harvard College and later attended UMB’s Nursing Program graduating in 1995 with a BS in Nursing and Chemistry. His clinical experience includes psychiatric nursing and over ten years experience as an oncology nurse; a role he reports that “defined him”. Julio is married to a nurse and they have three children. He is interested in the economic forces of wage slavery and their impact on healthcare inequalities in terms of work hours and diet. He is one of first two BSN to PhD students enrolled this fall (2007).

Brenda Vigue, an advanced practice nurse and a Doctoral Candidate research interests include legislation and policies specific to mental health/substance abuse disorders, as well as, nursing scope of practice.  Brenda is the single parent of two children—a daughter, age 18 and a son, age 12.

About alumni

Lisa M. Abdallah, RN, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nursing, School of Health & Environment at University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and a John J. Hartford Institute Geriatric Nursing Scholar.  Dr. Abdallah received her PhD 2003.  Her dissertation research explored the EverCare Program, a Collaborative MD/NP Model of Care Delivery in Nursing Home Settings and the similarities and differences of EverCare Nurse Practitioner Practice Activities across Five States.  Dr. Abdallah’s current area of research focuses on quality improvement initiatives in nursing homes.

Laura Cestari Long, RN, PhD is employed by VNA Care Network where she conducts complex care evaluations at the Massachusetts General Hospital.  Dr. Long teaches Healthcare Management at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, and drawing on over 20 years experience in home healthcare consults for ABT Associates. 

Linda J. Curtin, RN, Ph.D., CCRN is currently the Director of Nursing Practice, Education and Research at a teaching hospital south of Boston. Her program of research utilizes the bundling of autonomous nursing interventions, quality improvement strategies, staff education, and infection control surveillance criteria. Her research activities include program development and evaluation, focusing on patient safety, and improving patient outcomes. For her dissertation Linda developed and tested an autonomous nursing intervention bundle to reduce Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia. She has authored and designed an organization-wide model for the development of core nursing systems and processes for the delivery of nursing care.

Susan A. LaRocco, RN, PhD, MBA is an Associate Professor at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts where she teaches adult nursing to traditional and accelerated students.  Her dissertation research was a qualitative study of men in nursing and this topic continues to be a focus of her research.  Dr. LaRocco serves on the board of the American Assembly for Men in Nursing and is currently Vice President of Theta-at-Large Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International.  Dr. LaRocco was the first recipient of the Brenda S. Cherry Doctoral Dissertation Award.

Eileen Stuart-Shor, APRN-BC, PhD, FAHA founder and director of innovative cardiovascular programs in the Division of Behavioral Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and former Senior Scientist in the Mind/Body Medical Institute; and an Associate in Medicine, at the Harvard Medical School returned to the College Of Nursing and Health Sciences as an Assistant Professor in the Fall of 2006. As cofounder of an Independent Nurse clinic for homeless individuals in the city of Boston, Dr. Stuart-Shor was honored with a Humanitarian Award.  She serves on the CDC/NIH/AHA National Forum to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke and served on the Cardiovascular Task Force for the Boston Public Health Commission and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.  Dr. Stuart-Shor has a long interest in an integrating mind/body/and spirit in health and healing and as a clinician and researcher has applied this model to cardiovascular disease, primary care, hospice care and with special emphasis on vulnerable populations.