Nursing research and evidence-based practice

• 2022 – Epigenetics Embedding of Oral Feeding Skill Development in Preterm Infants. National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health (PI – Thao Griffith) (Sponsor – Rosemary White-Traut)
• 2020 – Implementation of an Evidence Based Parentally Administered Intervention for Preterm Infants. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (PI – Rosemary White-Traut) (MPI – Kathleen Norr) (Co-Investigator – Karen Kavanaugh) (Project Director – Karen Gralton)
• 2020 – A Randomized Controlled Trial to Improve Mother-Infant Synchrony among Women with Childhood Adversity. National Institute of Nursing Research (Co-Investigator – Rosemary White-Traut) (PI – A. Bell)
• 2019 – Body Composition and Energy Expenditure in Youth with Spina Bifida. National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child Health and Development (PI – Michele Polfuss) (Co-Investigators – Rosemary White-Traut and Kathleen Sawin)
• 2019 – Energy Expenditure and Weight-Related Behaviors in Youth with Down Syndrome. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (PI – Michele Polfuss) (Co-Investigator – Kathleen Sawin)
• 2019 – Evaluation of the Communication Plan Early through End-of-Life (COMPLETE) Intervention. National Institutes of Health. (Co-Investigator – Amy Newman) (PI – J. Haase)
• 2019 – Improving the Urologic Care and Outcomes of Young Children with Spina Bifida in Wisconsin: The “Urologic Management to Preserve Initial Renal Function (UMPIRE) Protocol for Young Children with Spina Bifida”. Center for Disease Control. (Co-PI – Eileen Sherburne)
• 2019 – Research Approaches to Improving the Care and Outcomes of People Living with Spina Bifida in Wisconsin: The NSBPR. Center for Disease Control (PI – Eileen Sherburne) (Co-Investigator – Kathleen Sawin)

• 2019 – Family and Provider Experience in High Risk Asthma and Diabetes Clinic. Children’s Research Institute. (PI – Joan Totka)
• 2019 – The Influence of Non-Caloric Artificial Sweeteners on the Metabolome, Body Composition, and Glycemic Control in Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Patients. Clinical and Translational Science Institute Pilot Award Program: Medical College of Wisconsin Projected Project. (Co-PI – Michele Polfuss)
• 2018 – mHealth Family Self-Management Intervention for Parents of Transplanted Children. National Institutes of Health – National Institute of Nursing Research. (PI – Stacee Lerret) (Co-Sponsor – Rosemary White-Traut)
• 2017 – Social Stressors and Inflammation: A Mixed Methods Approach to Preterm Birth. National Institutes of Health – National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. (Co-Investigator – Karen Kavanaugh) (PI – C. Giurgescu)

• Rosemary White-Traut PhD, RN, FAAN
  Director, Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice; Professor Emerita, University of Illinois-Chicago; Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin; Adjunct Professor, Marquette University
  (414) 337-0261 | rwhite-traut@childrenswi.org
• Karen S. Gralton PhD, RN, PCNS-BC
  Evidence-Based Practice Specialist and Nurse Scientist, Children’s Wisconsin and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin
  (414) 266-2133 | kgralton@childrenswi.org
• Michele Polfuss PhD, RN, CPNP-AC/PC, FAAN
  Joint Research Chair in the Nursing of Children, Children’s Wisconsin and Professor, College of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
  (414) 266-3187 | mpolfuss@childrenswi.org
  mpolfuss@uwm.edu
• Candace Pollock
  Administrative Coordinator
  (414) 266-8384 | cpollock@childrenswi.org

• Elizabeth Cleek PhD, RN, CPNP-PC
  Nurse Scientist, Children’s Wisconsin and Assistant Professor of Research, Department of Pediatrics, Child Advocacy and Protective Services, Medical College of Wisconsin
  (414) 337-3213 | ecleek@mcw.edu

Area of expertise: Child maltreatment, reasonable suspicion of child maltreatment, interprofessional education, bioethics.

• Jennifer Dahlman PhD, RN, BSN, MSN
  Nurse Scientist and Clinical Educator, NICU, Pediatrics, Children’s Wisconsin-Fox Valley
  (920) 969-7904 | jdahlman@childrenswi.org 

Area of expertise: Diversity, including barriers Underrepresented Minority Groups (URMs) face; virtual and face-to-face (FTF) mentoring of undergraduate nurses and new graduates from BSN programs; domestic violence experiences of students in higher education, patient engagement within inpatient settings, and pediatrics. Clinical site nurse for the federally funded H-HOPE implementation research.

• Karen S. Gralton PhD, RN, PCNS-BC
  Nurse Scientist and Evidence-Based Practice Specialist, Children’s Wisconsin and Adjunct Professor, Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin
  (414) 266-2133 | kgralton@childrenswi.org

Area of expertise: Pediatric/family nursing, preterm infants and parents, resiliency and family functioning, and evidence-based practice. Project director for the federally funded H-HOPE implementation research.

• Thao Griffith PhD, RN
  Nurse Scientist, Children’s Wisconsin and Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Health Nursing, Loyola University of Chicago
  tgriffith1@luc.edu
  tgriffith@childrenswi.org

Area of expertise: Neonatal research, premature infant feeding, epigenetics, pediatric research, nursing research, and family health.

• Karen Kavanaugh PhD, RN, FAAN
  Senior Nurse Scientist, Children’s Wisconsin; Professor Emerita, University of Illinois at Chicago; Adjunct Professor, Medical College of Wisconsin
  (414) 337-0262 | kkavanaugh@childrenswi.org
  karenk@uic.edu

Area of expertise: Palliative and end-of-life care for newborns and their families; decision making by families of extremely premature infants; pathways leading to preterm birth in African American women; qualitative and mixed methods research.

• Julie Lavoie PhD, AC-PNP, MSN, MS, RD
  Nurse Scientist and Program Director, Eating Disorders and Enteral Feeding, Children’s Wisconsin and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Marquette University College of Nursing
  (414) 266-2884 | jlavoie@childrenswi.org

Area of expertise: Enteral Feeding, Bridled Nasogastric tubes, Pediatric Congenital Heart Disease Nutrition

• Stacee Lerret PhD, RN, CPNP-AC/PC, CCTC, FAAN
  Nurse Scientist, Children’s Wisconsin; Professor, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Medical College of Wisconsin; Telehealth Accelerator Lead Researcher, Marquette University College of Nursing
  (414) 266-3944 | slerret@mcw.edu
  slerret@childrenswi.org

Area of expertise: Transition from hospital to home for pediatric chronic illness patients and their families, application of individual and family self-management theory, mHealth and telehealth use for patients and families.

• Kathryn Malin PhD, RN, NNP-BC, APNP
  Nurse Scientist and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Children’s Wisconsin and Assistant Professor, Marquette University College of Nursing
  (414) 288-4462 | kathryn.malin@marquette.edu
  (414) 907-2335 | kmalin@childrenswi.org

Area of expertise: Toxic stress in premature infants and their families with a specific focus on perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder in parents after their infant’s discharge from the NICU; exploring the relationships between infant and parent mental health in the NICU with the goal of laying a foundation for future nursing intervention development; research and clinical work is patient oriented with a goal of improving long-term health and development of premature infants.

• Amy Newman PhD, RN, CPNP-PC
  Nurse Scientist, Children’s Wisconsin; Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, MACC Fund Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders; Assistant Professor, Marquette University College of Nursing
  (414) 337-0273 | anewman@childrenswi.org
  amy.newman@marquette.edu

Area of expertise: Pediatric oncology, communication, and palliative care.

• Kathleen Norr, PhD
  Senior Scientist Children’s Wisconsin and Professor Emerita, University of Illinois at Chicago
  (414) 266-6515 | knorr@childrenswi.org

Area of expertise: A sociologist who has conducted research on health care innovations both in the US and internationally with a primary focus on research in the areas of HIV prevention, maternal-child health, prenatal care and implementation research.

• Michele Polfuss PhD, RN, CPNP-AC/PC, FAAN
  Joint Research Chair in the Nursing of Children, Children’s Wisconsin and Professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Nursing
  (414) 266-3187 | mpolfuss@childrenswi.org
  mpolfuss@uwm.edu

Area of expertise: The measurement, prevention, and treatment of childhood obesity and its related comorbidities with a special focus on children with developmental disabilities and the role of the family through parenting and feeding behaviors; body composition and energy expenditure; health promotion. 

• Kathleen Sawin PhD, CPNP-PC, FAAN
  Nurse Scientist, Children’s Wisconsin and Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Nursing
  (414) 266-8384| ksawin@childrenswi.org
  sawin@uwm.edu

Area of expertise: Child and family adaptation to chronic conditions (e.g. spina bifida, cancer, diabetes, epilepsy), individual and family self-management, quality of life, adolescent protective and risk factors (e.g. attitude, hope, decision making, communication self-efficacy and social determinants of health), instrument development (e.g. self-management, family quality of life, adolescent communication self-efficacy), and mixed method designs (quantitative/qualitative), Over the last 15 years Dr. Sawin has focused on improvement of clinical care through the National Spina Bifida Patient Registry and most recently with Dr. Michele Polfuss, on assessment of body composition, energy expenditure and weight-related behaviors in children with spina bifida.

• Christine Schindler PhD, RN, CPNP-AC/PC
  Nurse Scientist, Children’s Wisconsin; Advanced Practice Provider Program Director, Critical Care/Palliative Care, Medical College of Wisconsin; Clinical Associate Professor, Director Pediatric Acute Care Graduate Program, Co-Director Dual Pediatric Primary Care and Acute Care Graduate Program, Marquette University College of Nursing
  (414) 266-3360 | cschindl@mcw.edu
  christine.schindler@marquette.edu

Area of expertise: Harm prevention in the pediatric intensive care unit, pressure ulcer prevention, and wound care.

• Eileen Sherburne PhD, ACNS-BC, FNP-BC
  Nurse Scientist, Spina Bifida and Nursing Research, Children’s Wisconsin
  (414) 266-2087 | esherburne@childrenswi.org

Area of expertise: Care of children with spina bifida, constipation in hospitalized children, constipation in children with special needs, post-operative urinary retention in children after orthopedic surgery.

• Joan Totka PhD, RN
  Joint Clinical Assistant Professor, Children’s Wisconsin and Marquette University College of Nursing
  (414) 266-2213 | jptotka@childrenswi.org
  (414) 288-0506 | joan.totka@marquette.edu

Area of expertise: Patient and family-centered outcomes for children with chronic illness; mixed methods research and engagement with those interprofessional teams to holistically individualize care. Current research involves integrating patient-reported outcome measures, such as social determinants of health, depression, anxiety, and disease-specific measures, into clinical practice.

• Rosemary White-Traut PhD, RN, FAAN
  Director, Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice, Children’s Wisconsin; Professor Emerita, University of Illinois-Chicago; Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin; Adjunct Professor, Marquette University College of Nursing
  (414) 337-0261 | rwhite-traut@childrenswi.org

Area of expertise: Feeding of at risk infants; pathways leading to preterm birth in African American women; neurohormonal, inflammatory, and epigenetic biomarkers and health outcomes in mothers and premature and full term infants following developmental behavioral intervention; and implementation science.

• Barbara Haase PhD, APRN, CPNP-PC, IBCLC
  Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Nursing
  (414) 251-9469 | bhaase@uwm.edu

Area of expertise: Impact of breastfeeding, breast milk supply, premature infant feeding and breast milk.

• Kaboni Gondwe, PhD, RN
  Nurse Scientist, Children’s Wisconsin and Assistant Professor in Nursing and Midwifery, University of Washington School of Nursing
  kwgondwe@uw.edu

Area of expertise: Parent-infant relationship, preterm birth, perinatal stress and inflammation, mother and infant outcomes, health equity, resilience, social determinants of health and global health.

• Norah Johnson PhD, RN, CPNP-PC, FAAN
  Professor, Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program Director, Marquette University College of Nursing
  (414) 288-3857 | norah.johnson@marquette.edu

Area of expertise: Education of clinicians who work with children with developmental disabilities for example, autism spectrum disorders, empowering families to negotiate health care experiences with health care providers and testing interventions to reduce distress of the child and family during health care encounters.

• Karen Pridham PhD, FAAN
  Professor Emerita and Board of Visitors, University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Nursing
  (608) 263-9886 | kpridham@wisc.edu

Area of expertise: Child feeding skills and respiration during feeding, mother/infant interaction, biochemical markers of dietary adequacy and health. Research design: Qualitative and quantitative.

• Karyn Roberts PhD, RN
  Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Nursing
  (414) 251-6957 | robertkj@uwm.edu

Area of expertise: Obesity, genetics of obesity and weight stigma.

• Rachel Schiffman PhD, RN, FAAN
  Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Nursing
  schiffma@uwm.edu

Area of expertise: Prenatal care, early childhood intervention programs (Early Head Start), family health and individual and family self-management

• Marianne Weiss DNSC, RN
  Professor Emerita, Marquette University College of Nursing
  (414) 288-3855 | marianne.weiss@marquette.edu

Area of expertise: Discharge transition and continuum of care for mothers and their newborns, readiness for discharge