Currently, and inspired by COVID disruptions/challenges in education and in nursing, I am studying if reinforcing growth mindset and brief reflection early in nursing school increases belonging, resilience, and learning, and if there are potential benefits that extend into nursing practice. 

My previous research was on understanding disrupted sleep and wakefulness associated with illness and injury, and the effects of these disruptions on recovery. My experiences as a nurse working with people following brain injury from stroke, trauma, and cancer who had persistent difficulties with fatigue, disrupted wakefulness, and disrupted sleep drive my interest to develop targeted therapies for these symptoms. I found that cytotoxic chemotherapy disrupts orexin neuropeptide signaling in the brain. This disruption was associated with decreased wakefulness and activity in rodents and replacing orexin restored activity (Weymann, K.B., Wood, L.J., Zhu, X., & Marks, D.L. (2014). A role for orexin in cytotoxic chemotherapy-induced fatigue. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 37, 84-94.). I then pursued clinical research, studying disrupted sleep in Veterans and older adults, and the effect of previous traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and sleep apnea on sleep, functional outcomes, and quality of life.