People Group Archives: Aging

Senior Lecturer Chaka Brittain is a nurse practitioner, educator and scholar whose work focuses on hospice and palliative care, serious illness communication and culturally responsive end-of-life care. Her scholarship explores topics including cultural humility, spirituality in healthcare, advance care planning, and improving communication between clinicians, patients and families facing complex medical decisions. She has presented […]

Tamara “Tammie” Luman is a senior instructor and two-time alumna in UCF’s College of Nursing. Luman has more than 25 years of experience in nursing practice, healthcare education and higher education, including classroom instruction, simulation, clinical education, skills laboratory and online learning. Prior to UCF, she held faculty and nurse educator roles in higher education […]

Ania Lipat is a postdoctoral scholar in the Healthy Aging Lab at UCF’s College of Nursing. Throughout her educational training, she has gained extensive experience in gait analysis with a specific focus on aging and chronic pain populations. During her studies, she has helped develop and assess novel quantitative gait technologies for preclinical models of […]

Sergi Garcia-Retortillo is an assistant professor at UCF’s College of Nursing with expertise in exercise physiology, electrophysiology, exercise testing and physiological network analysis. His research centers on the emerging field of network physiology, which seeks to understand how physiological systems interact as an integrated network to sustain function. He investigates the fundamental principles regulating interactions […]

Marissa “Mari” Mackiewicz is an assistant professor at UCF’s College of Nursing and a nurse scientist whose work focuses on ensuring all older adults have access to healthcare. Her research interests include substance use disorders and unmet oral health needs in older adult populations. Prior to joining UCF, Mackiewicz held post-doctoral positions at the University […]

Supaporn Pathumanon is a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and current Nursing Ph.D. student at the University of Central Florida. She brings more than 13 years of clinical and academic experience with expertise in psychotherapy, medication management, mindfulness-based care, and nursing education. Supaporn has practiced in both U.S. and international settings. She is dedicated […]

Chitra “Chippy” Banarjee serves as a graduate research assistant in the Healthy Aging Lab at UCF’s College of Nursing while pursuing a joint MD/Ph.D. degree at the College of Medicine. She has a broad background in biochemical and biobehavioral research with specific training and interest in using computational techniques to process and analyze big data. […]

Kworweinski Lafontant is a certified strength coach and certified exercise physiologist and personal trainer who works as a graduate research assistant in the Healthy Aging Lab at UCF’s College of Nursing. Previously, as a master’s student, he served as research coordinator for the Physique & Performance Enhancement Lab at the University of South Florida. Lafontant […]

Jethro Raphael Suarez is a biomedical engineering researcher in the Healthy Aging Lab at UCF’s College of Nursing. His research focuses on the static balance performance and physical activity levels of older adults. Additionally, he applies his engineering expertise to develop cost-effective rehabilitative assistive devices designed to enhance mobility and improve quality of life for […]

Nurse, researcher and educator Michael Joseph “MJ” Dino specializes in health informatics, gerotechnology, educational technologies, robotics, human-computer interaction (HCI), extended reality (XR), artificial intelligence (AI), and academic integrity. He is part of the Delphi Group, which pioneered the new definition of Nursing and Nurses at the International Council of Nurses, and past president of the […]