People Group Archives: Aging & Vulnerable Populations

Jenna M. Wheeler is an assistant professor at UCF’s College of Nursing. As a practicing registered nurse with nearly 15 years of experience in the neonatal intensive care unit, she has witnessed firsthand the effect of preterm birth on families. Wheeler’s research focuses on the mother-father relationship and mental health during pregnancy utilizing a mixed […]

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 an Apple Distinguished Educator (ADE) and the first Asian to win the Nurse in the Limelight Innovator Award given by Connecting-Nurses in partnership with the […]

Dr. Kailei Yan is a postdoctoral scholar working with Professor Victoria Loerzel. Her research interests include symptom management among cancer populations, behavioral studies, and technology-based interventions. Education Selected Awards & Honors Selected Professional Activities

Darcy Vetro Ravndal is a public health nurse practitioner with an extensive background in program development and education. She is deeply committed to advocating for quality, accessible healthcare for all children and adolescents. Ravndal served as the primary clinician at the Edgewater High School Student Health Center for 10 years and has been instrumental in […]

With over 30 years of academic, clinical, and administrative experience, she is a nationally recognized leader in interprofessional education, curricular design, and holistic nursing. Dr. Dyess is known for her solution-oriented leadership and impactful community-based participatory action research. Her work integrates caring science, human-centered design, and systems thinking to transform nursing education and promote person-centered […]

Lisa Linville has held administrative, legal and clinical roles in health care systems for more than 25 years and has taught in graduate nursing programs for more than 15 years. Her legal experience includes medical malpractice, health care law and ethics and healthcare regulatory law. Linville has been an active member of the American Bar […]

Dr. Janet Lopez is an Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Central Florida and a nurse scientist dedicated to promoting healthy aging and advancing health equity. Her work focuses on Hispanic/Latino older adults, caregivers, and veterans, with particular attention to rural and underserved communities. Dr. Lopez’s research centers on the […]

Dr. Rebecca Koszalinski is the primary investigator for a Florida Department of Health funded study with a large team of investigators, including epidemiology, oceanographers, bench and nurse scientists, and nursing students in the investigation of health outcomes of harmful algal blooms, which is a significant problem to address for our Florida population. She is an […]

As a critical care- and case management-trained registered nurse, military veteran and dependent, and food pantry volunteer, Dr. Crook had the opportunity to work in multiple states in the U.S., where she identified not only the existence of widespread food and nutritional insecurity but a connection between nutrition, chronic inflammation and chronic disease. Her research […]

Associate Professor Rui Xie holds appointments in both the UCF College of Nursing and the UCF College of Sciences in the Department of Statistics and Data Science and is the Principal Investigator at the university’s Artificial Intelligence and Statistics for Health and Nursing Research Lab. His research encompasses the domains of statistics, biostatistics, machine learning […]