People Group Archives: Population Health: Minority Health

Linda Foley is a Certified Nurse Educator and associate lecturer at UCF’s College of Nursing. Her clinical nursing experience has spanned various healthcare settings, including critical care, medical-surgical acute care, community health and home healthcare. She began her role as a nurse educator during her doctoral studies and discovered a passion for teaching undergraduate pre-licensure […]

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 […]

PhD candidate Eunice Ojo, DNP, RN, CV-BC, PCCN, researches technology-based fall risk assessment, fall prevention and health disparities among older adults as a graduate research assistant in the Healthy Aging Lab at UCF’s College of Nursing. Through her work, she has contributed significantly to improving the recruitment of older adults for research, the experiences of […]

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 […]

Dr. Dahee Kim is a postdoctoral scholar working with Professor Ladda Thiamwong. Her research interests include diversity and intersectionality in aging and older families; community-based prevention/intervention programs, stress-coping strategies, resilience, health literacy, emotional wellbeing, measurement development and the life course perspective. Education Selected Awards & Honors Selected Professional Activities

Lecturer Caroline M. Griffin’s nursing career began in 1998 in the rural Andes of Ecuador, where she volunteered for two years with the Peace Corps just after earning her BSN. Back in the U.S., Griffin worked as a bedside nurse in a wide variety of inpatient and outpatient settings before earning her MSN and Family […]

Janet Lopez is a nurse scientist who is dedicated to addressing health inequities through a comprehensive approach. She focuses on developing innovative strategies to improve health outcomes for underserved communities. After completing her post-doctoral fellowship at the Veterans Rural Health Resource Center (VRHRC) in Gainesville, Florida, she concentrated on promoting health equity among rural Veterans […]

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 […]

A registered nurse for more than 30 years and public health leader for more than 20, lecturer Fayshonda Cooks created the CommUNITY CollaborACTION Initiative, which emphasizes collaborative unity and action to improve health outcomes. Cooks is a known collaboration champion with belief in the strength and limitless potential of optimizing the assets of all to […]

Ayse Malatyali is a Jonas Scholar with a priority research area of cognitive aging. She focuses her research primarily on biological, behavioral and social risk factors of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) and falls among underserved older adults. Her additional areas of research include healthcare utilization, palliative care and advanced care planning for individuals […]