Faculty Research Interests

My research interests focus on bullying prevention, school violence, victimology, and the psychological and emotional impact of bullying and victimization on children, adolescents, and adults. My work also explores school climate and culture, trauma-informed practices, student mental health, social-emotional learning, and the role of educators and school leaders in creating safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments.

Additional areas of interest include cyberbullying and the impact of digital media on youth behavior, the relationship between childhood trauma and aggressive behavior, bullying prevention and intervention strategies, restorative practices, educational leadership, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), and the development of policies and organizational practices that promote student safety and well-being.

I am particularly interested in examining the intersection of psychology, education, and leadership to better understand the causes and consequences of bullying and victimization and to develop evidence-informed approaches that empower students, families, educators, and communities to prevent bullying and promote positive social and emotional outcomes.

My research interests include focus on the health status of adults discharged from an acute care hospital. Additionally, I have become active with educational research which focuses on student learning and improvements to the way we teach and evaluate student success. 

I have conducted diverse research studies which have given me understanding of various subjects and vast experience in a number of molecular, biochemical, cell biology, immunological and neurological techniques. I have extensive experience in cell and tissue culture techniques. My research interest is focused on application of stem cells (NSCs/MSCs) in understanding and treating different diseases of brain, lungs and heart. I also have interest in molecular and cell biology of microbes and malaria parasite. During my PhD., I investigated the translational status of a plastid-like organelle - apicoplast, known to be essential for the survival of Plasmodium falciparum.

Behavioral Modification and Motivation & Attribution

My interest in biomaterials and tissue engineering was kickstarted during my first job as an engineer for Cook Biotech Inc., a company that manufactures medical devices made of small intestinal submucosa. Since then, I have studied mechanobiology, inflammation, tissue engineering and hyaluronan in tendon, fat, and liver. My current research interests include the mechanical behavior of diseased soft tissues and identifying the contributing cellular and extracellular matrix structures. I have particular interest in adipocytes and adipose tissue, the effects of fatty acids on mechanosensing and inflammation, and the development of cell- or tissue-engineering treatment strategies. I also have interest in developing therapeutic devices and diagnostic tools to support the Autism community.

I am interested in research on mental health and homelessness in youth aging out of foster care.

My research focuses on the complex health needs of older adults, with particular interests in polypharmacy, medication-related outcomes, physical function, and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. I am also interested in deprescribing and improving medication safety for older adults with complex health conditions, including cancer.

I have two main research interests: sports literature and flash fiction. I am interested in how fiction writers and poets use sports to explore issues of identity, gender, race, class, psychology, competition, and civic pride. More recently, I've become interested in flash fictions extremely short narratives typically less than 1,000 words.

My research interests focus on catalysis and kinetics, chemical process development, and mathematical modeling.

My research interests include: men in nursing; diversity in the nursing profession; interprofessional education; and collaboration

• Childhood trauma
• Childhood psychopathology
• Neurobiology of trauma and toxic stress 
• Behavioral biomarkers of toxic stress and trauma 
• Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) antibody/antigen extraction 
• Measuring stress hormones: cortisol, oxytocin, alpha amylase etc.
• Nervous system dysregulation
• Allostatic Load
• Intergeneration/Transgenerational Trauma
• Compassion, relational therapy, and Self Care
• Developmental disorders 

My research interests are culturally centered educational pedagogy, therapeutic methodological frameworks, healing, counseling agency-based practice, and emancipation-oriented paradigms for African Americans and other disempowered populations.

An active and ongoing research agenda perpetuates knowledge that is meaningful to society and memorable to students in the classroom. My research focuses on communication pedagogy, ethical journalistic reporting in cases of suicide, emotional intelligence, gendered communication, and interactive interdisciplinary research. The topics of research are connected by interpersonal communication theories and application.

• Well-being
• Goals, goals selection, and effective goal pursuit
• Antecedents and consequences of motivation
• Arrogance
• Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction
• Psychological Health and functioning
• Self-Determination Theory
• Research methodology 

I examine muscle function during locomotion and feeding. Employing fish as model species, my students and I use integrated research approaches, from whole animal performance to tissue function to gene expression. Currently, my lab is focused on how a small, coastal fish, the rainbow smelt, is able to swim and feed during the extreme cold of the North Atlantic winter.

Broadly, my research examines how media and technology shape interpersonal and romantic relationships, with a particular emphasis on how people navigate uncertainty and ambiguity in digital interactions. I study how computer-mediated communication influences person perception, relationship development, intimacy, and perceptions of partner responsiveness. A central focus of my current research is ghosting (the increasingly common experience of having communication abruptly and unexpectedly end without explanation). I examine how being ghosted, particularly in online dating contexts, shapes people’s interpretations of social interactions, expectations about future relationships, and willingness to pursue potential partners. Ultimately, my research seeks to understand how emerging technologies are transforming the ways people form connections, communicate intimacy, navigate rejection, and build and maintain relationships.

• Trauma
• Racial Stress
• Racial Identity
• Ancestral Healing 
• LGBTQ Joy/Liberation

My overarching research agenda is to explore and understand the professional identity development of social work students, how values and personal attributes contribute to that development, and then how courses can be structured to enhance and continue to support the developmental process. My research goal is to examine the process of identity development to provide insight to the process, thereby enabling the development of course content that will further strengthen the students' professional development.

• Investor Protection and Equal Economic Opportunity
• Social Justice and Criminal Legal System Reform
• Trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) as perpetuated by unequal legal systems

My research interests involve designing teaching materials that enhance conceptual understanding and problem solving. This includes use of technology and multimedia to facilitate understanding of the submicroscopic world.