Faculty Research Interests

My teaching both influences, and is influenced by my research. My research interests include social inequality (race/ethnicity, gender, and class), race and ethnicity, as well as the sociology of knowledge. My publications have appeared in the Journal of Historical Sociology and the Ashgate Research Companion to Black Sociology. The trajectory of my research will continue to focus on social inequalities and education, particularly with regard to racialized and gendered stratification of knowledge. While my current research focuses on how race and gender structure the reproduction of knowledge within U.S. Sociology, this work is centered in a global perspective that investigates how race and gender pattern the construction of knowledge in a globalized society. Further, my future research will explore the reproduction of racialized knowledge in public high schools and the application of critical pedagogy therein.

My research is based on the dynamic fracture and fragmentation of brittle polymers and composites.  I also have an interest in the instrumentation and metrology related to experimental design. 

I have two main areas of research. The first focuses on the impact of community engagement on both students and community partners. The second focuses on physical performance in older adults. 

My research interests include polypharmacy, older adults/older adult healthcare, nursing education, and anorexia in adolescents.

My long-term research interest and goal is to establish an active, externally-funded research program at Widener University with the motto of "Better health through discovery, de novo design, and effective delivery of novel drugs." Despite tremendous medical advances, we still face many health challenges for which there is no effective cure. The age-associated disorders like cancer and Alzheimer's disease are two of the most notorious examples of such devastating diseases.

Cancer is still the second leading cause of death in the U.S. Similarly, there are currently 5.2 million Alzheimer's disease patients in the U.S., and the numbers are expected to rise significantly owing to the aging population of baby boomers and lack of any effective cure. In this context, the primary aim of my research work is to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying these diseases and use these novel mechanistic understandings to discover and design effective therapeutics against these traditionally-challenging diseases:

Alzheimer's Disease – Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is one of the most significant risk factors for late-onset or sporadic Alzheimer's disease. ApoE has been shown to be critical in clearing the harmful ApoE deposits from the brain and its ability to do that depends upon its lipidation status. Therefore, there is a growing interest in understanding the underlying mechanisms involved in ApoE lipidation and using these mechanistic understandings to discover drugs to enhance ApoE lipidation status.
My laboratory is investigating potential involvement of abnormal glucose metabolism in poor ApoE lipidation.

Cancer – The p53 protein plays a central role in protecting cells against carcinogenesis. It is inhibited in 50% of human tumors, however, by interaction with the oncogenic MDM2 protein. Therefore, blocking the p53-binding pocket on MDM2 protein by small-molecule drugs, leading to activation of the tumor suppressor p53 protein presents a fundamentally novel strategy against several types of cancers. In this regard, my laboratory is involved in discovery and design of novel molecules that can mimic the p53 structural features involved in binding to the MDM2 pocket with the ultimate aim of blocking p53-MDM2 interaction.

My research interests include: leadership in nursing education; evidence-based teaching strategies; veterans in nursing education; and gender diversity in nursing education.

• Tropical and Infectious diseases
• Disaster Preparedness & Mass Casualty Management
• Veterans Affairs

My scholarly work focuses on preventive and lifestyle based occupational therapy approaches, including student and practitioner well being, stress management, and occupational disruption during life transitions. Current projects include educational interventions that support resilience and professional sustainability, such as stress management retreats for students, as well as scholarship examining adjustment disorder, role strain, and the implications for early and preventive occupational therapy practice.

My mathematical interests lie broadly in topology and knot theory. Imagine a tangled loop of string with its ends joined together—that’s a mathematical knot, and it opens the door to a rich world of intriguing problems and patterns. I’m especially passionate about working with undergraduate students on research projects, both in knot theory and in areas inspired by their own mathematical curiosities.

• Underrepresented minority (URM – as defined by the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy) student pursuit of PT careers 
• The role of pipeline programs in URM student success in gaining admission to PT education programs
• Physical Therapy student perceptions of value and self-efficacy within service learning

• Paradox
• Responsible Global Business
• Multinationals
• Senior Entrepreneurship
• Small and Business Enterprises
• International Business
• Organization Management

My research uses C. elegans, a microscopic roundworm with a sequenced genome and simple nervous system, to ask questions about how nervous systems develop and function. I am particularly interested in how molecules that connect synapses, called cellular adhesion molecules, regulate synapse development and neural circuit function. 

Many cellular adhesion molecules are known to contribute to neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders, but there are many unanswered questions about the basic biology of how these molecules help build and maintain the synapse. If we better understand the role that cellular adhesion molecules are playing at the synapse, the better equipped we will be to develop treatments for neurological disorders. In my lab we use a combination of genetics, molecular biology, and behavioral assays to tackle these questions. 
 

Engineering education

My research interests include implementing diversity education into the classroom to prepare students for the workplace, the role of female faculty members in higher education, and the collegiate experiences of first-generation college students.

I earned my doctoral degree in Sociology at Western Michigan University where I studied Michigan’s medical cannabis community during the state’s shift to a legal adult-use market. Being among the first to document the experiences of cannabis patients in a post-prohibition state, my research has helped re-center patients' voices in academic conversations of cannabis as medicine. I continue to research the social dynamics of cannabis with attention to medicalization, inequalities, stigmas, and evolving cultural norms.

I am primarily interested in digital rhetoric and rhetorical theories, but I approach my research from an interdisciplinary perspective drawing from media studies, media ecology, information and data science, library and archival sciences, and cultural studies.  

My dissertation examines hashtags on Twitter and what their role is as a rhetorical tool beyond linking or connecting. Importantly, I am interested in mundane social media, or social media that serves a purpose that may seem frivolous or unimportant at first glance. Rather than focusing primarily on well-known hashtags or hashtags that serve a social justice function, I'm interested in hashtags that do not trend as rhetorical devises and hashtags that are used for individualized pleasure. I am also interested in how algorithms and digital infrastructure impact what role hashtags can play as rhetorical tools given recent inquiries into the biases present in computer coding.

Separate from hashtags, I am also interested in exploring how social media perpetuates neoliberal, consumerist cooptation of other cultures under the guise of feminist self-care. Specifically, I'm interested in hygge, or the Danish ethic of coziness and well-being, that has transformed into an Instagram phenomenon based in the consumption of "comfort items." I'm interested in the tension between social media as well-being promoter and social media as well-being destroyer.

My research is grounded in praxis—the connection between critical reflection and action—and examines how teaching and teacher education can contribute to more equitable and responsive schools and communities. My scholarship focuses on culturally responsive

pedagogy, critical and equity literacy, teacher identity and reflection, community-engaged learning, and belonging in educational spaces.

I am particularly interested in how identity, culture, language, history, bias, and systems shape educational experiences and educators' decisions. My research also explores children’s literature as a site for examining representation, historical narratives, antisemitism, and other forms of bias and exclusion. Across these areas, I am interested in how educators move from awareness and critical reflection toward meaningful changes in practice.

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Human Resources Management 
• Black Greek Letter Organizations
• Employee Physical and Mental Health

My research interests include occupational Therapy needs of adults with IDD, and the use of technology to support adults with IDD.

My research interests include: missed nursing care, organizational features of nursing (nurse work environment, education, staffing), impact on patient outcomes, implementation, leadership, teamwork, nurse interruptions, incivility, and interprofessional simulation.