You are invited to hear distinguished, cutting-edge Center funded researchers and industry experts discuss the Nurse-Engineer Approach at the 2025 Nursing and Engineering Innovation Symposium (NEIS) sponsored by the Marieb Center in the Student Union Ballroom on Tuesday April 8, 2025 and supported by a generous gift from Mike and Terry Hluchyj. You will have the opportunity to learn how the interdisciplinary Nurse-Engineer approach brings Nurses, Engineers, and others together to expand the efficacy and equity of healthcare innovation research.
Nursing and Engineering Innovation Symposium 2025
UMass Amherst College of Nursing Dean Allison Vorderstrasse, DNSc, RN, FAAN
UMass Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes, PhD
Kelly will discuss her Nurse-Engineering lens and how it can be used to catalyze the interdisciplinary work needed to advance care delivery. Click here for a handout of the talk.
This panel brings together faculty and practitioners from nursing and engineering to exchange ideas on how to promote the future workforce to tackle the challenges, and seize the opportunities, for developing engineering solutions focused on healthcare and providing healthcare informed by engineering, with a focus on working in interdisciplinary environments.
Moderated by: UMass College of Engineering Faculty Muge Capan, PhD, and Marieb College of Nursing Faculty Julia McDougal Ronconi, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC
Nursing and Engineering Panelists: Gabrielle Abelard, DNP, APRN-BC, FAAN, FNAP (UMass Amherst College of Nursing), Ellen Benjamin, PhD, RN (Manning College Nursing and Health Sciences of UMass Boston), Cathal Kearney, PhD (UMass Amherst College of Engineering)
Pilot Project Awardees present and discuss their Center-funded research
Speakers: 2023 Grant groups
Individualized Blood Pressure Management in the Community - Yossi Chait, PhD; Jeungok Choi, PhD, RN
Black Maternal Mobility in Western Massachusetts: The experience of transportation among Black Pregnant Women - Lucinda Canty, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, FADLN; Favorite Iradukunda, PhD, RN, FAAN; Shannon Roberts, PhD; Lindiwe Sibeko, PhD
Exploratory Study Multi Level Factors of Health and Well Being in the Nursing Profession - Muge Capan, PhD; Joohyun, Chung PhD, RN; Amanda Paluch, PhD
Researchers from within and beyond the UMass Amherst Community discuss their projects
Associate Vice Chancellor and Vice Provost for Research and Engagement
Speaking on: Centers and Institutes at UMass. The EMCNEI and its role in the mission of UMass.
This panel will explore how social factors shape health disparities and discuss research gaps and opportunities for impactful, equitable solutions.
Moderated by: UMass College of Engineering Faculty Chiatra Gopalappa, PhD
Nursing and Engineering Panelists: Hari Balasubramanian, PhD (UMass College of Engineering), Lucinda Canty, PhD, RN, CNM, FACNM, FAAN (UMass College of Nursing), Inas Khayal, PhD (Dartmouth Institute for Health and Health Policy), Kalpana Poudel-Tandukar, PhD, MPH, MPHC, CGM (UMass College of Nursing)
Collaboration with clinical partners is central to the Center’s Nurse-Engineer approach. This panel will discuss the ongoing partnership with Baystate Health and its impact on research advancements.
Moderated by: Elaine Marieb Center Senior Advisor Cynthia Jacelon, PhD, RN-BC, CRRN, FAAN
Nursing and Engineering Panelists: Karen Giuliano, PhD, RN and Frank Sup, PhD, Colin Plover, PhD, MSN, MPH, MSEd, RN (UMass Amherst, Marieb Center), Kelly Landsman, MN, BME, BS, RN, PHN, Ellen Smithline, PhD, RN, CEN (Baystate Health), Cidàlia Vital, PhD, RN, CNL, CRRN (UMass Amherst, College of Nursing)
Co-Directors Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation - Karen Giuliano, PhD, RN, MBA & Frank Sup, PhD
Kelly Landsman is a biomedical engineer with 20 years of industry experience in R&D of patient care related technologies. She is also a registered nurse with experience in adult cardiology and perioperative nursing. Her passion lies in bringing nursing voices to the forefront of healthcare design processes and striving to ensure positive healthcare experiences for both patients and clinicians. Kelly is a passionate advocate for the role of the nurse engineer, hosting the website, NurseEngineer.com. She founded and is the principal nurse engineer of Landsman Engineering LLC. She has been directly involved in the design, development and launch of at least seven medical devices and is an inventor on six issued patents. Recently, Kelly has been partnering to focus the lens of the nurse engineer on the next generation healthcare workforce and nurse innovators.
Dr. Muge Capan's research foci include data science, statistical analysis, and decision modeling in health care to develop smart and connected clinical decision support systems. Examples include development and evaluation of stochastic models to identify optimal treatment policies, utilizing clinicians’ perceptions in clinical risk display decisions, and evaluating rapid response interventions using quantitative risk scoring systems enhanced by nursing insights.
Dr. Chiatra Gopalappa’s research focuses on developing mathematical and computational models necessary to capture the interactions between multiple interrelated diseases and social determinants of health, with the goal being disease prediction, prevention, and effective control analyses. Outside collaborators include the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Julia McDougal Ronconi teaches in undergraduate and DNP programs, specializing in psychiatric-mental health nursing.
Dr. Karen Giuliano's research is focused on innovation in health care practices and products that result in the improvement of patient outcomes. She is a Professor (joint) in the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing and the Institute for Applied Life Sciences. Karen has directed the creation of IV smart pumps that improve the safety of medication administration and research that reduces (non-ventilator) hospital-acquired pneumonia.
Dr. Frank Sup draws on his background in mechanical engineering to develop patient-focused solutions for medical challenges in physical movement and rehabilitation. He is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. He also directs the Mechatronics and Robotics Research Lab, where he mentors students in research on human-centered robotics and advanced design and control structures and methodologies.
Poster Session (12:45-1:45 PM)
Analysis of Multi-level Barriers to Physical Activity Among Nursing Students Using Regularized Regression Muge Capan, UMass Amherst; Lily Bigelow, UMass Amherst; Yukti Kathuria, UMass Amherst; Amanda Paluch, UMass Amherst; Joohyun Chung, UMass Amherst
Collaborative Design of a Medical-Grade Defibrillator Monitor Handle Gina Georgadarellis, UMass Amherst; Seonhun Lee, UMass Amherst; Brenda Nyarko, UMass Amherst; Ellen Smithline, Baystate Medical Center; Frank Sup, UMass Amherst
Exploring Sleep, Steps, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Adults With and Without Mild Cognitive Impairment Kourosh Alimohammadbeik, UMass Amherst
Flow Rate and Concentration Measurement in Secondary Medication Administration YeEun Lee
From Student to Professional: The Role of Research Conferences in Nursing Identity Formation Josie Dawes, Endicott College; Allison Hamner, Endicott College
Interactions between Culture, Climate Change, Farming, and Health Outcomes Emefa Adawudu, UMass Amherst; Maya Mawla, UMass Amherst; Corinne Gaffney, UMass Amherst; Christian D. Guzman, UMass Amherst; Favorite Iradukunda, UMass Amherst
IV Smart Pump Set up Practices and Flow Rate Accuracy During Real-world Clinical Use Sarah Romain, Baystate Health; Cidalia Vital, Baystate Medical Center and UMass Amherst; Karen Giuliano, UMass Amherst
Mechanistic modeling of social conditions into disease predictions for public health intervention-analyses: HIV as a case study Amir Khosheghbal, UMass Amherst; Chaitra Gopalappa, UMass Amherst; Peter Haas, UMass Amherst
Soft robotic assisting device for PHM using bellows actuators Yuchen Kang, UMass Amherst; Yeji Han, UMass Amherst; Gina Olson, UMass Amherst
Touch, Technology and Polarity Optimization: Using Nurse-Engineer Partnerships to Promote the Virtuous Cycle Kelly Landsman, Landsman Engineering LLC/Nurse Engineer
Understanding Factors Driving High Staff Hours for Licensed Practical Nurses and Registered Nurses in a Complex Care Setting Sindhoora Prakash, UMass Amherst; Hari Balasubramanian, UMass Amherst; Muge Capan, UMass Amherst; Joohyun Chung, UMass Amherst
Utilization of Noise Classification System to Quantify the Type and Intensity of Acute Care Inpatient Unit Sounds Seonhun Lee, UMass Amherst; Gina Georgadarellis, UMass Amherst; Brenda Nyarko, UMass Amherst; Frank Sup, UMass Amherst; Cidalia Vital, Baystate Medical Center and UMass Amherst
Utilizing Synthetic Data and Advanced Analytical Techniques to Address Challenges in Human Milk Research Ameneh Arzheh, UMass Amherst; Carrie Ellen Briere, UMass Amherst