My Background
Over the past 26 years, my research has helped improve women’s experiences during perimenopause and postmenopause. My research focuses on menopause symptoms like hot flashes, sleep problems, and heart palpitations. My research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Pfizer Foundation, Merck Research Laboratories, the Department of Defense, the Walther Cancer Institute, and the Oncology Nursing Foundation. I have shared my research findings in over 200 scientific publications. These publications have been used and cited over 12,000 times by colleagues around the world.
Some awards I have received include the North American Menopause Society/Duramed Pharmaceuticals Inc Vasomotor Symptoms Research Award (2007), Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (2009), Midwest Nursing Research Society Distinguished Contribution to Research in the Midwest (2013), Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science Outstanding Nurse Scientist (2014), Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame (2016), Indiana Woman of Achievement (2017), USA Today Influential Indiana Women of the Century (2020), and Expertscape.com World Expert in Menopause (2021).
Consulting Services
Mentoring scientists has been a long-term commitment of mine. I have worked with PhD students, post-doctoral fellows, faculty at all levels, and research program administrators in nursing and other fields. I have academic experience as a research program director for a large cancer center, as a nursing research center director, and as former Associate Dean of Research at a multi-campus university. As a multi-year, external consultant for a major midwestern school of nursing, I provided active grants management advice, editing services, research program planning advice, and workshops that helped increase research funding levels at the school. If you are a school, Associate Dean of Research, Research Center Director, or scientist, please contact me so we can discuss how I could help mentor! My prior consultantships include individual investigators and schools of nursing.
Menopause affects all women. Four out of five women have symptoms that last ten years. Symptoms can disrupt women’s quality of life, overall health, work productivity, and increase health care costs. Healthcare providers and the public are confused and unprepared. Misinformation and negative rhetoric are everywhere. Fragmented and variable care is the norm. Women’s menopause status over time is not routinely recorded in medical records or research clinical trials data. If you are a large employer, insurance company, pharmaceutical company, healthcare system, FemTech creator, in the entertainment industry, or someone who cares about women’s health, let’s work together to address these issues! As a menopause expert advisor, I will work with you to design the best solution for you and your needs. I will never impose a one-size-fits-all solution. Programs will be targeted, embedded, and sustainable. Research will be cutting-edge and custom-made. All materials will be fact-based and balanced. Some prior consultantships include Lilly Research Laboratories, Merck, Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma America, QUE Oncology, RoundGlass, UFI Serving Science, and Simmumetrix (see 6-part documentary).
Hot Flash Interference
Please visit HFRDIS and HFI to find more information about using the Hot Flash Related Daily Interference Scale and Hot Flash Interference Scale. These links will take you to the Mapi-Trust ePROVIDE clinical outcomes measurement repository where you can learn about using any of the more than 20 different approved translations of these scales.
Hot Flashes? Cool! Concept Art
Please visit Hot flashes? Cool! for more information about an innovative public education project that uses the creative arts to teach people the facts about menopausal hot flashes.