Grant Awards
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded a $246M federal contract to a FHI 360-led multinational consortium, including the University of Utah, that will improve infectious disease detection and surveillance across the globe. Investigators at the U with expertise in biomedical informatics – Drs. Kathy Sward, Edgar Javier Hernandez, Ram Gouripeddi, Julio Facelli, and Mollie Cummins – genomics, and diagnostics will contribute by helping countries better detect, and respond in a timely way to infectious disease outbreaks.
The Huntsman Cancer Institute Breast and Gynecologic Cancers Center awarded a $50,000 pilot award to Co-Investigators Drs. Deanna Kepka and Guilherme Del Fiol for their project titled PROMISE: Predicting HPV Missed Vaccination Opportunities to Improve Cervical Cancer Equity. PhD student Kaila Christini is program leader.
The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation awarded a $5,000 Hillman Small Grant Fellowship to Dr. Mary Killela for her project titled Role of Artificial Intelligence in Financial Patient Navigation.
Professional Development
Dr. Mary Killela was invited to participate in the Emotional Well-Being and Economic Burden Network (EMOT-ECON) Grant Writing Workshop Intensive on February 17-21, 2025, in Nashville. The purpose of the workshop is to support scholars who are writing a R type grant that will advance the science of emotional well-being. Dr. Killela will work closely with experienced grant writers, receive guidance for developing competitive grant proposals, have protected time for grant writing, and participate in a mock review session process to further strengthen her grant submission. EMOT-ECON is part of a larger group of five other networks funded by the National Institutes of Health to refine and test key concepts that advance the study of emotional well-being.
Presentations
Dr. Deanna Kepka, Electra Paskett, and Carmen Guerra delivered a presentation titled Cervical Cancer Elimination: Aspiration or Reality? at the 8th International Oncology Leadership Conference on November 10-12 in Paris, France.
Dr. Deanna Kepka and members of her team presented posters at the 36th International Papillomavirus Conference on November 12-15 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The conference theme was Equitable, Evidence-based Approaches to HPV Disease.
- Rurality, Race, and Ethnicity Relates to HPV and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in the United States. Dr. Deanna Kepka, Dr. Hannah Aanderud Tanner, Kaila Christini, Dr. Charles Teames, Dr. Sara Mann, Chrissy Radloff, Dr. Neal Davis, and Dr. Amanda Petrik
- Evaluation of an Online HPV Vaccination Training Program for Primary Care Health Providers. Dr. Deanna Kepka, Dr. Jaime Talleh, Ida Tovar, Stephen Gubler, Becca Slagle, and Kaila Christini
Event
The Mountain West HPV Vaccination Coalition celebrated its 10th Year Anniversary on October 8. Dr. Deanna Kepka and her team hosted a celebration at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Those who attended in-person and virtually were privileged to hear from keynote speaker Dr. Vivian Colon-Lopez from the University of Puerto Rico.
Publications
Ansari N, Wilson R, Warner E, Taylor-Swanson L, Van Epps J, Iacob E, Supiano K. “We are not heroes”: Examining nurses' experiences of moral distress during Covid-19, Teach Learn Nurs. In press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2024.11.021
Hoch BJ, Hauschildt M, Palmer LM, Christensen SS. Elevating end-of-life care: Implementing general inpatient hospice services on a medical oncology unit. Clin J Oncol Nurs. 2024;28(6):544-55. DOI: 10.1188/24.CJON.544-550
Killela MK, Adynski H, Adynski G, Myer EA, Dictus C, Morgan L, Hmiel H, Williams J.Preparing PhD Students for tenure-track faculty positions. Nurs Res. Epub ahead of print. DOI: 10.1097/NNR.0000000000000791
In 2019, Dr. Catherine Staes, Dr. Heidi Kramer, and Elaine Kirish published a report titled Clinical Information Needs Assessment Related to Use of the Utah Controlled Substance Database for the Utah Department of Health. The report summarized their work to describe provider information needs within the clinical workflow, and for data and analytics; identify ways to enhance providers’ access to Utah’s Controlled Substance Database (CSD), and describe requirements for accessing the CSD from the clinical Health Information Exchange. The team identified strengths and limitations to consider as enhanced designs are developed and implemented to facilitate access to information. Recently, Connie Kitchens began working with the CSD and implemented nearly all recommendations from the above-mentioned report. Pausing their retirements, Drs. Staes and Kramer now are writing a follow-up paper.