Fellow Designations
Dr. Sharon Bigger and Dr. Djin Tay received the Fellow in Palliative Care Nursing designation at the 2026 Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) Annual Conference in Lake Buena Vista. HPNA members who have made significant contributions to HPNA, the Hospice & Palliative Credentialing Center, or the Hospice & Palliative Nurses Foundation may be designated as Fellows. Fellow designation is a prestigious recognition of exceptional expertise, leadership, and commitment to advancing the field of palliative and hospice nursing. It signifies a profound dedication to providing comfort, dignity, and holistic care for individuals and families facing serious illnesses while fostering mentorship, interdisciplinary collaboration, and professional growth.
Events
Dean Marla De Jong, along with Juan Carlos Negrette and Kristina Zhorayeva from the University of Utah Health Sciences Office of Global Health, met with Dr. Ariana Jawad Barzanji – Professor, President of the Kurdistan Higher Council of Medical Specialties, and Obstetrician and Gynecologist – and Dave and Lori Lorton who represented the Stirling Foundation. To modernize the nursing workforce in Kurdistan, with emphasis on nurse practitioner roles, and align practice with international standards, Dr. Barzanji explored the College’s academic programs, areas of expertise, and opportunities for collaboration.
Dr. Amanda Keddington and Nels Nichols organized a group of volunteer prelicensure and RN-BS students to participate in the University of Utah Health Mass Casualty Incident Drill. This large interprofessional emergency preparedness exercise involved emergency department leadership and staff, emergency management and safety management teams, security, trauma services, the Burn Intensive Care Unit, the hospital supervisor team, the emergency registration team, and others across the health system. During the drill, students served as volunteer participants and patients, creating a realistic emergency preparedness scenario for U Health teams to practice mass casualty response, triage, communication, and coordination. Students who participated were Laura Andrew, Natalie Bernhard, Dylan Burg, Ruby Cook, Sean Datwyler, Lindsey Davis, Brooke Groskreutz, Raymond Lunde, Justin Ly, Zoe Pettit, Samuel Roberts, Rachel Robinson, Katie Scholz, Shannon Squire-Kitchens, and Cade Szymanski.
University Service
During the Academic Senate elections in April 2026, faculty were elected to serve on committees:
- Dr. Lisa Barry will serve on the Senate Faulty Review Standards Committee. Membership is for four years beginning on June 16, 2026.
- Dr. Sara Hart will serve on the Academic Senate Executive Committee. Membership is for one year beginning on May 15, 2026.
Dr. Katarina Friberg-Felsted and Dr. Brenda Luther were elected to serve three-year terms on the Faculty Club Board of Directors.
Community Events
Caring Connections team members Dr. Laura Bradbury, Adrienne Bott, Taryn Hiatt, Anna Fetzer, Kimberly Ponce Gonzalez, and Katie Young held the annual Seeds of Remembrance community event, with support from Dean Marla De Jong, Amen Koutowogbe, and Mindy Francis. The theme, “Uniquely Irreplaceable: Grief, Resilience, and Why the World Needs You in It,” guided the program. Featured speaker George Deussen shared reflections on a decade of grief, healing, and hard-won perspective – including navigating loss as a father following the death of his son, Stockton Powers. Paul Jacobsen contributed musical performances to the program. Larkin Mortuary and Caring Connections Support Group Facilitators contributed additional support. To extend the event’s reach, Taryn Hiatt appeared on Good Things Utah, and Dr. Laura Bradbury joined PBS Utah Contact to discuss the event and the importance of community support for those who are grieving.
Dr. Michelle Litchman, Andrew Bray, and Aaron Enz participated in Promise South Salt Lake's Thrive Fest. Dr. Litchman and Andrew took community members' blood pressures, administered a diabetes screening questionnaire, and generally educated visitors about diabetes and healthful eating. Aaron promoted the College's upcoming Future Nurse Summer Camp for junior high students and connected community members to local resources.
Presentations
Dr. Sharon Bigger gave a podium presentation titled Respiro: A Global Learning’s Experience for Palliative Care Development in the US and Mexico at the 2026 Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association Annual Conference in Lake Buena Vista.
Co-led by the College of Nursing and the Spencer F. Eccles School of Medicine Department of Informatics, faculty gave presentations and represented the Sensors and Metadata for Analytics and Research in Exposure Health (SMARTER) Project at the 2026 Air Sensors International Conference in Los Angeles.
- Dr. Mollie Cummins and Ram Gouripeddi gave a pre-conference tutorial titled Practical Guidance for Managing Sensor Data for Communities.
- Dr. Mollie Cummins and Ram Gouripeddi gave an invited talk titled Sensors and Metadata for Analytics and Research in Exposure Health (SMARTER): Making Metadata FAIR.
- Urvi Varma, Ram Gouripeddi, Pavan Motagi, Rob Smart, Randy Madsen, Monika Gunasekhar, Dr. Kathy Sward, Julio Facelli, and Dr. Mollie Cummins gave a poster presentation and lightning talk titled Seeking Input from the Sensor Community for Development of a Metadata Store for Exposure Health.
Faculty, a postdoctoral fellow, and a PhD student presented video poster abstracts at the American Geriatrics Society 2026 Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting.
- Improving Palliative Care Access Through Technology (ImPAcTT): A Two-Phase Adaptive Nursing Home Pilot Study.Dr. Caroline Stephens, Dr. Laura Block, Rachael Alexander, Paige Patterson, Lynn Flint.
- Integrating Telehealth into Fellowship Training: A Remote Model for Palliative Care in Nursing Homes. Paige Patterson, Lynn Flint, Natalie Sanders, Alayne Markland, Dr. Caroline Stephens.
Dr. Caroline Stephens gave a presentation titled Caring Through the Hard Moments: Tips for Dementia Caregivers to the Sandy Senior Center’s Dementia Support group. The Center coordinator thanked Dr. Stephens writing, “Thank you again for your well thought out, professional, and pertinent presentation!! You gave so many tips and examples, as well as terrific suggestions to one of caregiving’s biggest challenges.”
Faculty presented at the Center of Excellence in Women’s Health Symposium 2026 held at the Moran Eye Center. The theme for symposium was Thriving in Uncertainty: Meeting Women Where They are in Every Life Stage.
- Einomo (Eni) Obadan-Udoh, Chirstine Brown, Grayson Doar, Alekses Clifton, and Dr. Katie Ward participated in a panel on Grey Areas in Medicine and Healthcare, moderated by Kathleen Digre. Dr. Ward presented Grey Areas in Femtech: From Clinical Innovation to Commercialized Anxiety.
- Bryce Wallis, Rana Jewish, and Dr. Sara Webb participated in a panel on Mental Health Across the Lifespan, moderated by Lauren Gimbel. Dr. Webb presented Psychiatric Care in Perimenopause & Menopause: What Every Provider Should Know.
Dean Marla De Jong delivered the Fourteenth Annual Faye G. Abdellah Lecture, From Military Service to the Deanship: Advancing Nursing Science and Our Profession, at the Research & Translation Colloquium hosted by the Uniformed Services University Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing in Bethesda.
Publications
Esparza C, Thomas Hebdon M, Wang J, Wang C, Agrawal R, Do G, Bodden A, Dupree G, Rajotte J, Ciofuli GG, Rios H, Yuan Y, Calley C. A systematic review of non-invasive biomarkers for seizure forecasting in pediatric epilepsy patients. Front Neurol. 2026;17:1780222.
Locke AB, Knight S, Wilson F, Wallace A, Estabrooks P. Extending return on investment – A multisector approach to whole-person health. NEJM Catal Innov Care Deliv. 2026;7(s2). https://doi.org/10.1056/CAT.26.0095