UMass Boston

Manning College Research & Scholarship Day- April 16, 2026- The Future of our Health!

About Research & Scholarship Day

The Donna M. and Robert J. Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences Research & Scholarship Day will be held on Thursday, April 16, 2026 in the Third Floor Campus Center Ballroom.  Breakout sessions may take place in other locations.  Directions will be provided the day of the event.  

Everyone is welcome to attend this free event.  Students, colleagues, and clinical and community partners are all welcome! 

Please contact Julie.Wright@umb.edu if you have any questions about the event.  

Learn more about Research Day by reading our Research Day FAQ

Program of Events

Thursday, April 16th, 2026, 8:45a.m.-4:30p.m.

Coffee and Tea: 8:45 a.m.

Welcome and Dean's Remarks Keynote Address: 9 a.m.-9:50 a.m.

Jane Chung, PhD, RN, FGSA Associate Professor
Director, The Future Innovations for Technology and Aging (FIT) Lab ,Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Keynote Address: 10a.m.-10:50a.m.

Daniel Kim, MD, DrPH 
Professor of Social Epidemiology 
Department of Public Health and Health Sciences School of Community, within the Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University.  Core Faculty Member at the Institute for Experiential AI at the Roux Institute, and Faculty Affiliate with the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University 

Faculty and Students Poster Session: 11a.m.-12p.m.

2026 Research & Scholarship Day Poster Session – List of Presenters

Student Luncheon 12p.m. to 1p.m.

Student Panel Discussion:  1p.m. to 2p.m. "What Research is Really Like: Student Perspectives"

Faculty and Student Oral Paper Presentations: 2pm-3:30pm

2026 Research & Scholarship Day Oral Sessions

 

Oral Presentations are held concurrently.

Please refer to the front and back of this sheet.

 

Campus Center, 2nd Floor, Room 2540

Time

Presenter

Title

2:00

Tumilara B. Aderibigbe

A Narrative Review of Culturally Informed Breastfeeding Interventions for African American Women

2:15

Lezley M. Leniger

Vaccine Coverage Risk Score (VCRS): ​A Transparent Predictive Model for Identifying Structural Barriers to Vaccination & Ethical Data Modeling in Public Health

2:30

Bon K. Mai

The Sweet Danger: Assessing the Role of Dietary Sweeteners in Type 2 Diabetes Risk Among Middle-Aged Adults

2:45

Lisa K. Morrissey

Financial Toxicity among Caregivers of Children with Cancer: Prevalence and Measurement

3:00

Kerin E. Donovan

Risk factors for maternal mortality in the U.S.

3:15

Trinity K. Stinson-Salmon

How Food Policy Shapes Nutrition and Health Outcomes

3:30

Nayerie Johnson

The Affordable Care Act and Maternal Morbidity and Mortality

 

Campus Center, 2nd Floor, Room 2545

Time

Presenter

Title

2:00

Sabreen A. Darwish

Social Networks (SN), Close Social Ties, Spousal relationship Dynamics, and Tobacco Use among Older Adults: Evidence from 2022 HRS

2:15

Jaqueline C. Avila

Are older adults scheduled for lung cancer screening interested in trying electronic cigarettes when conventional smoking cessation treatment fails?

2:30

Lihe Shen

Racial-Ethnic and Metro-Nonmetro Status Differences in Loneliness Among US Adults Aged 18–64

2:45

Haejin Jang

Volunteering, Loneliness, and Cognitive Function in Later Life: Gendered Longitudinal Pathways

3:00

Lien T. Quach

The Role of Social Support, Loneliness, and Falls: Evidence from Women’s Interagency HIV Study

3:15

Calvin K. Tran

Meeting the Nutritional Needs of Older Adults in Affordable Housing: Insights from the R3 Program

3:30

Maryssa Pallis

Caregiver-Friendly Workplace Policies and Work-Life Balance Among Nursing Assistants in VA Nursing Homes

Campus Center, 3rd Floor, Ballroom C

Time

Presenter

Title

2:00

Tyler E Oliver

Blood pressure variability during muscle metaboreflex activation following isometric exercise of different intensities in healthy young adults

2:15

Dennis Miezah

Association Between Physical Activity, Sleep, and Hypertension Among U.S. Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Insights From NHANES

2:30

João L. Marôco

Isometric handgrip attenuates ventricular-arterial mismatch but not reductions in wasted pressure effort during cardiac unloading, regardless of sex

2:45

Mohini D. Bryant Ekstrand

Parasympathetic reactivation during muscle metaboreflex activation immediately following isometric exercise of different intensities in healthy young adults

3:00

Mahdis Manafi

Independent Effect of Exercise and Sodium-glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibition on Markers of MAFLD in Rat Model of Type 2 Diabetes

3:15

Nicolas J. Berger

Training the Mitochondria: The Role of Skeletal Muscle Dynamin-Related Protein 1

Doctor of Nursing Practice Lightning Talks, 2-3:20pm

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Lightening Talks

Campus Center, 3rd Floor, Rm 3545

Time

Presenter

Topic

2:00

Rosenide Guerrier Pierre-Charles MSN RN FNP-C 

Transitioning Care from Long-Term Facility Back to The Community 

2:10

Miah Newman MSN RN 

Onboarding of Expert Nurses transitioning to Novice Nursing Instructors 

2:20

Michelle Ann Tackie MSN RN 

From Struggle to Support: Tackling Postpartum Depression 

2:30

Hong Zeng, MSN, CNP, FNP-BC 

Implementation of a multimodal intervention for improving colorectal cancer screening rates in a community health center 

2:40

John Michael Kimani, MSN, PMHNP-BC 

Improving medication adherence in adults with mental health disorders 

2:50

Esther Lusu Kolison, MSN, RN 

Empowering Diabetes Self-Management in Underserved Communities 

3:00

C. Christopher Gerz, MSN, APRN, AAHIVS 

Improving the use of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in the Primary Care Setting