From DNP student to published author
Elizabeth Hughes, DNP '24, was lead author on a paper published in Nursing2025, which associate professor Karen Vuckovic is now using as required reading.
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UIC Nursing clinical associate professor Karen Vuckovic, PhD ’13, APRN, ACNS-BC, wanted to be able to give her pharmacology students required reading on the topic of biosimilars, a drug class that is becoming increasingly popular among pharmaceutical manufacturers.
But she couldn’t find the paper she was looking for, so instead, she encouraged one of her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students to write it.
That’s how Elizabeth Hughes, DNP ’24, AGPCNP-BC, went, in short order, from sitting in Vuckovic’s pharmacology class as a DNP student to being the author of required course reading.
The paper, “Biosimilars vs. originators: A comprehensive guide for nurses on efficacy, safety and patient care,” was published in Nursing2025 last month (December 2024). Hughes is the lead author and Vuckovic is senior author. Sharon Tymkiw, Hughes’ manager at a Northwestern Medicine infusion clinic, is also a co-author.
Nursing2025 released a podcast earlier this month on the topic, featuring Hughes, Vuckovic and Tymkiw.
Biosimilars explained
Biosimilars are copies of existing FDA-approved biologic medications (medications derived from organic material) that are often offered at a lower cost than original products.
Hughes noticed that her patients at a rheumatology infusion clinic were being required by their insurance companies to switch to biosimilars as the patents on the originator biologics (originators) expired.
“I recognized when I was an infusion nurse, a lot of times, patients were moving from the originator to a biosimilar,” Hughes says. “It was really the nurse’s job to provide patient education.”
Biosimilars are not identical to the originator biologics because they do not arise from the same cell line or cell bank, yet they have the same primary structural amino acid sequence. Biosimilars are manufactured from organic matter using recombinant DNA, just like the originator.
“The important part [is that] there are potential adverse reactions you have to monitor for, just like the original biologic medication,” Vuckovic explains.
The medications are safe, according to the paper, but the FDA approval process differs from other medications, and misinformation exists. For instance, they are often described as “generics,” which isn’t accurate. It’s important for nurses to be able to inform, educate and support patients when starting on the medication, according to the paper.
DNP project origins
All DNP students at UIC Nursing are required to complete a DNP project – a seminal, evidence-based project to improve or solve a problem in a clinical setting. Hughes’ original project, which focused on decreasing infusion treatment delays at her clinic, was such a success that she presented it to the Infusion Nurses Society National Conference at its annual meeting in May.
With her project successfully completed and still four months before her graduation, Vuckovic encouraged Hughes to write the paper on biosimilars due to her background at the infusion clinic, where she encountered them frequently. Vuckovic continued guiding her through the publishing process after she graduated in May 2024.
Vuckovic said the paper is already required reading in her pharmacology course this semester, and she’ll require the podcast soon, too. Tymkiw plans to use the article to onboard new nurses in the infusion clinic.
“It’s a win-win-win all around,” Vuckovic says.