Symptom Management Experts
Mia Cajita
Expert on: Cardiovascular health, health literacy, ehealth/mhealth, chronic illness management
Dr. Mia Cajita is an assistant professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science. She specializes in technology-based interventions focused on cardiovascular research. The goal of her research is to reduce cardiovascular health disparities by addressing person-, provider- and socioeconomic-related barriers to cardiovascular health behaviors.
Ardith Doorenbos
Expert on: Palliative care and symptom management
Dr. Ardith Doorenbos is the Harriet H. Werley Endowed Chair for Nursing Research and a professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science. Her research focuses on the understanding of pain and symptom management among diverse individuals, families and communities.
Cynthia Fritschi
Expert on: Diabetes, self-care behaviors, real-time data collection
Dr. Cynthia Fritschi is an associate professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science. Her research has focused on the relationships between physical function, physical activity and system experiences among obese, sedentary adults with Type 2 diabetes. The overarching goal of her research is to develop real-world physical activity interventions in aging, urban adults with or at risk for cardiometabolic diseases to maximize metabolic health, enhance quality of life, and attenuate the risks for early disability associated with being sedentary.
Dr. Fritschi has conducted behavioral intervention studies in which she assesses the effects of using real-time continuous physical activity and glucose monitoring to examine the psychological, behavioral, and glucose outcomes in aging adults with Type 2 diabetes.
Hongjin Li
Expert on: Psychoneurological symptoms and complementary/integrative therapies in cancer symptom management
Dr. Hongjin Li is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development Nursing Science. Dr. Li’s program of research focuses on advancing symptom science and symptom management among breast cancer survivors. Her research focuses on phenotyping, identifying trajectory and predictors (genetic and metabolomic) of the psychoneurological symptom cluster (pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, depression, anxiety) experience by breast cancer survivors, applying multi-omics (metabolomics, microbiome) approaches to understand the biological mechanisms underlying the effects of acupuncture on psychoneurological symptoms, and implementing innovative, non-opioid complementary and integrative health interventions—particularly acupuncture—to reduce cancer-related symptom burden, especially in medically underserved populations. Dr. Li has served as a principal investigator or co-investigator on more than four NIH-funded studies and has published extensively in the areas of cancer symptom science, integrative oncology, and biobehavioral research. Her work aims to integrate precision health strategies into supportive cancer care and improve quality of life among cancer survivors.
Mark Lockwood
Expert on: Pain and health disparities in chronic kidney disease, gut microbiome, symptom science (emphasis on chronic pain)
Dr. Mark Lockwood is an associate professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science. He is interested in effects of kidney transplantation on the microbiome and how changes in these relate to psychoneurological symptoms like fatigue, sleep disturbance, depression/anxiety, and pain after transplant. His research advances symptom science through the identification of symptom clusters in patients with chronic-kidney disease. Dr. Lockwood also explores the effects of the gut microbiome and gut microbiota derived metabolites on symptoms and adverse outcomes in pre- and post-kidney transplant recipients. His research aims to reduce existing health disparities/inequities by developing innovative strategies.
Onome Henry Osokpo
Expert on: Self-care, care transitions, and health disparities in adults with complex health/social needs
Dr. Onome Henry Osokpo is an assistant professor in the Department of Population Health Nursing Science. His research aims to reduce health disparities, advance health equity, and mitigate adverse social determinants of health with a particular focus on improving self-care and transitions of care for vulnerable adult populations, including Black/African immigrants and their caregivers. Dr. Osokpo’s research goal is to understand and address the multilevel barriers to health care, including sociocultural (language), economic, behavioral, and system (organizational) barriers that adversely impact the health and outcomes of vulnerable adults with chronic disease and complex health and social needs.