Spotlight on Discovery
Summer 2026
Research at Rutgers School of Nursing spans a wide range of areas. Here, we focus on just a few of the faculty scholars advancing this work.
Improving Virtual Care for People with Diabetes
Helen Chen, PhD, RN, FNP, assistant professor, studies how health information technology can help reduce disparities and improve health outcomes. Supported by a K99/R00 award from the National Institute of Nursing Research, her current project aims to enhance virtual care for low-income adults with type 2 diabetes.
Examining the feasibility of nurse-led, app-based behavioral interventions, Chen is developing a user-friendly manual to help patients better interpret online test results and manage their condition through medication, exercise, and diet. The study also includes patient focus groups and pilot testing at two local health clinics. “Few health technology interventions are designed for underserved populations, who often have fewer resources, lower health literacy, and less access to technology,” Chen says. Lessons learned from this study, she says, could benefit all patients.
Social Networks and Neighborhoods Can Promote Healthy Behaviors
“Where you are born or live can have a long-lasting impact on your health,” says Cho-Hee Shrader, PhD, MPH, MSN, RN, assistant professor. She adds, “People whose networks include others with healthier behaviors tend to also engage in those healthier behaviors.”
Shrader studies how social networks, norms, and neighborhood environments influence substance use and HIV-related outcomes, particularly among racially, sexually, and gender minoritized populations.
Her new pilot study, funded by the Center for Health Equity and Systems Research at Rutgers School of Nursing, examines social networks and neighborhoods in Newark. It complements her New York City–based pilot study, funded by the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research at New York University. That study explores how in-person and social media networks—including TikTok, Instagram, and Grindr—shape substance use, mental health, and HIV risk.
“I am also interested in implicit bias—specifically, implicit bias among healthcare workers and how this can affect clinical outcomes,” she says.
Understanding the Complexities of Sickle Cell Pain
Keesha Powell-Roach, PhD, RN, FAAN, assistant professor, focuses her scientific inquiry on understanding and addressing pain, primarily in individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD). “By integrating biological markers, quantitative sensory testing (QST), and psychosocial factors, I examine how pain assessment can unintentionally perpetuate inequitable care,” she reports.
Her work developing and applying QST reference data across different populations with and without SCD has uncovered evidence that debunks persistent myths about pain tolerance in Black patients. Translating this work into education, policy, and practice, she says, “is promoting culturally responsive pain management and advancing equitable standards of care.”
Powell-Roach’s consistent record of research funding includes her new R03 grant, “Proteomic Profiling and Neurocognitive Assessment to Uncover Stroke Mechanisms in Adults with Sickle Cell Disease,” supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).