For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Recent appointments, presentations, publications and honors in the College of Health Sciences include the following:

Honors

Ashley Cooke, an honors senior nursing major, won third place for her poster presentation at the Eastern Nursing Research Society’s (ENRS) 38th annual Scientific Sessions in Boston in March. Her poster, “Wide Awake in Delaware: Why Social Determinants Matter for Young Adult Sleep,” in the bachelor of science in nursing category, presented preliminary findings from her honors thesis project. Cooke worked with mentor Lauren Covington, assistant professor of nursing, on research that found that young adults in Delaware experienced poor sleep health and that social determinants of health, including insurance and employment status, were correlated with sleep patterns.

"Working on this project under Dr. Covington has been a great opportunity to explore the field of nursing research while collaborating with an excellent team," said Cooke. "A lot of time and dedication went into this research, especially as I prepare to defend my senior thesis, so having my poster place at the ENRS conference felt incredibly rewarding and like a meaningful recognition of the hard work that went into this project."

"The School of Nursing is thrilled that Ashley had such a successful and accomplished experience at her first ENRS conference," said Elizabeth Speakman, chief nurse administrator and senior associate dean of the School of Nursing. "We are so lucky to have such bright and passionate students represent UD SON!"

Lauren Covington, assistant professor of nursing, was accepted into the inaugural cohort of the Scholars for Applied Research and Innovation (SARI) program, funded through the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Nursing Research (NINR). The yearlong fellowship is designed to advance rigorous, equity-focused research and innovation in nursing and health sciences, with a focus on maximizing the impact on systemic and institutional factors that affect the health of communities across the lifespan. Covington’s research will focus on adequately measuring and intervening upon structural and institutional factors that affect sleep-related mortality among Black infants. The fellowship is a cross-institution collaboration based at Villanova University’s M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing and led in partnership with Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and Howard University College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences.

“As a pediatric ICU nurse, I have spent over a decade witnessing firsthand how institutional failures--not individual ones--drive preventable sleep-related deaths among Black infants,” said Covington. “The training, mentorship, and community of scholars I will gain through this program will be instrumental as I develop a grant proposal to test whether addressing structural determinants, from safe sleep space access to provider implicit bias training, can meaningfully reduce sleep-related infant mortality and injury among Black families in Delaware. I am eager to grow as a nurse scientist and bring these insights back to the communities and families I serve.”

Lauren Covington, assistant professor of nursing, has been invited to serve as the sole nurse scientist on the Safe Kids Worldwide Safe Sleep Working Group. The national group of experts addresses best practices for safe sleep to reduce infant injuries and death. The group aims to release a National Safe Sleep Roadmap in October 2026.

“This work is deeply personal to me. I have sat with families devastated by preventable infant deaths, and I know that real change requires more than safe sleep education,” Covington said. “It requires dismantling the structural barriers that make safe sleep impossible for so many families. Being at the national table to help shape that change is something I do not take lightly.”

Sharon Dudley-Brown, professor of nursing, received the Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Award for Clinical Excellence from the American College of Gastroenterology. The award recognizes a distinguished nurse practitioner or physician assistant who has shown longstanding contributions to advancing clinical practice in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology. Dudley-Brown is recognized for her research on patients with inflammatory bowel disease, her leadership, mentoring and collaborative activities, which have made a lasting impact on state, regional, national and international levels.

"I was surprised and honored to be nominated and supported by my clinical colleagues at Johns Hopkins for this prestigious award," said Dudley-Brown. 

Nancy Getchell, professor of kinesiology and applied physiology, has been named a North American Society (NAS) of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance Fellow. The NAS fellowship recognizes SHAPE America members who have made significant and lasting contributions and demonstrated outstanding competence through professional involvement for at least two decades. The fellowship aims to bring together recognized leaders from various fields to collaborate and generate fresh perspectives on the latest issues and trends affecting the professions. Getchell, who has been a member of SHAPE America since 1988, has served in various leadership roles for the organization, including chair of the Motor Development and Learning Academy, co-chair of the task force on the Active Start National Standards for guidelines for infant and preschool physical activity, co-chair of the Motor Behavior Special Interest group and a Research Council member. She also served as associate editor of SHAPE America’s research journal, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. “It is truly an honor to be selected as an NAS Fellow, especially at this stage of my career. This recognition reflects my long‑standing commitment to advancing our profession through motor development scholarship, teaching, and professional service,” said Getchell. “Just as importantly, it acknowledges the mentors, colleagues and students whose collaboration and support have enriched my work and strengthened our field.”

Lia McNulty, a second-year doctoral student in the health behavior science and promotion program, was awarded the Raymond A. Weiss Research Endowment Graduate Student Research Grant from the American College of Sports Medicine. The $5,000 award will support McNulty’s dissertation research on developing a user-centered mobile health intervention to promote physical activity and social engagement among adolescents and young adults on the autism spectrum. The intervention aims to address disparities in physical and social health outcomes experienced by this population.

“This project leverages a co-design approach, actively involving autistic individuals and their families throughout the development process to ensure the intervention is accessible, culturally relevant, and responsive to user needs and preferences,” McNulty said. “This award motivates me to continue pursuing research that can positively impact the health, well-being, and quality of life of the autism community.”

Megan Wenner, associate professor of kinesiology and applied physiology, was awarded the American Physiological Society Environmental and Exercise Physiology (EEP) Section 2026 Impact Award at the annual American Physiology Summit in Minneapolis, held from April 23-26. The Impact Award honors a mid-career investigator who has established a line of impactful research or made a seminal discovery in the field, while also contributing as a collegial colleague of the EEP Section and scientific community. Wenner’s research focuses on cardiovascular health in women throughout the lifespan. 

"It is such an incredible honor to receive this award. I'm grateful to the EEP and APS for recognizing our work," said Wenner. "It would not be possible without my collaborators, mentors, and trainees, so I share this award with all of them. There are so many people who have had an impact on my career and continue to inspire and support me each day, and I feel so fortunate to do this work."

Publications

Michelle DePhillips, assistant professor of nursing, coauthored a chapter in a book titled Taking Action: Top 10 Priorities for Nurses to Protect Health in a Changing Climate. DePhillips contributed to Chapter 10, “Transforming Nursing Education,” which focuses on preparing future nurses to address the health impacts of climate change. Published by Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and released on April 22, the book translates emerging science into practical strategies for nurses responding to climate-driven public health challenges. DePhillips plans to integrate concepts into her UD nursing course, “Public and Global Health.”

Laura Lessard, associate professor of health behavior and nutrition sciences and director of evaluation for DElaware INBRE, Linda Polasko, program coordinator with DElaware INBRE, and Melinda K.  Duncan, Trustees Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences, are coauthors with H. Boukari, M. D’Souza, H.H. Kecskemethy, S. Siegel and E. Singleton of “Engaging Undergraduate Students in Online Data Science Research: Implementation and Impact of a Summer Research Program During COVID-19,” published in Education Sciences. This project is connected to DElaware INBRE, the University-wide infrastructure grant.