Committees and Cores

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OASIS Committees and Cores Chart; visual representation of what is outlined below

External Scientific Advisory Committee (ESAC)

We have carefully assembled a highly interdisciplinary External Scientific Advisory Committee (ESAC) of experts who will provide complementary senior scientific expertise in self-management, symptom science, behavioral interventions, sex differences, and preclinical model development and phenotyping. They also have senior administrative experience that will be valuable to the OASIS Center members.

About the Committee Members

Shirley Moore, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the Edward J and Louise Mellen Professor of Nursing and the Associate Dean for Research from Case Western Reserve University SON. She is internationally renowned for her expertise in self-management and she leads the Center for Excellence for Self-Management Advancement through Research and Translation (SMART) Center, which is supported by an existing NINR P30. She is the PI for an NIH U01 (HL103622) aimed at reducing obesity and blood pressure in urban youth, leads a T32 (NR015433) in Multiple Chronic Conditions interdisciplinary Nurse Scientist Training grant, and is co-investigator of a PCORI-funded project to examine patient-identified personal strengths versus deficit models of care. Dr. Moore will provide scientific expertise and academic administrative skills to the ESAC and will coordinate and chair the meetings.

Jay Magaziner, PhD, MPH, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health and the Division Head of the Gerontology-Epidemiology Division of the UMSOM. His research focuses on consequences of hip fracture and interventions to optimize outcomes among these individuals. In addition, he has studied long term care issues and methodology associated with studying the trajectories of older adults. Lastly, he has focused his work on examining changes in bone and muscle following hip fracture, changes in bone turnover, and consideration of sex differences in hip fracture recovery. He co-directs the Center for Research in Aging on campus. He has been funded for many years via a prestigious MERIT award from the NIA (R37 AG009901), is the PI of the Claude D. Pepper Older American Independence Center (P30 AG028747) at UMB, his current R01 funding provides support to study community ambulation following hip fracture (R01 AG035009). He directs a longstanding T32 (AG000262) focused on research training in epidemiology of aging. He has over 200 publications in high impact journals.

Margaret M. McCarthy, PhD, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology in the UMSOM. Her career has focused on the cellular mechanisms establishing sex differences in the brain. She uses a combined behavioral and mechanistic approach in the laboratory rat to understand both normal brain development and how these processes might go selectively awry in males versus females. She has published over 170 peer-reviewed manuscripts on these topics. Dr. McCarthy now stands among the country's most pre-eminent scientific investigators studying the role of gonadal hormones on development and behaviors. She has advised the NIH on guidelines governing a new policy, which states that sex must be accounted for, controlled for, and incorporated into all preclinical research funded by NIH as a biological variable. She is currently an Associate Editor at the Journal of Neuroscience and on the Advisory Board for eNeuro. She is President-elect of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences. In 2015, Dr. McCarthy was awarded Researcher of the Year by the University of Maryland for her cumulative accomplishments and contributions to the university. Her current research in amino acid transmitters and brain sexual differences is funded by NIMH (R01 MH52716) and work on estradiol and hippocampal development is funded by NINDS (R01 NS050525).

Jeffrey S. Mogil, PhD, is the E.P. Taylor Professor of Pain Studies and the Canada Research Chair in the Genetics of Pain (Tier 1) at McGill University. He has made seminal contributions to the field of pain and genetics, including authorship of most of the major reviews in prestigious journals and he edited the first textbook in this area (The Genetics of Pain, IASP Press, 2004). A significant component of Dr. Mogil’s work has been in the area of algesiometric laboratory testing; the development and use of extensive and careful phenotyping strategies that can be used to assess pain in animal models. He has authored more than 170 articles and book chapters since 1992, and has given over 200 invited lectures in that same period.  His papers have been cited over 6,500 times.  Funding for his research has been provided by the National Institutes of Health, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Genome Canada, Neuroscience Canada, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Louise and Alan Edwards Foundation, the Krembil Foundation, and the pharmaceutical/biotech industry. He is currently a Section Editor (Neurobiology) at the journal, Pain.

Nancy Redeker, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the Beatrice Renfield Term Professor of Nursing in the Division of Acute Care/Health Systems at Yale University School of Nursing. Her research focuses on sleep, sleep disorders and their consequences among adults with chronic medical conditions. Her program of research includes studies of sleep in patients with chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disorders (heart failure, ischemic heart disease) in acute and critical care settings. She is the PI of a current NINR funded Yale Center for Sleep Disturbance in Acute and Chronic Conditions (P20 NR014126) and holds an R01 to study cognitive behavioral therapy as a self-management strategy to improve insomnia in chronic illness (NR016191).

Internal Executive Committee (IEC)

The Internal Executive Committee (IEC) will guide the day-to-day operations of the OASIS Center. Members include the MPI team, core directors, and a financial administrator, program manager, and ombudsperson. The IEC will provide strategic oversight and coordination of all administrative functions of OASIS, including the review of utilization of funds by the cores and pilot PIs to ensure that funds are appropriately expended on the website launch and maintenance, and development of a strong communication plan to facilitate and enhance collaboration and data sharing.

About the Committee Members

Susan G. Dorsey, PhD, RN, FAAN, (1.8 calendar months [15% effort] all years) is Professor and Founding Chair, Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science at the SON. She holds joint faculty positions in the Departments of Anesthesiology in the SOM and Neural & Pain Sciences in the SOD and is an affiliate faculty member at the Institute for Genomics Sciences at UMB. She participates as a full faculty member in several interdisciplinary programs on campus, including the Program in Neuroscience and the Program in Molecular Medicine. Her currently funded program of research focuses on the contributions of neurotrophin signaling in chronic pain plasticity, omics of chronic pain and examination of the transcriptomic correlates of co-morbid pain conditions. She successfully led the first NINR-funded P30 in the SON, the Center for Pain Studies (P30NR011396; 2009-2014) and co-leads the current NINR-funded P30, Center for the Genomics of Pain (P30NR014129; 2012-2017) with an MPI team from the SOM and SOD. She also co-directs the Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research on campus with Dr. Joel Greenspan from the SOD. Dr. Dorsey has published with both MPIs for the proposed center, and many of the Core directors. Her scientific expertise in symptom science and omics and her significant leadership experience as a Center director will help to ensure success in accomplishing the aims of the proposed Center. Dr. Dorsey will serve as contact PI and will provide oversight for all Center activities. She will serve as Director for the Administrative Core and will oversee the evaluation plan.

Barbara Resnick, PhD, RN, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP, (1.2 calendar months [10% effort] all years) is Professor in the Department of Organizational Systems and Adult Health and holds the Sonya Ziporkin Gershowitz Chair in Gerontology in the SON. She co-directs the Biology and Behavior Across the Lifespan Organized Research Center on campus and has significant expertise in self-management, behavior change, and use of physical activity to improve symptoms. Her research program focuses on optimizing function and physical activity in older adults across all healthcare settings, specifically examining how resilience and genetics contribute to overall health. She has more than 200 publications that include studies designed to test and implement interventions in real world settings. She has held significant national leadership positions, including positions in the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the Gerontological Society of America and the Society of Behavioral Medicine. She is the incoming president for the Gerontological Society of America. She will bring leadership expertise and also, senior scientific expertise in self-management and will co-lead the Pilot Core.

Cynthia L. Renn, PhD, RN, (1.2 calendar months [10% effort] all years) is an Associate Professor, tenured, in the Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science in the SON. She has been studying the development and persistence of chronic pain and methods to intervene to manage pain for more than 10 years. She leads the cancer pain program in the Population Sciences Division of the Greenebaum Cancer Center at UMB and serves as a mentor to junior faculty and PhD students. She also serves as a member of the UMB Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research (CACPR) Executive Committee. She is nationally known for her significant expertise in modeling chronic pain in rodents. She also has expertise in phenotyping pain and co-morbid depression, anxiety and motivation in rodents. Her expertise in pain research will be brought to bear for this Center. Although she is relatively new to Center leadership, we take this opportunity to build upon her leadership roles at the campus level to mentor her in the complexities associated with Center management so that she can assume these roles now, and in the future. Dr. Renn will co-lead the Pilot Core.

Steve Pease, BS, (0.6 calendar months [5% effort] all years) is the Director of Sponsored Projects in the SON. In collaboration with Dr. Dorsey and the MPI team, he will guide the fiscal management of the Center and ensure that funding is expended appropriately and in accordance with campus, state and NIH regulations. Specifically, he will be responsible for providing the AC director with monthly budget updates that include details regarding expenditures and funds remaining for each pilot study and Core. He will coordinate and approve purchases and will work with the SON Administrative Services procurement manager to support the pilot studies and Cores.

Khristy Bozylinski, MBA, (2.4 calendar months [20% effort] all years) is a Program Manager in the Pain and Translational Symptom Science Department at the SON. She will provide programmatic support for the Center including coordination of the internal executive committee (IEC) and the ESAC meetings, Pilot Project Core meetings, and facilitate the compilation of data necessary to submit annual progress reports for the Center to NINR. She is also expert in regulatory affairs for animal and human subjects and will assist Pilot PIs in ensuring compliance. She will maintain all regulatory certifications and manage the calendar for timely renewal of required training for Center members.

Laurelyn E. Irving, PhD, (0.3 calendar months [2.5% effort] all years) is the ombudsperson for the SON. She will work with leadership to facilitate effective communication among Center members, staff, the UMB community and external partners. While she will mediate and assist in the resolution of conflicts, we will work with her to build excellence in communication with Center members early in the inception of OASIS and over time. She will develop strategies to facilitate communication so that conflicts can be prevented. However, in the case of conflicts between the MPI team, Core Directors, or any component of the Center, Dr. Irving will be responsible problem solving and mediation.

Shijun Zhu, PhD, (1.2 calendar months [10% effort] all years) is an Assistant Professor in the Organizational Systems and Adult Health Department at the SON. He also serves as a statistician and data manager for the Office of Research and Scholarship. Dr. Zhu has worked with members of the proposed Center for years and has co-authored multiple publications with them. He will be responsible for providing design and statistical support to the Pilot PIs and for assisting with data management requirements, including storage of data files with personal health information (PHI) on the school’s PHI compliant server. He will meet with each Pilot PI to discuss design and statistical power issues prior to the study start, and then throughout the project.

Administrative Core

The Administrative Core of the OASIS Center will provide the structure and fiscal resources necessary to ensure successful management of overall center activities including the development, promotion, and fiscally responsible management of center resources.

Model Development and Phenotyping Core

The mission of the Model Development and Phenotyping Core (MDPC) is to provide the pilot principle investigators with infrastructure and specific conceptual and applied expertise in preclinical and clinical pain model development, behavioral testing, and phenotype evaluation. The MDPC also will develop novel chronic pain models and behavioral assays. The MDPC is co-directed by Todd Gould, MD, and Joel Greenspan, PhD, who have established expertise in preclinical model development and behavioral testing (Gould) and clinical experimental pain model development and psychometric/behavioral testing (Greenspan).

Omics Core

The purpose of the Omics Core is to combine rigorous phenotyping of preclinical models and patients in chronic pain with cutting-edge omics methods to advance our understanding of how individual differences can reduce or amplify response to self-management interventions, as well as resilience, motivation, and capability to engage.

Pilot Projects Core (PPC)

The purpose of the Pilot Projects Core (PPC) is to support and mentor nurse scientists in the development, implementation, and dissemination of findings of pilot studies that examine how individual differences can reduce or amplify the response to and the omics that underlie resilience, motivation, and capability to engage in self-management interventions.