Faculty Research Interests

I am interested in the development of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). The embryonic Drosophila central nervous system similar to the human spinal cord is a paradigm for understanding the cellular processes and genetic pathways regulating the formation and maintenance of a diverse population of nerve cells.

My research interests include investigating the role of RNA degradation in Drosophila development, investigating the impact of wounding in the Drosophila embryonic central nervous system, and investigating the effect of protein degradation on the activity of different transcription factors in neuronal fate decisions during nervous system development in Drosophila.

My research is centered on how organizations can become more resilient, sustainable, and efficient through technology adoption and process innovation. A primary stream of my work investigates the design and performance of supply chain networks under disruption, with a particular emphasis on how digital tools, such as Blockchain, IoT, and process mining, enhance transparency, agility, and ESG integration. In healthcare, I study how technologies like RFID and analytics can optimize surgical instrument logistics, staff scheduling, and clinical trial management, contributing to safer and more efficient patient care. I also explore the integration of occupational health and safety into operational systems, developing risk assessment frameworks that align safety with productivity in manufacturing and service environments. Additionally, I am engaged in pedagogical research that examines how generative AI and concept mapping can transform the teaching and learning of business analytics and supply chain management.

My research interest is in the power of the nursing profession, the influence of nurses, and their roles in leadership and board governance.

• Prose Craft
• Fiction Writing
• Narratology 
• U.S. Literature
• Genre Fiction 
• Radical Print Culture

• Control systems
• Mobile robotics
• Nanopositioning
• Precision mechatronics
• Atomic force microscopy
• Additive manufacturing
• Smart materials, actuators, and sensors
• Soft robotics

Using the model organism Drosophila melanogaster, I involve many undergraduate students in my research on how alternative splicing affects lipid metabolism in an effort to better understand gene regulation mechanisms related to obesity. I am also interested in the effect of diet and supplements on lifespan and fitness in both male and female fruit flies. Additionally, I collaborate on a project to identify regulatory genes involved in sexual dimorphism in the jumping stick Stiphra sp.

• Emotional Intelligence in Graduate Occupational Therapy Students
• Trauma Informed Care and DV/IPV
• Graduate Occupational Therapy Doctoral Education Impact on the Profession

My research interests pertain to the ways that nurses build knowledge during their formal education journey and throughout their nursing career.

My research is focused on the computational and experimental analysis of physiological systems, particularly the gastrointestinal system. I am currently working on an interinstitutional project developing patient-specific computer models of oropharyngeal swallowing to aid clinicians in developing therapeutic strategies for individuals with swallowing disorders.

I research transatlantic modernism and feminist science fiction. My central interest is in how experimental literature encodes and enacts social change.

My research interests are risk modeling, portfolio optimization, and asset pricing. I am particularly interested in developing quantitative models which can explain how the values of financial assets and portfolios evolve over time. These include linear and non-linear models such as threshold, vector autoregression, cointegration, stochastic volatility, GARCH, Jump diffusion, and skewed-distributions models.

I have a variety of research interests that mostly focus on prospective teacher education. The four main foci include mathematical knowledge for teaching teachers (MKTT), the professional development of mathematics teacher educators, prospective teachers' knowledge of fractions, and task development for mathematics content courses for prospective teachers.

My research interests are in the area of mathematical modeling, simulation, optimization, and control of multiscale physico-chemical process systems and in the area of thermodynamic modeling and molecular simulation (Monte Carlo, molecular dynamics and kinetic Monte Carlo) of complex fluids.

My specific research areas include: modeling and simulation of multiscale process systems Detailed process description using conservation laws and stochastic model construction Parameter estimation from microscopic/mesoscopic simulations; model-based control and optimization of multiscale process systems Model reduction, coarse-graining, and predictive control of distributed parameter systems Dynamic optimization over multiple length scales; molecular simulation of complex fluids Monte Carlo, molecular dynamics, and kinetic Monte Carlo methods Development and optimization techniques for parallel codes using domain decomposition.

• Protein dynamics
• Polymer dynamics
• Fluorescence spectroscopy
• Metal enhanced fluorescence

I started my PhD in Nursing Science at Widener University four year ago which has giving me plenty of practice analyzing research and conducting literature reviews in preparation for my dissertation. My research interests include clinical decision making in practice, procedural education, critical care medicine, understanding cardiopulmonary resuscitation and outcomes.

My teaching both influences, and is influenced by my research. My research interests include social inequality (race/ethnicity, gender, and class), race and ethnicity, as well as the sociology of knowledge. My publications have appeared in the Journal of Historical Sociology and the Ashgate Research Companion to Black Sociology. The trajectory of my research will continue to focus on social inequalities and education, particularly with regard to racialized and gendered stratification of knowledge. While my current research focuses on how race and gender structure the reproduction of knowledge within U.S. Sociology, this work is centered in a global perspective that investigates how race and gender pattern the construction of knowledge in a globalized society. Further, my future research will explore the reproduction of racialized knowledge in public high schools and the application of critical pedagogy therein.

My research is based on the dynamic fracture and fragmentation of brittle polymers and composites.  I also have an interest in the instrumentation and metrology related to experimental design. 

I have two main areas of research. The first focuses on the impact of community engagement on both students and community partners. The second focuses on physical performance in older adults. 

My research interests include polypharmacy, older adults/older adult healthcare, nursing education, and anorexia in adolescents.

My long-term research interest and goal is to establish an active, externally-funded research program at Widener University with the motto of "Better health through discovery, de novo design, and effective delivery of novel drugs." Despite tremendous medical advances, we still face many health challenges for which there is no effective cure. The age-associated disorders like cancer and Alzheimer's disease are two of the most notorious examples of such devastating diseases.

Cancer is still the second leading cause of death in the U.S. Similarly, there are currently 5.2 million Alzheimer's disease patients in the U.S., and the numbers are expected to rise significantly owing to the aging population of baby boomers and lack of any effective cure. In this context, the primary aim of my research work is to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying these diseases and use these novel mechanistic understandings to discover and design effective therapeutics against these traditionally-challenging diseases:

Alzheimer's Disease – Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is one of the most significant risk factors for late-onset or sporadic Alzheimer's disease. ApoE has been shown to be critical in clearing the harmful ApoE deposits from the brain and its ability to do that depends upon its lipidation status. Therefore, there is a growing interest in understanding the underlying mechanisms involved in ApoE lipidation and using these mechanistic understandings to discover drugs to enhance ApoE lipidation status.
My laboratory is investigating potential involvement of abnormal glucose metabolism in poor ApoE lipidation.

Cancer – The p53 protein plays a central role in protecting cells against carcinogenesis. It is inhibited in 50% of human tumors, however, by interaction with the oncogenic MDM2 protein. Therefore, blocking the p53-binding pocket on MDM2 protein by small-molecule drugs, leading to activation of the tumor suppressor p53 protein presents a fundamentally novel strategy against several types of cancers. In this regard, my laboratory is involved in discovery and design of novel molecules that can mimic the p53 structural features involved in binding to the MDM2 pocket with the ultimate aim of blocking p53-MDM2 interaction.