Dean and Professor
Professor and the Dean of the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies; Dean Peragallo’s clinical specialty is in public health nursing. Her research interests include HIV/AIDS prevention in Latino women. Dean Peragallo teaches public health nursing research, special topics in nursing research, nursing science, and program planning and evaluation. Dean Peragallo completed a DrPH at the University of Texas, a MS in nursing at the University of West Virgina, and a BS in nursing at the University of Chile.
Telephone: (305) 284-2107
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Research Assistant Professor
Shonali M. Choudhury is a research assistant professor at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies. She completed her PhD at the UCLA School of Public Health with concentrations in community health and women’s studies. She joins the faculty after working in the non-profit research realm in various organizations in Hartford, CT. She most recently was part of a team of researchers at the Institute for Community Research for the Translation of the Risk Avoidance Partnership (RAP) for Drug Treatment Clinic Implementation – “RAP-Clinic.” She has previously taught at and the University of Massachusetts School of Public Health and Health Science and Quinnipiac University where she has organized community HIV awareness events. She is a member of international organizations such as the International AIDS Society. She is also a section councilor for the Population and Reproductive Health Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA). Her research focuses on HIV prevention and harm/risk reduction among vulnerable population such as sex workers and drug users both globally and nationally.
Telephone: (305) 284-8363
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Associate Professor
Associate professor at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies. Dr. Cianelli completed a PhD in nursing at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She also studied at Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile, earning a BSN in nurse midwifery and later serving as a professor in the Escuela de Enfermeria. Dr. Cianelli completed a Master of Public Health at the Universidad de Chile. Her clinical specialty is midwifery. She teaches and conducts research in women’s health, health disparities, and international health. Dr. Cianelli also studies HIV prevention and was the recipient of a Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research traineeship at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
Telephone: (305) 284-2147
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Associate Professor
An assistant professor at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies. His clinical specialties include pediatric nursing and HIV/AIDS nursing. Dr. De Santis conducts research on HIV and HIV risk in vulnerable populations. He is president of the Metro-Miami Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC) and serves as a clinical consultant with the HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau. Dr. De Santis teaches nursing and health care of infants and children, growth and development, and human sexuality. He completed a MSN in parent-child nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina and a PhD in nursing from Barry University.
Telephone: (305) 284-5039
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Research Assistant Professor
Karina Gattamorta earned her PhD in Research, Measurement, and Evaluation at the University of Miami. She previously earned her BA in Special Education and Psychology from the University of Miami and an EdS in School Psychology from Florida International University. Karina has focused her research on investigating methods of assessing bias in a variety of testing situations. She has co-authored papers in Applied Measurement in Education, the Journal of Educational Measurement, and the Journal of Early Intervention. She also has first-authored manuscripts under review in Applied Measurement in Education and the International Journal of Testing. She has experience with quantitative and qualitative research, data analysis, measurement, item response theory (IRT), statistics, and program evaluation and is proficient in a variety of statistical analyses including advanced techniques such as structural equation modeling (SEM) and multi-level modeling (MLM). Currently she is teaching statistics courses in analysis of variance (ANOVA), multiple regression, and introductory statistics.
Telephone: (305) 284-1572
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Assistant Professor
Rosa Maria Gonzalez-Guarda is an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami School of Nursing & Health Studies. Dr. Gonzalez-Guarda graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor in the Science of Nursing (BSN), from Johns Hopkins University with a Master in Nursing and Public Health (MPH), and from the University of Miami with an Interdepartmental Doctorate in Nursing, Epidemiology and Psychology (PhD). In the past she has worked on community health nursing projects, public health programs and research targeting African Americans, Hispanic Americans and other vulnerable populations in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Her current research focuses on the intersection of substance abuse, intimate partner violence and risky sexual behaviors among Hispanics and the development of culturally tailored interventions to address these. She is the principal investigator of a community-based participatory research study aiming to develop a domestic violence prevention program for Hispanics in Miami-Dade County. She is also currently serving as a committee member for an Institute of Medicine and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation joint initiative on the future of nursing.
Telephone (305) 284-8374
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Assistant Professor
Dr. Lawson is the former director and founder of the Forensic Nurse Examiner (FNE) Program and Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Emergency Department at the University of Virginia (UVA). She most recently held a joint position at the UVa School of Nursing as a Research Assistant Professor before coming to the University of Miami. She holds an associate of science degree in nursing from Kauai Community College in Lihue, Hawaii and a BSN, MSN, and PhD from the University of Virginia. The focus of her master’s degree was on Forensic Nursing and her PhD research was focused on genital injury patterns in women after sexual assault and consensual intercourse. Her most recently funded research projects included addressing Motivations for seeking Emergency Department Care among Rural and Urban Patients and Genital Injuries over time in Women after Consensual Intercourse based on Skin Color.
Telephone: (305) 284-8655
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Research Assistant Professor
Dr. McCabe is a Research Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Miami. He earned his PhD in Counseling Psychology at the University of Miami. He completed his Doctoral Psychology Internship at the VA Ann Arbor HealthCare System/University of Michigan, has a MS in Community Counseling and an EdS in Mental Health Counseling from Indiana University, and has a BA in Psychology from Purdue University. Dr. McCabe teaches courses on statistical analysis for health care and behavioral sciences. His research interests are the etiology and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders, health disparities in the incidence of and interventions for substance use and mental health disorders, longitudinal analysis methods, and the influence of culture on psychological measurement.
Telephone: (305) 284-1530
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Research Assistant Professor
A research assistant professor at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies; Dr. Mena earned a BA in psychology from Emory University and a PsyD in clinical psychology from Nova Southeastern University. She is a licensed psychologist with specializations in family therapy, individual therapy, families affected by substance abuse, and families affected by immigration-related separations. Dr. Mena teaches biostatistical applications for nursing practice. Her research interests range from adolescent substance abuse and risky sexual behaviors, HIV/AIDS risk reduction among adolescents at risk, to minority populations affected by substance abuse and other mental health disorders and culturally-tailored interventions.
Telephone: (305) 284-5119
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Assistant Professor
Emma McKim Mitchell has recently completed her PhD in nursing at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her research focus has been in sustainability practices in nursing and nursing interventions abroad. Mitchell has demonstrated to have substantial interest and experience in research in South America particularly. She is a part of national and intercultural nursing associations, has participated in many presentations, and has been a representative for students in the University of Virginia. Mitchell has been active in the community and globally and shows creativity in her all-encompassing vision of the future of nursing.
Telephone: (305) 284-3816
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Associate Dean for Research and Professor
Dr. Mitrani is Associate Dean for Research and Professor at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies. She completed a BA and a PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Miami. Dr. Mitrani is a licensed psychologist with clinical specialization in family therapy and families affected by HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, Alzheimer’s disease, and immigration-related separations. Her research focuses on family functioning in HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and caregiving, health disparities, and research infrastructure. Dr. Mitrani teaches research methods, measurement, and health disparities.
Telephone: (305) 284-9139
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Professor
A research professor at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies, Dr. Santisteban is a licensed psychologist with a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Miami and a BA in psychology from Rutgers University. He specializes in family therapy, health disparities, and adolescent drug abuse/mental health/treatment. Dr. Santisteban teaches culturally-tailored interventions, community-based research, translational research, quantitative research methods, family therapy process, and methods in family therapy outcomes research.
Telephone: (305) 284-4271
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Assistant Professor of Clinical
Dr. Villegas is an Assistant Professor of Clinical at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies. Dr. Villegas completed a PhD in Nursing at the University of Miami. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing and a Master’s degree in Nursing from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She is a Chilean Nurse Midwife and in the past she has worked on different clinical settings and research projects targeting Hispanic population. Dr. Villegas’ teaching areas are Fundamentals of Nursing Practice and Maternal Health. Her research interest lies in women’s health, STI and HIV prevention and the use of technology for prevention. Dr. Villegas has focused her research on the use of the internet to deliver a STI and HIV prevention intervention among young women.
Telephone: (305) 284-9069
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Research Assistant Professor
Andrew J. Wawrzyniak is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Miami School of Nursing & Health Studies. Dr. Wawrzyniak received a B.A. in Psychology & Biology from Lake Forest College, a M.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a M.A. in Psychology from New York University, and his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh. Dr. Wawrzyniak’s post-doctoral experience has included research at University College London, Uniformed Services University, and the University of Maryland Medical Center. His main areas of research include individual differences and health psychology, with specific concentrations in psychoneuroimmunology, psychoneuroendocrinology, behavioral cardiology, health behaviors, positive psychology, and socioeconomic predictors of health and disease. Dr. Wawrzyniak’s current work includes examining biobehavioral triggers of heart failure, cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress in healthy participants, and investigating characteristics of infection in a hospital setting. His teaching areas include statistics, evidence based practice, epidemiology, pathophysiology, and genetics.
Telephone: (305) 284-1306
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Assistant Professor of Clinical
An assistant professor of clinical, Carol Wilkinson completed her Doctorate degree in Nursing Practice (DNP) at the UM School of Nursing and Health Studies, she earned a Masters degree in Nursing (MS) and a Bachelor in the Science of Nursing (BSN) from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. Dr. Wilkinson’s primary teaching areas are Medical/ Surgical, Fundamentals of Nursing Practice, Critical Care Nursing, Community Heath Nursing RN to BSN, Pediatric Nursing and Prenatal/ Postpartum/ Gynecological Healthcare. Wilkinson’s research interests include Diabetes and HIV/AIDS in Haitian Women.
Telephone: (305) 284-4756
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Assistant Professor
Dr. Jessica R. Williams is an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies. Her clinical specialty is in public health nursing and research interests include adolescent behavioral health, violence prevention, implementation science and evidence-based practice. Dr. Williams’ research focuses on better understanding the factors that contribute to risky behaviors among youth and the development and testing of interventions targeting the prevention of these behaviors. Her research also examines strategies to increase the implementation of evidence-based practices in healthcare. Dr. Williams teaches research methods and evidence-based practice. She earned a Doctorate of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and Master in Public Health (MPH) from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (BA) from the University of Florida.
Telephone: (305) 284-3072
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