News & Events

Knecht-Fredo

Adam

Research & Publications

Education

• Ph.D. – The Pennsylvania State University
• Post – Masters Certificate- Family Nurse Practitioner- Allentown College
• MS – Adelphi University
• BS – SUNY College of Technology
• AAS – SUNY at Farmingdale

Research Interests

• chronic illness
• patient education/learning
• community-based health promotion and planning
• substance/opioid epidemic
• qualitative research
• nursing education
• sustainability

Van Haitsma

Research & Publications

Nursing Home Toolkit

Preference Based Living

Kitko

Husser

Boltz

Research & Publications

Research Interests

• Interventions to promote functional health and cognition in older adults
• Caregiving efficacy and coping with dementia and delirium
• Complex aging-related care issues
• Translational and health services research

Hupcey

Research & Publications

Education: Columbia University, Ed.D., Nursing Education; Ed.M., Nursing Education; M.S., Adult Nurse Practitioner; B.S., Nursing; The Pennsylvania State University, National Research Service Award Post-Doctoral Fellowship

Research Interests: Palliative and end-of-life care, family caregivers, heart failure, age-friendly health care, qualitative research

Awards/Honors:

• Big Ten Academic Alliance
  • Fellow, Academic Leadership Program, 2013-2014
• American Academy of Nursing
  • Fellow, Inducted October 2012
• Columbia University, Teachers College
  • Nursing Education Alumni Association
  • Nursing Scholarship and Research Award, 2012
  • Hall of Fame, Inducted 2011
  • May Ayers Burgess, Endowed Nursing Scholarship, 1987
• Eastern Nursing Research Society
  • Suzanne Feetham Nurse Scientist Family Research Award, 2012
  • Mentor Recognition, 2011
• American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
  • Research Abstract Award, 1999
• Sigma Theta Tau International
  • Honor Society for Nursing, Inducted 1988

Whitaker

Professional Interests

Age-Friendly Care/Community
Caregiver Skills Training
Dementia-Friendly Care/Community
Geriatric Workforce Enhancement
Interdisciplinary Person-Centered Care
Leadership & Nursing Management
Practice & Regulatory Standards
Strategic Planning & Implementation

Education

Masters in Educational Leadership, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Bachelors of Science in Nursing, Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY

Honors and Awards

Sigma Theta Tau International, Kappa Tau Chapter
Vermont Outstanding Teacher, A.C.S.U.

Fick

Research & Publications

Wardecker

Research & Publications

Dr. Wardecker received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Michigan in 2016 and subsequently began training as an NIA-funded T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State. As an Assistant Professor of Nursing with multidisciplinary training in Psychology, Public Health, and Biobehavioral Health, she pulls from theoretical frameworks in these fields to investigate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) older adults’ psychological and physical health outcomes.

Education

Ph.D. – University of Michigan (Psychology)
B.S. – The Pennsylvania State University (Psychology)

Research Interests

• Promoting health equity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults
• Examining health disparities and individual differences in health (e.g., age, gender, and sexual orientation)
• Biomarker measurement

Recent Articles:

• Wardecker, B. M. & Matsick, J. L. (2020). Families of choice and community connectedness: A brief guide to the social strengths of LGBTQ older adults. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 46(2), 5-8.
• Surachman, A., Wardecker, B. M., Chow, S.-M., & Almeida, D. M. (2019). Life course socioeconomic status, daily stressors, and daily well-being: Examining chain of risk models. Journal of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 74(1), 126-135.
• Wardecker, B. M., Matsick, J. L., Graham-Engeland, J. E, & Almeida, D. M. (2019). Life satisfaction across adulthood in bisexual men and women: Findings from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48(1), 291-303.
• Wardecker, B. M. & Johnston, T. R. (2018). Seeing and supporting LGBT older adults’ caregivers and families. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 44(11), 1-4.