Amanda M. Emerson

Amanda M. Emerson, PhD, RN, serves as an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Holding dual doctoral degrees in Nursing and English, she combines clinical expertise from her background in intermediate post-surgical cardiac care with interdisciplinary research focused on health disparities among criminal justice-involved populations. Her work bridges nursing science, humanities, and community-engaged health equity initiatives.

Research Focus: Dr. Emerson's scholarship centers on improving health outcomes for justice-affected individuals, particularly older women experiencing accelerated aging post-incarceration. She leads the OWLHART (Older Women Leading Healthy Aging Research Together) project funded by PCORI, addressing early frailty through patient-centered outcomes research. Her prior eight-year collaboration with the Sexual Health Empowerment ([S]HE) team produced NIH-funded interventions for cervical cancer prevention among justice-involved populations, emphasizing community-based participatory approaches.

Publication Trends: Recent publications (2022-2025) demonstrate a concentrated focus on aging justice-involved women, with recurring themes of multimorbidity, health literacy, and reentry challenges. Her work increasingly integrates qualitative methodologies to explore trauma-informed care, structural vulnerability, and culturally safe interventions. Cervical cancer prevention remains a consistent thread, now evolving toward aging-specific adaptations for this high-risk population.

Scientific Recognition:

• KL2 mentored career development award (CTSA grant from NCATS, 2022-2024)
• International Association of Forensic Nursing Research Grant
• ARCH Network pilot award
• PCORI Eugene Washington Engagement Award (EACB-34382, 2024-2026)
• Betty Irene Moore Nurse Leaders and Innovators fellowship (2024-2027)

Mentorship and Leadership: Dr. Emerson supervises doctoral research on historical trauma, moral distress in critical care, and spiritual coping mechanisms in chronic illness. She directs multiple concurrent projects including the OWLHART initiative and a Betty Irene Moore-funded reentry tool development effort, demonstrating exceptional grant acquisition capacity across NIH, PCORI, and foundation sources.

Research Ecosystem: She previously contributed to the [S]HE team within the Department of Population Health and now cultivates the OWLHART research collective—a partnership including formerly incarcerated women, community organizations, and interdisciplinary scholars focused on co-designing interventions for aging justice-involved populations.