Catherine Cherwin

Dr. Catherine Cherwin serves as an Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Iowa, where she leads research at the intersection of oncology nursing and microbiome science.

Education

• PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• MSN, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• BSN, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Her research program focuses on gastrointestinal symptom burden in cancer patients, investigating biological mechanisms through patient-reported outcomes and gut microbiome analysis. With 15+ years as an oncology nurse and 10+ years as a nurse scientist, she examines how cancer treatments and obesity alter the gastrointestinal microbiome in breast cancer patients. Current work includes collaborations with the Mangalam Microbiome Lab to establish healthy control biobanks and develop non-pharmacological interventions targeting symptom clusters to improve quality of life. Her approach integrates clinical nursing expertise with translational microbiome science to address unmet needs in cancer care.