Elaine Stashinko

Elaine Stashinko, PhD, MS, BS, RN, serves as Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Her clinical and research expertise centers on child health nursing with specialized focus on cerebral palsy, holoprosencephaly, and brain injury epidemiology. She actively collaborates with the Carter Center for Brain Research in Holoprosencephaly and Related Malformations and maintains membership in the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine.

Dr. Stashinko holds multiple advanced nursing degrees and brings extensive experience from prior roles at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Neurology Department and Kennedy Krieger Institute (where she served as director of nursing research). Her professional trajectory demonstrates deep commitment to research ethics administration, having served nearly a decade on Johns Hopkins Medicine Institutional Review Boards while currently co-chairing the School of Nursing Project Ethical Review Committee (PERC) to mentor Doctor of Nursing Practice students.

Her research program integrates neurology, genetics, and clinical management to address complex pediatric conditions. Key investigations examine health-related quality of life metrics, movement disorder treatments, and genetic/environmental risk factors in holoprosencephaly. Her work consistently bridges quantitative research methodology with practical clinical applications in pain management, health disparities, and social determinants of health for children with neurological conditions.

Recent publications reveal strong interdisciplinary trends connecting nursing science with neurorehabilitation and pain research. Her 2022 studies on ethical review standardization and cerebral palsy neuroconnectivity demonstrate methodological rigor while her 2020 chronic pain analysis in adults with cerebral palsy highlights patient-centered outcomes research. Collectively, her work advances evidence-based practice through neuroimaging integration and ethical research design.

Dr. Stashinko's distinguished recognition includes the 1981 Temple University Outstanding Faculty Award and National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship in Nursing Ethics. Her 1979 University of Maryland Maternal-Child Health Award and Sigma Theta Tau induction established early career excellence, recently complemented by her 2022 National Symposium presentation on cerebral palsy pain management at the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy Annual Meeting.

• 2022 National Symposium Presentation: Pain Matters! NINDS Cerebral Palsy Common Data Elements
• 1981 Outstanding Faculty Award, Temple University School of Nursing
• 1981 National Endowment for Humanities Fellowship in Ethics
• 1979 University of Maryland Maternal-Child Health Award
• 1979 Sigma Theta Tau National Honorary Society

As PERC co-chair, Dr. Stashinko provides critical ethical oversight for DNP student scholarly projects, leveraging her decade-long IRB experience to guide regulatory compliance and research design. Her mentorship focuses on translating clinical observations into methodologically sound investigations, particularly for vulnerable pediatric populations. This administrative leadership complements her direct research contributions to cerebral palsy knowledge translation.

Her affiliation with the Carter Center for Brain Research positions her within a national collaborative network investigating holoprosencephaly mechanisms and interventions. This work involves multi-institutional data collection on neuroimaging characteristics and clinical management protocols, with emphasis on identifying modifiable environmental risk factors alongside genetic determinants of rare brain malformations.