Anita Carson is the Larz Anderson Professor in Operations & Technology Management and department chair at the Questrom School of Business , Boston University . Previously affiliated with Wharton, Harvard, and Brandeis Business Schools, she holds a doctorate in Business Administration, with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. Her early career included 5 years in manufacturing at General Mills and General Dynamics’ Electric Boat division. Her research focuses on service process design in healthcare, particularly care delivery processes in hospitals. She demonstrates that workarounds due to poor internal integration waste up to 10% of staff time, proposing operations management principles to mitigate this and foster improvement-oriented cultures. Her work has been recognized with awards like the AcademyHealth Best Dissertation , Sloan Industry Studies Fellowship , and multiple Academy of Management best paper honors. Professor Carson teaches operations management , healthcare operations , and supply chain management across all academic levels. She collaborates with hospitals such as Kaiser Permanente , Cleveland Clinic , and Brigham and Women’s , with her research presented at institutions including Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement .
Gina Gaio Santos is an Assistant Professor with habilitation at the School of Economics and Management, University of Minho, Portugal, specializing in Management Department. Her academic journey includes a PhD in Management Studies, a Master in Human Resources Management, and a First Degree in Sociology. She has contributed extensively to research in careers, work-life balance, employment relations, and gender studies. 2008–Present: Assistant Professor with habilitation, University of Minho 2008–Present: PhD in Management Studies 2000–2008: Master in Human Resources Management 1990–1995: First Degree in Sociology Her research focuses on work-family dynamics, employability, psychological contracts, and gender in organizational contexts. She has explored these themes through studies on workplace friendships, remote work during the pandemic, and leadership styles in high-pressure environments like Michelin-starred restaurants. Recent publications emphasize stress mediation in job satisfaction and boundaryless career models. In terms of scientific contributions, she has been recognized with the Literari Award (2020, 2022) for outstanding reviewing in Career Development International . Her editorial service as an Editora Associada for Review of Business Management since 2017 highlights her role in advancing academic discourse. She has supervised over 30 theses and dissertations, mentoring students in topics ranging from emotional intelligence to pandemic-era workplace policies. Literari Award Winner (2022, 2020) for Outstanding Reviewer Over 50 peer reviews for journals like Gender, Work and Organization and International Journal of Human Resource Management Her funded projects include grants from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia for studies on work-life privacy and gender equality in corporate settings. She integrates these findings into her teaching on Organizational Behavior and Business Research Methods, fostering practical and theoretical advancements in human resource management.
Osman T. Aydas is an Associate Professor in the Decision & Information Sciences department at Oakland University's School of Business Administration, specializing in healthcare operations and supply chain management within the Production Operations Management field. Education: Ph.D. in Management Science, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Master's in Economics Bachelor's in Industrial Engineering His research centers on healthcare operations management, focusing on health policy, decision-making systems, and service optimization through mixed-integer programming, stochastic optimization, and simulation techniques. His doctoral work addressed strategic nurse allocation in intensive care units under dynamic patient demand, establishing foundational work for his current research in patient flow systems and resource allocation. Recent publications reveal a concentrated trend in applying advanced operations research to healthcare delivery challenges, particularly in nurse scheduling optimization, patient flow simulation, and opioid prescription management, demonstrating interdisciplinary integration of healthcare management, data science, and mathematical modeling. Scientific Awards: Faculty Research Fellowship, University Research Committee (2022, 2020, 2017) Faculty Research Fellowship, SBA Research Advisory Committee (2022, 2020, 2019) Roger L. Fitzsimonds Doctoral Scholarship (2016, 2015) Supported by multiple institutional research fellowships, Dr. Aydas has developed significant scholarly output in healthcare operations despite no listed formal advisees. His teaching portfolio spans Operations Analytics, Supply Chain Management, and Business Analytics courses across undergraduate and graduate programs, demonstrating strong pedagogical commitment to quantitative business disciplines. While no dedicated research laboratory is documented, his collaborative work with healthcare systems and operational research teams indicates active engagement in applied healthcare optimization projects.
Dr. John J Whitcomb, PhD, RN, CCRN, FCCM serves as a Professor and Director and Chief Academic Nursing Officer at Clemson University's College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences within the School of Nursing. With over 40 years of critical care experience, including 26 years in the United States Navy (1983-2009), he brings extensive clinical and leadership expertise to his academic role. His naval service included positions as Hospital Corpsman (1983-1991) and Navy Nurse, retiring as Commander (O-5), with notable assignments as Specialty Advisor to the Surgeon General for Critical Care Nursing and Trauma Training Officer for the White House Medical Staff during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Dr. Whitcomb's educational background includes a PhD in Nursing-Resuscitative Outcomes from the University of San Diego (2005), an MSN in Critical Care and Nursing Administration from Marymount University (1999), and a BSN in Nursing from the Medical University of South Carolina (1991). He teaches multiple nursing courses including Critical Care Nursing, Professionalism, Nursing Research, and Leadership and Management. His research focuses on critical care outcomes, with particular emphasis on resuscitative outcomes post-cardiac arrest, delirium in ICU settings, leadership development, ethical considerations in critical care, and undergraduate clinical education. Dr. Whitcomb has pioneered research on functional status assessment, family visitation policies, and sleep patterns in sedated patients using innovative monitoring technology. His recent scholarly work shows a strong trend toward healthcare system improvement, nursing education quality metrics, and critical care practice advancement. Dr. Whitcomb has received numerous prestigious honors including the Norma J. Shoemaker Award for Critical Care Nursing Excellence (2018), multiple Presidential Citations from the Society of Critical Care Medicine (2015-2021), and the Fellow of Critical Care Medicine designation (2012). He has also been recognized with Clemson University Board of Trustees Awards for Faculty Excellence (2011, 2012) and the National League of Nursing Leadership Award (2016). As an academic leader, Dr. Whitcomb has served as Chair of the Scientific Review Committee for the Society of Critical Care Medicine, Chair of Clemson's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and President of the Clemson University Faculty Senate (2020-2021). He currently serves on the South Carolina State Board of Nursing as Board member and Secretary for Congressional District 3. His leadership extends to national organizations including the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and Sigma Theta Tau.
Helen Brown is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nursing at the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Applied Science, where she also serves as the MSN Coordinator. She holds a PhD and is a Registered Nurse (RN), with office located at UBC School of Nursing, T201 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T2B5, Canada. Her contact information includes email Helen.Brown@ubc.ca and phone 1-604-822-7445. Dr. Brown's research program centers on critical examinations of women's health and maternal-infant care systems, with particular emphasis on Aboriginal health, vulnerable populations, and health inequities. She investigates the structural context of health care and social determinants through critical theoretical frameworks that incorporate Indigenous knowledge systems. Her methodological approach combines feminist participatory research, decolonizing methodologies, community-based research, and critical ethnography to address systemic health disparities. Her scholarly work demonstrates a strong commitment to transforming nursing practices through social justice lenses, particularly focusing on culturally safe care for Indigenous communities and marginalized populations. The integration of critical hermeneutic methods in her research reflects her dedication to understanding complex health care systems while centering community voices and experiences. While specific teaching assignments direct to her departmental profile (https://nursing.ubc.ca/our-people/helen-brown), her research expertise suggests significant contributions to nursing education in areas of health equity, critical theory, and culturally responsive care practices.
Michael Huang is an Assistant Professor at the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, where he serves in the N. Paul Loomba Department of Management. His academic journey includes a PhD in Data Sciences and Operations from the University of Southern California (2023), an MSc in Operations Research (2017), and a BSc in Operations Research (2016), both from Columbia University. PhD, Data Sciences and Operations, University of Southern California, 2023 MSc, Operations Research, Columbia University, 2017 BSc, Operations Research, Columbia University, 2016 Huang’s research bridges machine learning with operations management, focusing on data-driven optimization and decision-aware learning. He develops methodologies for denoising, debiasing policies, and integrating predictive models into optimization frameworks. His work has direct applications in healthcare operations, such as nurse staffing in emergency departments. The 2024 articles highlight his contributions to decision-focused learning, including Decision-Aware Denoising and Debiasing in-sample policy performance , while earlier work in Operations Research (2021) and algorithm design (2017) demonstrates his technical depth. His research spans machine learning, optimization theory, and statistical modeling. Scientific Awards Marshall PhD Teaching Award (2022) Marshall PhD Fellowship (2021) Marshall Outstanding Researcher Award (2021) The Robert Gartland Fellowship (2016) Huang actively participates in academic service as a reviewer and session chair for top-tier conferences and journals, including NeurIPS, INFORMS, and ICML.
Gunilla Maria Eklund is a Professor of Pedagogy at the University of Agder (Norway), holding a dual affiliation with the Department of Pedagogy within the Faculty of Education. Previously, she served as Professor II at Oslo Metropolitan University (2018–2022) and held senior academic roles at Åbo Akademi University in Finland, including Research Manager, Senior Lecturer, and Associate Professor. Her career spans over three decades, focusing on research-based teacher education, teacher professional development, and educational methodologies. Education Background: Doctoral thesis (1996): Students’ ideas of learning. Conceptions, approaches, and outcomes in different educational contexts (Åbo Akademi University) Postdoctoral research at University of California, Berkeley under Jean Lave Research Interests: Dr. Eklund’s work centers on advancing teacher education through research integration, particularly exploring how master’s theses and research-based assignments shape teacher competencies. Key themes include: Research methodologies in teacher training Supervision practices in academic settings Cross-national comparisons in education systems (Norway, Finland) Professional development pathways for educators Articles Overview: Her publications (over 100 entries) emphasize research-based pedagogy, teacher educator perspectives, and student experiences in Nordic education systems. Recent works address master’s thesis supervision, science teacher training, and popular science dissemination strategies. Grants & Advising: Extensive supervision of master’s and doctoral theses, with a focus on special education and science pedagogy. Active in collaborative Nordic research projects on teacher education reform and professional development.
Anna Hjalmarsson serves as a Postdoctoral Researcher in Sociology at Umeå University's Department of Sociology, where she is affiliated with the Sociology of health, well-being, and quality of life research group. She additionally collaborates with Linnaeus University's Centre of Interprofessional Collaboration within Emergency care (CICE), focusing on an international project analyzing moral injury in healthcare workers across Sweden, the Netherlands, and Brazil resulting from COVID-19 pandemic measures. Her academic foundation includes a 2023 PhD in Caring Science from Mälardalen University, with her dissertation examining older persons' participation in prehospital emergency care. This builds on her prior clinical experience as a specialist nurse in surgical care, providing practical insights into healthcare systems. Hjalmarsson's research investigates critical intersections of sociology, gerontology, and emergency medicine, particularly examining patient participation dynamics, power structures among healthcare professionals, and moral injury consequences during public health crises. Her work consistently addresses challenges in municipal home care and ambulance service coordination for elderly populations, utilizing qualitative methodologies to explore lived experiences. Analysis of her publications reveals a cohesive research trajectory centered on emergency care for older adults, evolving from population-level ambulance assignment studies to nuanced phenomenological examinations of trust and participation. This progression demonstrates increasing methodological sophistication while maintaining focus on system-level improvements for vulnerable populations. Currently leading a 2024-2026 international project on pandemic-induced moral injury, Hjalmarsson actively contributes to CICE's mission of enhancing emergency care through interprofessional collaboration, with findings potentially influencing healthcare policy and professional training frameworks across multiple nations.
Kirsten Culver is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nursing within the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. She teaches a comprehensive range of courses focused on the biological foundations of nursing practice across multiple year levels and nursing streams. Dr. Culver's research expertise spans two interconnected domains: Neuropharmacology and animal models of psychiatric disorders, particularly Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Nursing education and clinical learning outcomes Her scholarly work demonstrates an evolution from foundational neuroscience research to applied nursing education. Early in her career (1997-2008), she conducted extensive neuropharmacological research investigating dopamine systems, behavioral sensitization, and OCD models using quinpirole and other agents. More recently (2016), her work has shifted toward nursing education, examining clinical learning outcomes in BSCN students. She has maintained consistent scholarly productivity throughout her career with publications spanning nearly two decades. Dr. Culver has established significant research collaborations, most notably with Henry Szechtman (12 co-authored publications), reflecting her strong connections within the neuroscience research community at McMaster. As an educator, she has taught numerous courses across the nursing curriculum since 2017, including Integrated Biological Bases of Nursing Practice, Pathophysiology for Nursing, Microbiology, Pharmacology, and Biochemistry. Her teaching assignments continue through 2025, indicating her ongoing active role in the department.
Dr. Patricia Gillen is a Reader in Nursing at Ulster University's School of Nursing and Paramedic Science, with a joint appointment as Head of Research and Development for Nurses, Midwives, and AHPs at Southern Health and Social Care Trust. She also serves as Associate Postgraduate Tutor for the Maternal, Fetal and Infant Research Centre and leads the Athena Swan Subgroup on Culture and Support. Education: PhD in Workplace Bullying in Midwifery Key Affiliations: Ulster University, Southern Health Trust, European Midwives Association, Royal College of Midwives (former UK Board Chair) Her research interests span workplace culture (bullying, burnout), perinatal mental health, birth location choices, and public involvement in research. Current projects include pandemic-era healthcare workforce wellbeing, international collaborations on midwifery bullying, and home birth experience analyses using her developed data tools. Patricia has contributed to regional guidelines (RQIA 2016 & 2019) and leads multidisciplinary research teams. She received multiple scientific awards including the 2022 SDG Research Prize and 2021 ESWRA Award for Social Work Research. Her teaching spans undergraduate to postgraduate levels, focusing on research implementation and emergency healthcare education.
Duncan Smith is a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Nursing at City, University of London, where he joined in 2014 after transitioning from full-time NHS practice. He holds an honorary Consultant Nurse position with the Patient Emergency Response and Resuscitation Team (PERRT) at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and serves as a Generic Instructor Course Educator for the Resuscitation Council (UK) and Advanced Life Support Group. His educational background includes a PhD in Nursing from City, University of London (2018-2022), a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice/Education from the same institution (2014-2015), an MSc in Cardio-Respiratory from Imperial College London (2011-2013), a Diploma in Tropical Nursing from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (2006), and a Master of Nursing from the University of Nottingham (1999-2003). Smith's primary research interests focus on critical care nursing, patient deterioration recognition, implementation science, and behavior change interventions. His work extensively examines rapid response systems, particularly the afferent limb where nurses identify deteriorating patients. He has a strong interest in nursing within low and middle income settings, stemming from his two-year assignment in Uganda with Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), where he worked alongside Ugandan colleagues teaching nursing students and supporting ICU staff development. His recent publication record demonstrates a consistent focus on clinical deterioration recognition, with 15 articles published between 2017-2025. These works span methodological innovations in research design, theoretical frameworks for understanding nursing behavior, and practical applications for improving patient safety systems. His research increasingly incorporates implementation science principles to bridge the gap between evidence and practice. NIHR/HEE Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship (2018-2022) Fellow, Higher Education Academy (2015-present) Smith currently serves as academic supervisor for three critical care nurses undertaking NIHR-funded pre-doctoral fellowships and as clinical-academic mentor for an additional pre-doctoral fellow. His doctoral work developed a theory-based behavior change intervention targeting registered nurses and healthcare assistants to improve responses to deteriorating patients. He is particularly interested in building research capacity among nurses and Allied Health Professionals. As module leader for the APM052 (Advanced Clinical Assessment) module on the MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice, he contributes significantly to postgraduate nursing education.
Prof. Dr. Petra Bendel is Professor of Political Science at the Institute of Political Science at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, where she heads the Research on Migration, Displacement and Integration. With over 30 years of academic and professional experience, she has established herself as a leading expert in migration, refugee policy, and human rights. She is a founding member of the Center for Human Rights (CHREN) Erlangen-Nuremberg, where she leads multiple research projects and practice-oriented pilot initiatives. Her research focuses on EU asylum policy, migration governance, refugee integration, and the intersection of migration with human rights. Bendel serves as a policy advisor at various political levels, currently as a member of the Advisory Council for Participation and Integration of the State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia and chairperson of the Advisory Board 'Mobility and Migration' of the Goethe-Institute. She previously chaired the Expert Council for Integration and Migration (2019-2023) and the Scientific Advisory Board of the Federal Office for Migration and Integration (2015-2020). Her recent publications reveal a strong focus on practical solutions for refugee distribution systems, the mental health impacts of discrimination on migrants, and critical analyses of EU asylum policy reforms. Bendel's work consistently bridges academic research with practical policy implementation, particularly through algorithm-based matching procedures for refugee distribution and studies examining the experiences of migrants in public institutions. Bavarian Medal of Europe for services to Bavaria's reputation in Europe Medal of Merit of FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg Habilitation prize by the Faculty of Philosophy at FAU Beyond her academic work, Bendel actively engages with policymakers, media, and the public, frequently contributing to national debates on migration policy. Her research projects often involve collaboration with municipalities to develop more effective integration structures, particularly evident in her work on 'Two Worlds? Integration Policy in Urban and Rural Areas.' She has worked across Germany, Austria, Spain, and Latin America, bringing a comparative perspective to her research on democracy, migration, and human rights.
Linda Van Pelt is a Senior Instructor III in the School of Nursing at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), with concurrent clinical faculty appointments in the UBC Northern Medical Program. Her 35+ year healthcare career spans acute care nursing, emergency/critical care specialization, aeromedical transfers, and primary healthcare delivery in remote First Nations communities across Canada's northern territories and British Columbia. Her educational background includes: MScN NP-F from the University of Northern British Columbia Postgraduate Certification in Clinical Education from the University of Edinburgh Dr. Van Pelt's research centers on gender affirming care and rural primary health care , with specific expertise in low-barrier clinic models and primary care access for vulnerable populations. Her work addresses systemic barriers in non-urban settings through innovative service delivery frameworks and interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly focusing on transgender healthcare accessibility and chronic condition management. Her publication record (2012-2017) reveals consistent thematic focus on healthcare transformation, with significant contributions to nurse practitioner integration models, rural nursing workforce dynamics, and gender-affirming care protocols in British Columbia. Key trends include community-based participatory approaches and solutions for mental health/addictions care access. Linda actively supervises Master of Science in Nursing (Family Nurse Practitioner) students at UNBC, with program-assigned mentorship responsibilities. She has additionally provided clinical supervision for medical and pharmacy student projects through the UBC Northern Medical Program, leveraging her dual academic-clinical expertise. She co-founded Prince George's primary health care access clinic, where she maintains active clinical practice delivering comprehensive family care and specialized gender-affirming services, directly applying her research to improve community health outcomes in Northern British Columbia.
Kurt D. Cao serves as an Assistant Professor in the Nursing department at the School of Nursing, specializing in graduate-level nurse anesthesia education. He teaches core courses including Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology for Nurse Anesthesia (NGNA 577/578/579), Advanced Pharmacology for Nurse Anesthesia (NGNA 581/583), and Anesthesia Equipment and Technology (NGNA 574), maintaining an active teaching schedule from 2020 through Autumn 2025. Education Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP), Texas Wesleyan University (2012) Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia (MSNA), University of New England (2006) Research Focus Dr. Cao's scholarly work centers on optimizing perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis to prevent surgical site infections. His research bridges clinical anesthesia practice with evidence-based quality improvement initiatives, emphasizing timely antibiotic administration protocols. Expertise spans advanced physiological principles, pharmacological applications in anesthesia, and technical aspects of anesthesia delivery systems. His sole publication—a 2012 doctoral thesis—examines methodological approaches for ensuring timely antimicrobial prophylaxis, reflecting his commitment to patient safety in surgical settings. This work established foundational research connecting anesthesia practice standards with infection prevention outcomes. Academic Contributions With over five years of consistent graduate teaching across all core nurse anesthesia curriculum areas, Dr. Cao demonstrates comprehensive instructional expertise. His course sequencing shows progressive development of student competencies from scientific foundations through advanced clinical applications. Current and future course assignments confirm ongoing institutional engagement in graduate nursing education.
Elena Shulzhenko serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Business & Management at the University of Southern Denmark's Faculty of Business and Social Sciences, with dual appointments in International Leadership & Management and the SDU Climate Cluster. Her research bridges organizational theory, technological transformation, and healthcare systems, positioning her at the forefront of AI-work integration studies. Education PhD in Social Science, Free University of Berlin (2014) MA in Economy and Society, Central European University / Lancaster University (2002) Shulzhenko's research examines how technological change reshapes work structures, with recent focus on AI-augmented healthcare environments. Her fingerprint analysis reveals 100% engagement in International Management and Technological Change, extending to Labor Process Theory and Employee Involvement. Current projects investigate AI's impact on radiologists' wellbeing and pandemic-driven hybrid work models, while earlier work analyzed lean production in post-communist Russia and resistance to digital technologies in nursing homes. Analysis of her 26 publications (2014-2025) shows a strategic pivot: pre-2020 research centered on Russian industrial transformation and employee resistance, whereas 2022-2025 outputs dominate AI-healthcare integration (70% of recent work). This evolution reflects responsive scholarship addressing emergent societal challenges, particularly in Danish healthcare settings where she documents how AI reconfigures professional roles and work design. As project participant in HCW: Towards a more resilient Healthcare Workforce (2023-2024), she secured research funding exploring AI reskilling for healthcare professionals. Her 17 teaching assignments since 2018 include core courses in Qualitative Methods, Performance Measurement, and Human Resource Management, demonstrating pedagogical commitment to organizational dynamics. Shulzhenko actively collaborates through the Platform for Sustainable HRM and Organisational Change and SDU Climate Cluster, with international networks evidenced by cross-national workplace studies. Her 2025 conference engagements on AI healthcare opportunities highlight ongoing leadership in digital work transformation.
