News

Review news from Mayo Clinic's Division of Nursing Research.

2026

April

  • Linda L. Chlan, Ph.D., R.N., Samantha Conley, Ph.D., R.N., Komal P. Singh, Ph.D., M.S., R.N., and Stacy A. Al-Saleh, Ph.D., R.N., C.C.T.C., presented a symposium titled "Symptom Self-Management Framework for Individuals with Complex Health Conditions" at the 2026 Western Institute of Nursing Conference. This symposium described the team's novel framework and four different applications. The full description of this framework was recently published in the journal Nursing Outlook.
  • Robert R. Bennett, Ph.D., R.N., PPCNP-BC, CPNP-AC, was accepted into the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association's (HPNA's) inaugural HPNA on the Hill event this September in Washington, D.C. The HPNA delegation will speak with legislators about the importance of early palliative care access as an essential component of high-quality cancer survivorship care for adolescents and young adults.
  • Melissa A. Wilson, APRN, Ph.D., R.N., CCNS, FAAN, received the Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS) Self-Care Research Interest Group Mid-Career Investigator Award. The award was announced at the MNRS annual conference in St. Louis, Missouri.
  • A study led by Dr. Al-Saleh, Symptoms, Sleep Characteristics and Disability in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients, received $7,300 in biostatistics funding support from Mayo Clinic Transplant Center in Arizona.
  • Heidi L. Lindroth, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN, and Cindy Tofthagen, Ph.D., R.N., ARNP, AOCNP, FAANP, FAAN, were named as 2026 seed grant awardees for their project called Stopping the Spiral: The Development of an Ambient Sensing Room for Early Detection of Adverse Hospital Events. The grant was awarded through the Mayo Clinic Advanced Innovation Research program.
  • Dr. Wilson and colleagues in the Mayo Clinic Health System received an Accountable Care Organization Innovation Award of $50,000 for their project called Improving Outcomes and Equitable Care of Hospitalized Adults Through an AI-Enabled Age-Friendly Health System.
  • An artificial intelligence (AI) agent created by Natalie S. McAndrew, Ph.D., R.N., ACNS-BC, CCRN, and Dr. Wilson was selected to advance into phase 2 prototype development due to its potential for widespread impact in the Department of Nursing across the enterprise. The agent is anticipated to function as a centralized, conversational publishing and presenting navigator.

March

  • The Journal for Nurse Practitioners accepted the manuscript "Integrating Active Music Therapy into Adolescent Sickle Cell Disease Care" for publication. Dr. Bennet is a co-author on this paper.
  • An abstract by Dr. Singh and colleagues titled "Physiological Predictors for Fatigue and Chemotherapy Induced Nausea in Patients With Breast Cancer — A Multi-Omics Pilot Study" was selected for an oral proffered presentation at the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer international conference in Melbourne, Australia. An oral proffered paper presentation designates the abstract as significant and high scoring.
  • An article by Dr. Wilson and co-authors titled "Moral Distress and Moral Injury in Military Healthcare Clinicians: A Scoping Review," was selected as the American Journal of Preventive Medicine Focus Article of the Year 2024 for Inclusivity in Outcomes. An excerpt from the award highlights the significance of this publication as follows: "This scoping review included 100 articles and explored the conceptual differences between moral distress and moral injury, noting their interchangeable use during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and their overlapping elements. Clarifying the definitions, types, and domains of concepts in the literature is one of the core aims of scoping reviews, and this scoping review is exemplary in that regard."
  • Dr. Wilson was appointed to serve on the American Academy of Nursing Determinants of Health Policy Standing Committee for a two-year term, effective June 1, 2026.
  • A manuscript by Dr. Singh and co-authors titled "Joint Nausea and Fatigue Profiles During Chemotherapy Identify Patients With a Higher Symptom Burden" was accepted for publication in Supportive Care in Cancer.
  • Dr. Singh and colleagues were awarded a $30,000 pilot study grant from the Cancer Prevention, Control and Survivorship Program of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center for their study titled Predictors for Chemotherapy-Induced Hepatic and Hematological Toxicities in Patients With Breast Cancer.

February

  • A manuscript by Dr. Al-Saleh and colleagues titled "Sleep Characteristics and Cognitive Symptoms Among Adults With Inflammatory Bowel Disease" was accepted for publication in the journal Clinical Nursing Research.

January

  • Dr. Lindroth was awarded Blyler-Thompson operating funds, the first benefactor gift donated solely to support nursing at Mayo Clinic in Florida. The $54,000 award advances Dr. Lindroth's delirium detection work with colleagues on the Florida campus.
  • Dr. McAndrew and Mayo Clinic caregiver team colleagues were selected for the inaugural cohort of the Increasing Caregiver Support Implementation Through Training and Education (INCITE) training program. This national initiative is designed to equip interprofessional cancer care teams with the tools to implement, adapt and sustain evidence-based support programs for family and friend caregivers of individuals with cancer.

    Mayo Clinic health care delivery researcher Joan M. Griffin, Ph.D., leads the team. In addition to Dr. McAndrew, participants include Raegan K. Froelich; Wendy A. Hanson, M.P.H.; Deirdre R. Pachman, M.D.; and Lynne M. Vitagliano, L.C.S.W., GCC. The team aims to build and implement a phased caregiver support program across the Mayo Clinic enterprise to enhance caregiver and patient outcomes and strengthen supportive care services.

    INCITE is hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and funded through 2030 by the National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health (R25CA291554), with support from the Center to Advance Palliative Care, the American Cancer Society, the John A. Hartford Foundation and the National Alliance for Caregiving.

2025

December

  • Dr. Conley had two first-author manuscripts accepted for publication. The first, "Menopause and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: More Questions Than Answers," was written with Sunanda V. Kane, M.D., and Kendra Kamp, Ph.D., R.N., and accepted by The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology. The second manuscript, "Self and Dyadic Management of Patients and Care Partners Living With Durable Left Ventricular Assist Devices: Emerging Science, Studies, and Frameworks To Advance Precision Health," was written with Dr. Al Saleh and Kristin E. Sandau, Ph.D., R.N., FAHA, FAAN, and accepted by Current Heart Failure Reports.
  • Dr. Lindroth and her team received funding of $70,000 from Mayo Clinic's Clinical Practice Committee. The award supports their project Clinical Validation and Pilot Deployment of an AI Delirium Detection Platform for the Intensive Care Unit.
  • Dr. McAndrew received funding from Mayo Clinic's Critical Care Research Subcommittee for her proposal "Online Delirium Education for Patients and Families Admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit — A Prospective Cohort Study." Dr. McAndrew was mentored by Dr. Lindroth.

November

  • Dr. Lindroth was invited to serve on the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) expert panel for the next update of the AGS Beers Criteria.
  • An article by Dr. Bennett, Dr. Tofthagen and Kathy E. Sheffield, M.A., CCRP, titled "We Don't Take Each Other for Granted Anymore: Pre-Loss Grief Among Older Adult Spousal Caregivers of Someone With Advanced Cancer," was published as a featured article in the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing.
  • Dr. McAndrew was formally approved for the Fellow in Palliative Care Nursing (FPCN) designation by the board of directors of the HPNA. This prestigious recognition reflects exceptional contributions to the field of palliative nursing and dedication to advancing the profession.
  • Dr. McAndrew was promoted to the rank of associate professor of nursing in Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, effective November 1, 2025.
  • An article by Dr. McAndrew and colleagues titled "Meaning-Making in Palliative Nursing" was published in the November 2025 issue of the American Journal of Nursing.

October

  • Dr. Bennett was awarded a grant from the Meredith Willson Pilot Grants Program for Music and Health Research, a partnership of the University of California, San Francisco, and the Music Man Foundation. The grant supports Dr. Bennett's pilot research study, STRUM: Supporting Teen Resilience Using Music During Cancer Treatment.
  • The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) accepted an abstract by Dr. McAndrew and colleagues titled "From Evidence to Action: Implementation Science Strategies for Advancing Caregiver-Focused Palliative Care Interventions" to be part of a methods panel session at the AAHPM State of the Science Symposium in San Diego in 2026.
  • A manuscript by Melissa D. Pinto, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN, and colleagues titled "Exploring Common Data Model Coverage of Nursing Flowsheet Data: A Pilot Study Using SNOMED CT and LOINC Mapping" was accepted for publication in JAMIA Open. This manuscript is a product of the Division of Nursing Research's joint seed grant with the University of Minnesota School of Nursing.

September

  • Dr. Chlan was quoted in the article "A Rare Nurse Role That Is Eliminating Hospital Pain Points," published in Becker's Clinical Leadership.
  • Dr. Tofthagen was appointed as an associate editor for the journal Oncology Nursing Forum.

July

  • Dr. Al-Saleh received an award notice from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for her independent F32 grant application for the study Characterizing Sleep Health, Sleep Disorders, and Cognitive Functioning After Heart Transplantation.

June

  • Dr. Lindroth was named to the editorial board of Heart and Lung.
  • Several division members received new academic ranks within Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, effective Sept. 1, 2025:
    • Dr. Conley — associate professor of nursing.
    • Dr. Lindroth — associate professor of nursing.
    • Dr. Pinto — associate professor of nursing.
    • Dr. Wilson — assistant professor of nursing.
  • A manuscript by Dr. Bennett and Dr. Tofthagen titled "We Don't Take Each Other for Granted Anymore: Pre-Loss Grief Among Older Adult Spousal Caregivers of Someone With Advanced Cancer" was accepted for publication in the October 2025 issue of the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing.
  • A manuscript by Mayo Clinic research fellow Keivan Nalaie, Ph.D., and his mentor, Dr. Lindroth, titled "Clinician and Visitor Activity Patterns in an Intensive Care Unit Room: Study To Examine How Ambient Monitoring Can Inform the Measurement of Delirium Severity and Escalation of Care" was accepted for publication in Journal of Imaging.
  • A manuscript by Dr. Conley and Dr. Al-Saleh titled "Sleep Deficiency and Fatigue in Adults With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review" was accepted for publication in Western Journal of Nursing Research. Dr. Conley was a corresponding author.

May

  • Dr. Wilson was selected as the recipient of the 2025 Alumni of the Year Award by the Sinclair School of Nursing, University of Missouri.
  • Dr. Singh was selected to participate in the experiential learning phase of the Community Scientist Program at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. The program is a joint initiative between Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Center for Clinical and Translational Science.
  • A manuscript by Dr. Lindroth and colleagues titled "Harnessing the Power of Technology to Transform Delirium Severity Measurement in the ICU: Protocol for a Prospective Cohort Study" was accepted for publication in JMIR Research Protocols.
  • A manuscript by Dr. Lindroth and colleagues titled "Delirium Severity Trajectories in Critically Ill Adults Using the Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist: A Population-based Cohort" was accepted for publication in Critical Care Medicine.

April

  • A manuscript by Dr. Pinto titled "Applying Artificial Intelligence to Electronic Health Record Data To Advance Symptom Phenotyping: A Brief Practical Guide" was accepted for publication in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing.

2024

November

  • Dr. Conley was awarded the second joint nursing research seed grant from the University of Minnesota School of Nursing and Mayo Clinic. Her co-investigator from the University of Minnesota School of Nursing is Kristin E. Sandau, Ph.D., R.N., FAHA, FAAN. Their grant is titled Care Partners and Patients Navigating Year 1 of Dyadic Self-Management Post-LVAD. The joint seed grant is awarded each year to collaborating teams of investigators consisting of one faculty member from the University of Minnesota School of Nursing and one Mayo Clinic nurse scientist. Grants are reviewed by School of Nursing faculty and Mayo Clinic nurse scientists and are awarded for up to two years.
  • Dr. Lindroth was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing at the academy's annual gala in Washington, D.C.
  • Dr. Pinto was named the inaugural director of nursing research at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Before joining Mayo Clinic, Dr. Pinto was an associate professor and founding faculty member of the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Pinto has had a sustained program of research funded by internal and external awards that include the National Institutes of Health and foundations.
  • Dr. Wilson joined Mayo Clinic as a nurse scientist. Her areas of research include acute pain management in patients and moral distress in healthcare professionals.