Sue Hughes, MS, RN, a nurse interventionist for the WRITE symptoms study, and has been a registered nurse since the mid 1970’s. After receiving her BSN from the University of New Mexico, she worked for 8 years as an oncology nurse in Oregon. She earned a MSN from Northern Illinois University in 1986 and was employed in nursing research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since that time. For the past decade Sue worked with Sandy Ward (co-PI) on psycho-educational studies for the management of cancer-related pain. During that time she had the opportunity to talk with many women and men with cancer who were learning to manage their pain.
At home, she lives with her husband, Steve, who is also a nurse, and Gretta, a 7 year old pointer-retriever mix. They have 2 kids, Aaron, a civil engineer in Minneapolis, and Laura, a junior at the University of Minnesota. She loves to garden while in Madison but she and Steve spend every free minute at their place “UpNorth”, in far northern Wisconsin, remodeling an old cabin, canoeing, and loving the wildlife. [Top]
Sandra Ward, PhD, RN, FAAN, is a Helen Denne Schulte Professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Nursing. She has been conducting research for over 20 years on how adults cope with cancer. She has had a special emphasis on pain and symptom management, developing educational programs to change patients' negative ideas about using pain medicine, with the ultimate goal of improving pain control for individuals with cancer. She is also the Director of the UW Center for Patient-Centered Interventions, a center that provides support for pre and postdoctoral training for talented young investigators, and support for developing and testing innovative patient-centered interventions.
At home, she is married to Patrick McDonnell with whom she shares love for an elderly but still frisky cat, a daughter who lives in Seattle, and the process of restoring an old home (while living in it). Other hobbies include reading (especially mysteries), cooking, and hiking. [Top]
Susan Sereika, PhD is an associate professor of Nursing, Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. She is a co-Investigator and statistician on this project and is responsible for directing and overseeing the data-analytic phase of the study. [Top]
Lari Wenzel, PhD has successfully conducted work in ovarian cancer survivorship, QOL assessment in ovarian cancer survivors, and evaluation of gynecologic cancer QOL interventions. Dr. Wenzel is a Professor at the Center for Health Policy Research in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine. She has substantial experience developing and supervising the implementation of telephone counseling and telephone survey studies specifically addressing concepts of cancer survivorship, cancer screening, and center genetic testing distress. [Top]
Paula Sherwood, RN, PhD, CNRN, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and has a secondary appointment in the Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine. She has worked as a neuroscience/neuro-oncology nurse for over 17 years in a variety of settings, including Honolulu, Hawaii, Iowa City, Iowa, and Flint, Michigan.
Paula received her master’s degree in nursing from the University of Iowa and her PhD from Michigan State University and has functioned in a variety of nursing roles, including staff nurse, supervisor, and clinical nurse specialist. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh and has remained in Pittsburgh to pursue her research interests, helping families of persons with cancer. Paula is dedicated to identifying biological and behavioral markers of distress in family caregivers and planning and implementing interventions to improve the lives of family members and persons with cancer.
Paula spends most of her time outside the office trying to keep up with her two sons, Reese (6 years old) and Gabe (1 year old). The other portion of her time is trying to calm her 81 pound “puppy”, Wolverine (a result of her husband’s obsession with University of Michigan football, hiking and gardening. [Top]
Robert Edwards, MD, is a Professor and Vice Chair, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, UPMC, and the Principal Investigator of the Magee-Women’s Research Institute. He is board certified Gynecologic Oncologist with the expertise in all malignancies of the female genital tract and breast. He has special interest in ovarian cancer, early detection, prevention, and combining biologic and immunologic therapies with traditional therapies in the treatment of women’s cancer, and; intra-peritoneal therapy. [Top]
Michael Method, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S., F.A.C.O.G., is a native of Chicago, Illinois, earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He received his medical degree and a Masters in Public Health from Northwestern University. Dr. Method served his residency in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at David Grant USAF Medical Center in affiliation with the University of California School of Medicine at Travis AFB, California. He served his fellowship in the gynecologic oncology division of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Miami, Florida and was the Director of the Gynecologic Oncology Division at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi. He has published more than 70 professional articles and abstracts, is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACOS), a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), is board certified in gynecologic oncology by the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ABOG) and participates in the Gynecology Oncology Group (GOG) research consortium. Dr. Method serves as vice-chair, member of the board of trustees, and sub-investigator in the Northern Indiana Cancer Research Consortium (NICRC). Currently, Dr. Method is on the Board of Trustees of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, a patient advocacy group dedicated to early detection, care and management of ovarian cancer patients. [Top]
Catherine Bender, PhD, RN is an assistant professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. She received her bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Akron and her Masters and PhD from the University of Pittsburgh. Her entire nursing career has been in the area of oncology care. Dr. Bender has an extensive background in oncology research with a focus on cognitive function during and after treatment for cancer. She is now developing an intervention to help people compensate for the changes in cognitive function they experience with cancer treatment. She is a co-investigator and symptom management consultant for the study.
She has a wonderful daughter and lives in a 120 year old house. She grows roses, loves to read and enjoys movies. [Top]
Michael Spring, PhD is an Associate Professor of Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh. His research involves the application of technology to the workplace with particular attention large scale electronic document processing and visualization, intelligent agents, and interface design.
He received his Bachelor's in Psychology from the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA, and his Ph.D. from the School of Education, University of Pittsburgh. For more than a decade prior to joining the Department of Information Science, Dr. Spring served as Associate Director and then Director of the University External Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh. [Top]
Susan Nolte, CRNP, PhD is a nurse practitioner and Director of Clinical Research, Gynecologic Oncology Institute at Abington Memorial Hospital, Rosenfeld Cancer Center in Abington, PA. She has more than 20 years experience in women’s health with a focus in gynecology oncology, including colposcopy and management of women with gynecological cancer. She has written extensively on gynecologic cancer including screening and prevention of gyn malignancies. Dr. Nolte received her MSN in women’s health from the University of Pennsylvania and her PhD in nursing from there as well. Her area of research is in predictive correlates of prophylactic oophrectomy in genetic high-risk women.[Top]
