Shearer
Term Chair in Nutrition: Barbara Medoff-Cooper
Dr.
Barbara Medoff-Cooper, director of the Center for Nursing
Research at the School of Nursing, has been named the
second holder of the Helen M. Shearer Endowed Term Chair
in Nutrition.
The
Shearer Chair is "particularly complimentary to
Dr. Medoff-Cooper's area of research on the nutritive
sucking patterns of smaller and sicker neonates, building
on a strong program of clinical research focusing on
the neurobehavioral development of the neonate," said
Nursing Dean Afaf Meleis in announcing the appointment.
As a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Nurse Scholar, Dr.
Medoff-Cooper began investigating the inter-relationship
between neurologic integrity and neurobehavioral development.
Her early work used both brain and metabolism studies
as well as a clinical assessment tool which she developed.
Dr. Medoff-Cooper's present work with nutritive sucking
and physiological correlates continues the emphasis on
exploring the inter-relationship between neurologic integrity
and behavioral outcomes.
"Dr.
Medoff-Cooper's work is an excellent example of the importance
of clinical research to nursing care practices. Her work
clearly demonstrates the process of identifying a clinical
problem for research, developing techniques for investigation
of the issues, and providing data which has clinical
relevance," added Dr. Meleis.
Dr.
Medoff-Cooper has been funded five times by the National
Institutes of Health to study feeding behaviors and neurodevelopmental
outcomes in first preterm infants. Currently, she is
working with a $3 million grant, the first of its kind
involving the study of both feeding behaviors and energy
expenditure in infants with complex congenital heart
disease. These infants are at great risk for failure
to thrive even after surgery repairing their lesions.
A
member of the faculty since 1981, Dr. Medoff-Cooper was
the director of the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program
from 1989-1996. She has been the director of the Center
for Nursing Research since 1997.
Dr.
Medoff-Cooper received her B.S.N. from Trenton State
College, and her M.S.N. from the University of Maryland,
then took her doctorate in educational psychology at
Temple. She completed her post-doctoral education as
a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Penn. She is
known for her studies on neurobehavioral problems of
the preterm infant, and for earlier work which resulted
in the development of the Early Infancy Temperament Questionnaire
used in research and practice throughout the U. S. and
abroad. In addition to her teaching and research here,
Dr. Medoff-Cooper has been a visiting professor at the
Henrietta Szold School of Nursing at Hebrew University.
She is a senior mentor in the Chiron Mentorship Program
of Sigma Theta Tau International. |