Nursing Faculty

Congratulations to Ihara, Scafide, von Fricken, Weinstein, and Wojtusiak on their promotions and Guccione and Rome on being named Professors Emeriti. The College recognizes teaching excellence, leadership, dedication to research, and commitment to student success

Bethany Cieslowski is the Simulation Coordinator for the George Mason University School of Nursing. She earned her BSN from the University of Virginia, MA from Columbia University’s Department of Biomedical (Nursing) Informatics and DNP at the Duke University School of Nursing. 

Dr. Erin Maughan's research focuses on measuring the effectiveness of school nursing and school health programs that support the need of students (K-12) living in vulnerable situations. Her particular research focus looks at the infrastructure needed to support appropriate school nurse staffing and identifying indicators that best measure the effectiveness of school nursing and school health. Dr. Maughan uses her professional work experience and expertise in mix-method and qualitative designs to not only strengthen the evidence related to school health, but also obtain the data needed to change health and education policy.

Drawing on 20 years of practice as a nurse-midwife, Dr. Karen Trister Grace’s research interests are in reproductive coercion, intimate partner violence (IPV), pregnancy intention and health disparities. Dr. Grace recently conducted research addressing solutions to housing instability for IPV survivors, as well as a mixed methods study exploring reproductive coercion in Latina women. She has an interest in birth outcomes related to IPV and reproductive coercion, and the intersection with unintended pregnancy. Dr. Grace is the lead editor of the 3rd edition of the “Prenatal & Postnatal Care: A Person-Centered Approach” textbook.

Two local awards from The Washington Post-American Nurses Association and the Washingtonian Magazine recognize Mason alumni nurses in the 2021 Star Nurses finalists and the 50 Notable Nurses list.

Virginia Cronin, Adjunct Faculty member for the School of Nursing and instructor in the CHHS Simulation Center, received the "Teacher of Distinction" commendation from the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning.

Dr. Marti Kubik has an 18-year history of extramural-funded research with a focus on youth and families and low-income and minority populations. Nationally recognized in the field of childhood obesity prevention, Dr. Kubik’s work has advanced understanding of the school food environment, contributing to school nutrition policy at state, national and international levels. Other research examined the role of school nursing in obesity prevention. New work piloted a trauma-informed, resilience-based multi-level intervention to reduce violence among urban youth. She has over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals and is a past standing member of the NIH Community-Level Health Promotion Study Section.

Building on over 40 years of nursing practice and research experience, Dr. Kathi Huddleston’s research interest has focused on improving health outcomes for children. She has conducted research in the intensive care areas and the community health arena. Her interests range from genomics to the microbiome, from neurodevelopment assessment to pediatric obesity.

Ms. Karen Brown is the Director for the Northern Virginia Area Health Education Center (AHEC) at George Mason. She has over a decade experience in community and public health, working for regional teen tobacco prevention programs in eastern North Carolina, in addition to her years as a program coordinator and director with Texas AHEC.

Katherine (“Kat”) Scafide is a tenured Associate Professor, forensic nurse and scientist in the School of Nursing. Her research primarily focuses on advancing equity in the medical identification and forensic documentation of injuries, particularly for patients of color, through innovative use of technology. She has received several federal awards to support these efforts.