Assistant Professor Debra Lynch Kelly, PhD, RN, was recently accepted as a full member of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Founded in 1993, the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation is an international professional membership association of more than 2,200 physicians, investigators and other health care professionals from more than 45 countries. Kelly is the only nurse who holds full status in this prestigious professional organization of over 2,200 members elected to serve on the Survivorship Interest Group Steering Committee.
Kelly’s primary focus of research is in the area of biobehavioral responses to distressing symptoms of chronic illness with a population focus in oncology. Her currently funded research involves biological mechanisms such as the gut microbiota, metabolites, and mitochondrial dysfunction of cancer-related symptoms (CRS).