Over 40 authored or co-authored papers published in the last three years
6 Nurse researchers collaborating together
Broad foci Mechanistic studies to systems-level research
College of Nursing
INSPIRE Laboratory
Our mission: To improve health outcomes of individuals and families managing acute and chronic conditions by leveraging biobehavioral interactions for personalized care and eradicating sociopolitical and structural barriers.

If you are interested in participating in a study or collaborating on research, please contact Dr. Kelly or Dr. Starkweather.
Our lab team
Principal Investigators
Debra Lynch Kelly PhD, RN, OCN, CNE, FAAN
Angela Starkweather PhD, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN
Students
PhD student
Shuruq Alsayed
Area of Interest: Mental health and well-being, psychosocial and psychiatric; autism
PhD Student
Alexandria Carey
Area of Interest: Emergency medicine

PhD Student
Elham Samami Kodiji

PhD Student
Aliya Bai
Area of Interest: Non-pharmacological interventions for cancer pain management

BSN Student
Nicholas Moyer
Area of interest: New methods of care and intervention for chemotherapy patients

BSN Student
Chloe Bensch

BSN Student
Chloe McKinnon

Postdocs
Studies
Neurophysiological and transcriptomic predictors of chronic low back pain: towards precision pain management (NEAT Study)
Identifying neurophysiological and gene expression biomarkers of the transition from acute to chronic low back pain.
Emotion regulation as a primary mechanism of action in yoga interventions for chronic low back pain: An RCT testing biological and psychological pathways
Comparing the effects of yoga and physical activity on chronic low back pain outcomes.
Comprehensive Outcomes for After Cancer Health (COACH): The Feasibility and Impact of an mHealth Augmented Coaching Program for Self-Management in Cancer Survivors
Assessing the effect of a 6-month digital health coaching program in cancer survivors within 1 year of primary treatment and longitudinally measure its impact on multifaceted health outcomes.
External Collaborations
Indoor Air Quality Initiative (UConn)
Mission: To empower the public with the know-how to clean their own indoor air to actively reduce their exposure to airborne infectious disease, mold, dust and chemical pollutants, all of which which can worsen asthma symptoms.
In addition to sharing these crucial tools with the public, we are further studying this solution to determine how well and for how long these DIY air filters work in real world settings.
Publications
Debra Lynch Kelly PhD, RN, OCN, CNE, FAAN
- 2023 Chronic illness
- 2023 International wound journal
- 2023 BMC women's health
- 2022 Critical reviews in oncology/hematology
- 2022 Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
- 2022 Nursing Research
- 2022 Oncology nursing forum
- 2022 Transplantation and cellular therapy
- 2022 Frontiers in immunology
- 2021 Transplantation and cellular therapy
- 2021 Transplantation and cellular therapy
- 2021 The Journal of neuroscience nursing : journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses
- 2021 Hematology/oncology and stem cell therapy
- 2021 Advances in wound care
- 2021 Chronic illness
- 2020 Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing
- 2020 Epigenetics
- 2020 Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
- 2020 Breast cancer research : BCR
- 2019 Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
- 2018 Cancer nursing
-
2018
Pilot Study of Metabolomics and Psychoneurological Symptoms in Women With Early Stage Breast Cancer.Biological research for nursing
- 2018 Nursing forum
- 2018 Journal of osteoporosis
- 2018 Journal of environmental and public health
- 2017 Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
- 2017 Biological research for nursing
- 2016 Seminars in oncology nursing
- 2016 Journal of Neuroimmunology
- 2016 Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology
- 2015 Oncology nursing forum
- 2015 SpringerPlus
- 2015 Oncology nursing forum
- 2014 Health promotion perspectives
Angela Starkweather PhD, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN
- 2023 Cancer Medicine
- 2023 European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing
- 2023 Journal of Nursing Scholarship
- 2023 Policy, politics & nursing practice
- 2023 Pain Management Nursing
- 2023 Biological Research For Nursing
- 2023 BMC nursing
- 2023 Research in Nursing & Health
- 2023 PLOS Genetics
- 2023 Interdisciplinary nursing research
- 2022 Addiction science & clinical practice
- 2022 International Journal of Nursing Studies
- 2022 Journal of Personalized Medicine
- 2022 The Clinical journal of pain
- 2022 Geriatric Nursing
- 2022 Interdisciplinary nursing research
- 2022 Pain Management Nursing
- 2022 Cancer epidemiology
- 2022 Nursing Forum
- 2022 Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.)
- 2022 Pain Management Nursing
- 2022 Research in Nursing & Health
- 2022 Nursing Research
- 2022 The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
- 2022 Orthopedic nursing
- 2022 Scientific reports
- 2022 Developmental Neuroscience
- 2022 Patient education and counseling
- 2022 Pilot and Feasibility Studies
-
2022
A Descriptive Survey Study of Patient Needs and Preferences for Cancer Pain Self-Management Support.Oncology nursing forum
- 2022 International Journal of Nursing Sciences
- 2021 Nursing research
- 2021 Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
- 2021 Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
- 2021 Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
- 2021 Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
- 2021 Nursing Research
- 2021 Oncology nursing forum
- 2021 Nursing research
- 2021 Nursing research
- 2021 Applied nursing research : ANR
- 2021 Biological Research For Nursing
- 2021 Qualitative health research
- 2021 Chronic illness
- 2021 Journal of Personalized Medicine
- 2021 Journal of advanced nursing
- 2021 Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland)
- 2021 Journal of neonatal-perinatal medicine
- 2021 Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
- 2021 Nursing outlook
- 2021 Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.)
- 2020 Nursing research
- 2020 Breast cancer research : BCR
- 2020 Cancer nursing
- 2020 Nursing research
- 2020 International journal of nursing sciences
- 2020 Lancet (London, England)
- 2020 Applied nursing research : ANR
- 2020 Clinical and translational science
- 2020 Cancer nursing
- 2020 Nursing research
- 2020 Epigenetics
- 2020 Nursing outlook
- 2020 The Clinical journal of pain
- 2020 Frontiers in psychiatry
- 2020 Biological Research For Nursing
- 2020 Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
- 2019 Nursing Outlook
- 2019 Nursing research
- 2019 Journal of Holistic Nursing
- 2019 Contemporary clinical trials communications
- 2019 Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
-
2019
Association of CTRP13 With Liver Enzymes and Cognitive Symptoms in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.Nursing research
- 2019 Early human development
- 2019 Biological research for nursing
- 2019 Biological research for nursing
- 2019 Journal of neuroimmunology
- 2019 Research in nursing & health
- 2019 Psycho-oncology
- 2019 Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing
- 2019 Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
- 2019 Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
- 2019 Journal of Nursing Scholarship
- 2019 PLOS ONE
- 2019 Nursing research
- 2019 Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.)
- 2018 Nursing outlook
- 2018 Nursing outlook
- 2018 Ageing Research Reviews
- 2018 Nursing Forum
-
2018
Pilot Study of Metabolomics and Psychoneurological Symptoms in Women With Early Stage Breast Cancer.Biological research for nursing
- 2018 Research in nursing & health
- 2018 Heart & Lung
- 2018 Journal of Pediatric Nursing
- 2018 Western journal of nursing research
- 2018 The Clinical journal of pain
- 2018 Nursing Outlook
- 2018 Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing
- 2017 Biological research for nursing
- 2017 Cancer nursing
- 2017 Supportive Care in Cancer
- 2017 The Journal for Nurse Practitioners
- 2017 Nursing outlook
- 2017 Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing
- 2017 Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing
- 2017 The Journal of neuroscience nursing : journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses
- 2017 Nursing research
- 2017 Nursing Outlook
- 2017 Journal of obstetric, gynecologic, and neonatal nursing : JOGNN
- 2016 Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology
- 2016 Biological research for nursing
- 2016 Journal of Neuroimmunology
- 2016 Nursing research
- 2016 Applied Nursing Research
- 2016 ANS. Advances in nursing science
- 2016 The Yale journal of biology and medicine
- 2016 The Medical clinics of North America
- 2016 Mediators of inflammation
- 2016 Biological research for nursing
- 2016 The journal of spinal cord medicine
- 2016 The Journal of neuroscience nursing : journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses
- 2016 Nursing Outlook
- 2016 The Clinical journal of pain
- 2016 European Journal of Integrative Medicine
- 2016 Clinical epigenetics
- 2015 Nursing research
- 2015 Research in nursing & health
- 2015 Mediators of inflammation
- 2015 Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing
- 2015 Biological research for nursing
- 2014 Nursing research
- 2014 Integrative cancer therapies
- 2014 Biological research for nursing
- 2014 The Journal of neuroscience nursing : journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses
- 2014 Nursing outlook
- 2014 Nursing research
- 2014 Biological research for nursing
- 2014 BMC research notes
- 2013 Current pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine
- 2013 Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
- 2013 Biological research for nursing
- 2013 Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
- 2013 Advances in breast cancer research
- 2011 NeuroRehabilitation
- 2011 BMC research notes
- 2011 The Journal of neuroscience nursing : journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses
- 2010 Medsurg nursing : official journal of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses
- 2010 Nursing research and practice
- 2008 International journal of nursing education scholarship
- 2008 International journal of nursing education scholarship
- 2008 The Journal of neuroscience nursing : journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses
- 2007 Biological research for nursing
- 2006 Spine
- 2006 The Journal of neuroscience nursing : journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses
- 2005 The Journal of neuroscience nursing : journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses
- 2005 Biological research for nursing