Meet the second cohort

2021 cohort of Betty Irene Moore Fellows (c) UC Regents. All rights reserved.Fellowship dates:

July 1, 2021-June 30, 2024

The 2021 cohort is comprised of 10 Betty Irene Moore Fellows.

Dora Clayton-Jones, Ph.D., R.N., C.P.N.P.-P.C., F.A.A.N.

Associate Professor, Marquette University College of Nursing
Arthur J. Schmitt Leadership Fellow
Immediate Past President, International Association of Sickle Cell Nurses and Professional Associates

Dora Clayton-Jones, Ph.D., R.N., C.P.N.P.-P.C., F.A.A.N. (c) All rights reserved.Fellowship project: Eliminating sickle cell disparities among youth: the POSSE intervention

Self-selected mentor: Kristin Haglund, Ph.D., R.N., F.N.P., P.N.P., A.P.R.N., Professor of Nursing, Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program Director, Marquette University College of Nursing

Program-appointed mentor: Betty S. Pace, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Graduate Studies, Francis J. Tedesco Distinguished Chair in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, and Director of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program Telehealth Center, Augusta University


Yamnia I. Cortés, Ph.D., M.P.H., F.N.P.-B.C., F.A.H.A., F.A.A.N.

Associate Professor, University of Iowa, College of Nursing (as of Aug. 15, 2023)

Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Nursing (during fellowship dates: July 1, 2021-Aug. 15, 2023)

Yamnia I. Cortés, Ph.D., M.P.H., F.N.P.-B.C., F.A.H.A., F.A.A.N. (c) All rights reserved.Fellowship project: Menopause and biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease risk in midlife Latinas

Self-selected mentor: Peggy Wilmoth, Ph.D., M.S.S., R.N., F.A.A.N., Executive Vice Dean and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Nursing

Program-appointed mentor: Adriana Perez, Ph.D., C.R.N.P., A.N.P.-B.C., F.A.A.N., F.G.S.A., Assistant Professor of Nursing, Senior Fellows at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing


Rachel Lee DiFazio, Ph.D., R.N., P.P.C.N.P.-B.C., F.A.A.N.

Nurse Scientist, Boston Children’s Hospital

Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Rachel Lee DiFazio, Ph.D., R.N., P.P.C.N.P.-B.C., F.A.A.N. (c) All rights reserved. Fellowship project: Outcomes following orthopaedics surgery in children with cerebral palsy

Self-selected mentor: Barbara Wolfe, Ph.D., A.P.R.N.-C.N.S., P.M.H.C.N.S.-B.C., F.A.A.N., Dean and Professor, University of Rhode Island College of Nursing 

Program-appointed mentor: Deborah Klein Walker, Ed.D., Adjunct Professor of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health


Roschelle “Shelly” Fritz, Ph.D., R.N.

Professor, Washington State University College of Nursing

Director, Ph.D. in Nursing Program

Roschelle “Shelly” Fritz, Ph.D., R.N. (c) All rights reserved.Fellowship project: Community-based smart health system for independent older adults

Self-selected mentor: Marilyn Rantz, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., Curators’ Professor Emerita, Helen E. Nahm Chair, MU Sinclair School of Nursing from 2008-2015, University Hospitals and Clinics Professor Emerita of Nursing, Executive Director, Aging In Place Project and Sinclair@Home, University of Missouri Sinclair School of Nursing 

Program-appointed mentor: Christi Zuber, Ph.D., R.N., Founder and Managing Partner, Aspen Labs, Adjunct Faculty, Northwestern University


Luz G. Huntington-Moskos, Ph.D., R.N., C.P.N.

Associate Professor, University of Louisville School of Nursing

Luz G. Huntington-Moskos, Ph.D., R.N., C.P.N. (c) All rights reserved.Fellowship project: Developing report-back strategies for adolescents to build asthma self-management

Self-selected mentor: Barbara Polivka, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., Associate Dean of Research and Professor, University of Kansas School of Nursing 

Program-appointed mentor: Paloma Beamer, Ph.D., Professor of Public Health, Community Engagement Core Director of the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center, The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health 


Urmeka T. Jefferson, Ph.D., R.N.

Associate Professor, Rush University College of Nursing

Urmeka T. Jefferson, Ph.D., R.N. (c) All rights reserved.Fellowship project: Improving access to breastfeeding support: the Mother’s Milk Connection project

Self-selected mentor: Wrenetha Julion, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.N., C.N.L., F.A.A.N., Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion, Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Faculty Scholar, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Women, Children and Family Health Nursing, Rush University 

Program-appointed mentor: Phyllis Sharps, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., Professor Emerita, Associate Dean for Community Programs and Initiatives, Elsie M. Lawler Chair, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing


Lenette M. Jones, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.H.A.

Inaugural Nancy S. and Michael B. McLelland Professor of Nursing, University of Michigan School of Nursing

Lenette M. Jones, Ph.D., R.N. (c) All rights reserved.Fellowship project: Empowering WHISE (Wellness, Hypertension, Information-Sharing, Self-Management, Education) women

Self-selected mentor: Bruno Giordani, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, Neurology and Psychology, Chief Psychologist, Department of Psychiatry, Director of Mary A. Rackham Institute, University of Michigan

Program-appointed mentor: Gbenga Ogedegbe, M.D., M.P.H., Professor of Population Health and Medicine, Chief of the Division of Health and Behavior, New York University School of Global Public Health, Director of the Center for Healthful Behavior Change in the Department of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine


Adrian Juarez, Ph.D., R.N.

Assistant Professor, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Adrian Juarez, Ph.D., R.N. (c) All rights reserved.Fellowship project: Increasing PrEP uptake on the Texas-Mexico border

Self-selected mentor: Philip Keiser, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, International HIV Program and Clinic Director, University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine

Program-appointed mentor: José A. Bauermeister, Ph.D., M.P.H., Albert M. Greenfield Professor of Human Relations, Chair of the Department of Family and Community Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing


Michelle L. Litchman, Ph.D., F.N.P.-B.C., F.A.A.N.P., F.A.D.C.E.S., F.A.A.N

Assistant Professor, University of Utah College of Nursing

Medical Director, Diabetes One-Day Education and Care Program

Utah Diabetes and Endocrinology Center

Michelle L. Litchman, Ph.D., F.N.P.-B.C., F.A.A.N.P., F.A.D.C.E.S., F.A.A.N (c) All rights reserved.Fellowship project: Improving access to diabetes education and care for deaf populations

Self-selected mentor: Angie Fagerlin, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Population Health Sciences, Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chair, Director of Driving Out Diabetes Initiative — a Larry H. Miller Family Wellness Initiative, University of Utah, Research Scientist, Salt Lake City VA Informatics Decision-Enhancement and Analytic Sciences (IDEAS) Center for Innovation

Program-appointed mentor: Robert Gabbay, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, American Diabetes Association, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School


Kimberly Souffront, Ph.D., R.N., F.N.P.-B.C., F.A.A.N.

Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine

Associate Director, Center for Nursing Research and Innovation

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital

Kimberly Souffront, Ph.D., R.N., F.N.P.-B.C., F.A.A.N. (c) All rights reserved.Fellowship project: Improving blood pressure control for emergency patients with uncontrolled hypertension

Self-selected mentor: Lynne Richardson, M.D., F.A.C.E.P., Professor of Emergency Medicine and Population Health Science and Policy, System Vice Chair of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital

Program-appointed mentor: Bernice Coleman, Ph.D., A.C.N.P.-B.C., F.A.H.A., F.A.A.N., Assistant Professor and Research Scientist III, Director of Nursing Research Department, Nurse Practitioner, Heart Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support Programs, Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars-Sinai (Fellowship National Advisory Council member)