Meet our new faculty
The College of Nursing hired nine new faculty this year. "Meet" them here.
KAREN AUL, Ph.D., M.S.N., B.S.N., teaches clinical and didactic nursing courses for undergraduate students. Aul’s research interests include health promotion, symptom management, interprofessional collaboration and creating a culture of civility. She is interested in the determinants of student success in nursing academia, including effective teaching and learning strategies and student-learning outcome assessments. Aul is a nationally Certified Nurse Educator with the National League for Nursing. Aul received her Ph.D. in instructional management and leadership and M.S.N. in nursing education from Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received her B.S.N. from Slippery Rock University and her associate’s degree in nursing from Butler County Community College in Pennsylvania.
LISA BAGNALL, Ph.D., R.N., C.N.L., teaches in the undergraduate B.S.N. program. Bagnall’s research focuses on caring in nursing. Her dissertation used a quantitative approach to assess internal caring attributes in nursing students. Results of her study were used to support the holistic admission criteria in the College of Nursing. Bagnall mentors accelerated B.S.N. students who return to attain higher education in nursing. Bagnall’s areas of expertise are in critical care and emergency nursing. She received her B.S.N. from Salisbury University and her M.S.N. and Ph.D. from the University of Phoenix. She also received her C.N.L. certification through the University of Florida.
Ragnhildur Ingibjargardottir B, MPH, PhD, RN
RAGNHILDUR (RAGA) I. BJARNADOTTIR, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.N., teaches Applied Statistics and Nursing Informatics and Information Management to D.N.P. students. Bjarnadottir’s research focuses on leveraging health informatics and data science to improve health care quality for underserved populations. In her current research, Bjarnadottir uses text-mining methods to identify factors associated with risk of patient falls in acute care nurses’ progress notes. Bjarnadottir received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Iceland. After working as a community health and school nurse, she completed her master’s of public health at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Bjarnadottir completed her Ph.D. in nursing at Columbia University School of Nursing. She received postdoctoral training through a fellowship from the UF Informatics Institute and through the UF College of Nursing.
ANNE C. DILLARD, D.N.P., R.N., AGCNS-BC, is a clinical assistant professor with primary teaching responsibilities that support undergraduate nursing students in didactic and clinical learning. Her focus is adult health, pathophysiology and pharmacology. Dillard’s teaching background also includes clinical education in women’s health and innovative teaching and learning strategies useful in medical simulation education. Dillard’s areas of interest include developing mentoring and communication strategies during nursing preceptorship programs that improve resilience, improving digital literacy and competency in nursing students, mapping acute care decisional algorithms and translating evidence-based practice methodologies. She received her D.N.P., M.S.N. and B.S.N. from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
LISA FERGUSON, D.N.P., M.S.N., B.S.N, teaches Transition to Professional Practice, Health Assessment and Communication, Inquiry and Evidence in Professional Nursing Practice and undergraduate student clinical courses. Ferguson’s areas of interest are in cervical cancer, breast cancer and resiliency and burnout in nurse practitioners. Ferguson’s expertise is in women’s health. She received her B.S.N. from Delaware State University, and her M.S.N. and D.N.P. from Texas Woman’s University.
JOANNE LAFRAMBOISE-OTTO, Ph.D., M.S.N., B.S.N., teaches undergraduate clinical courses. She has more than 30 years of teaching experience in college and university settings in medical-surgical nursing, intensive care nursing, emergency nursing and mental health nursing. Laframboise-Otto’s research interests include
investigating pain management strategies, such as music listening and relaxation training with adult patients in the hospital and home settings. Laframboise-Otto received her B.S.N. and her M.S.N. with a specialty in nursing education, both from Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. She earned her Ph.D. in nursing science from the University of Florida, with a minor in educational leadership from the UF College of Education.
LISA SCARTON, Ph.D., B.S.N., teaches Inquiry and Evidence in Professional Nursing Practice and Introduction to the Nursing Profession in the undergraduate program. Scarton’s research focuses on improving diabetes-related health outcomes for families with Type 2 diabetes, or T2D, in ethnically diverse populations with a focus on the American Indian population. Scarton is also extending her research to those with T2D and cancer. She received her B.S.N. and her Ph.D. from Indiana University. She served as a postdoctoral associate at the UF College of Nursing and the Diabetes Institute.
SALLIE JOHNSON SHIPMAN, Ed.D., M.S.N., R.N., C.N.L., NHDP-BC, has experience in both the intensive care unit and emergency room. She spent more than 18 years working for the Alabama Department of Public Health, where she specialized in perinatal outreach, prenatal care and, since 2002, emergency preparedness. She became a full-time nurse educator in August 2011 and has experience teaching in prelicensure and graduate courses. Shipman’s research areas focus on health care emergency preparedness, community and rural health prevention and disparities, community disaster preparedness, poverty education, experiential learning and theory. She received her B.S.N., M.S.N. and Ed.D., all from the University of Alabama.
JENNIFER VENDT, D.N.P., ARNP, CPNP-PC, P.H.C., teaches in the B.S.N. program working primarily with the junior students in the fundamentals of nursing lab, clinical setting and community health setting. Vendt’s research interests include childhood asthma, communication with the pediatric population and enhancing the relationship among families and using technology in determining the readiness for school. She received her B.S.N. from Old Dominion University and her M.S.N. and D.N.P. from UF.
