Postdoc Stephanie Ibemere joined the Duke University School of Nursing a year ago, bringing with her a vast experience as a registered nurse and researcher.

Over the last year, Ibemere has published or contributed to articles on treatment of vaso-occlusive episodes for sickle cell disease; hypertension among Black women; and the health inequities re-illuminated by the COVID-19 pandemic. She also submitted a Southern Nursing Research Society (SNRS) proposal in September entitled “Comparison of Nurse Practitioner Satisfaction with In-Person and/or Telehealth (telephone/video) Visits for Chronic Disease Management." In addition, she continues to build a research program focused in West Africa as a result of her dissertation research on the cultural influences on sickle cell disease management in Sierra Leone.

“My passion stems from my upbringing and learning about what my family members had to do in order to get the care they required in Nigeria,” Ibemere said. “My background and experiences in Guatemala gave me the push I needed to venture into research as a way of addressing the health care inequities my family and friends lived with around the world.

The model of team science I have witnessed and been a part of while at DUSON confirmed we can make reduce health inequities globally.”

Ibemere’s nursing background includes serving as a triage nurse in Guatemala, first through Xavier University and now with Regis University with the goal of building health care capacity in solidarity with others. She also provided care as a registered nurse in a cardiovascular critical care setting at Mercy West Hospital.

She’s worked as a research assistant for the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and as an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University. She is now co-teaching at DUSON. Her nursing and research career interests merged when she served as a clinical research nurse for American Nursing Care, through which she worked with Gamble Research to provide care for its research participants for both inpatient and outpatient research studies.

She earned her MSN from Xavier University in 2015 and her PhD in Nursing Research from the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing in 2019. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and another bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences from Xavier University.

“As an early career global health researcher and nurse scientist, DUSON is an inspiring place to be,” Ibemere said. “I liken it to being a plant with an incredible and readily available source of energy if and when it’s needed.”