One of the newest professors in the University of Rhode Island College of Nursing, Karen Jennings has brought with her a fresh perspective to the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner graduate program and a strong drive to continue her research, presenting an opportunity to students looking to make an impact in psychiatric health care.
Jennings, an assistant professor in the URI College of Nursing, with a focus on the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program, finished up her first year as a URI professor at the end of the Spring 2019 semester, having come to URI from the University of Chicago in August 2018. Jennings has an extensive research history with psychological disorders, focusing specifically on eating disorders.
After receiving a Ph.D. in Nursing from Boston College, Jennings completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Chicago, looking into the behavioral neuroscience of eating disorders, which was funded by a T-32 National Institutes of Health grant.
“It is important to try research as a student because there are a lot of nuances, and you need to figure out which types of research you like and which you don’t. Everyone should try to be involved with one research project just to get a taste, even if you think you won’t like it.” – Assistant Professor Karen Jennings
Her previous research analyzed eating disorders through a novel perspective by creating homogenous groupings of patients based on behavioral characteristics and which treatments could be effective, instead of simply grouping them by disorder and assuming people with the same disorder require the same treatment. The traditional three main eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, and the lines between them are not always distinct. A patient can be diagnosed with one type of eating disorder, but exhibit behaviors or aspects of another, Jennings said.
“For example, someone with Anorexia Nervosa can still engage in binge eating,” she said, noting that treatment methods should be developed for the individual, not the diagnosis, and should be based on the behavior that is causing a disorder. “We have to really take into consideration the whole person when dealing with all types of psychological disorders, and have a more holistic approach to assessment and treatment as well as prevention.”
The new research project Jennings plans to lead aims to look at proinflammatory cytokines leptin, and its association with restrictive eating behaviors. Jennings hopes this will serve as a pilot study for further research projects to develop a more objective and transdiagnostic measure for eating disorders and other diseases with psychological aspects such as depression.
Jennings says she has plans to hire graduate students to assist in her future research project and understands how important research opportunities are for students.
“It is important to try research as a student because there are a lot of nuances, and you need to figure out which types of research you like and which you don’t,” Jennings said. “Everyone should try to be involved with one research project just to get a taste, even if you think you won’t like it.”