Cristina de Rosa, MSN, RN, is the recipient of the Mathy Mezey Scholarship for geriatric nursing. Ms. de Rosa is a PhD candidate at the School of Nursing, University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, where she is a Presidential Scholar and Stephanie Mucha Scholar. Before pursuing her doctoral degree, she received a Bachelor of Arts in English, also from the University at Buffalo, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Binghamton University, and a Master of Science in Nursing from Webster University. She also completed an Advanced Certificate in Nursing Education at the University at Buffalo.

Passion about, and a commitment to, the holistic care of patients and their families since the beginning of her nursing career, has fueled her desire to make a difference in the lives of others. This desire led her first to clinical practice, where the direct effects of patient care are perhaps most readily apparent. Next, working in nursing education allowed her to broaden this reach by teaching, and learning from, future nurses about combining the art and science of nursing. She has learned to incorporate patients’ experiences and values with a strong evidence based clinical foundation. Now, pursuing a research doctorate will prepare her to generate new nursing knowledge to address gaps in care and improve health outcomes.

A desire to understand dyadic interactions has motivated Cristina’s research. Her dissertation focuses on older adults and their family caregivers, utilizing innovative analytic approaches to examine how members of a caregiving dyad simultaneously influence each other’s health outcomes, particularly when older adults have dementia. She is the first author of several peer-reviewed, data-based publications, and has received academic poster awards from the Eastern Nursing Research Society and the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. She has served on numerous committees and workgroups in both membership and leadership roles.

Ms. de Rosa plans to pursue additional mentored research training in aging in anticipation of a career as a nurse scientist. Ms. de Rosa is incredibly grateful to receive the Mathy Mezey NEF scholarship, which will support her in achieving her academic and professional goals.