USER

Dr. Kupershmidt has been an Assistant Professor of Nursing at USD in Sioux Falls since Nov. 2015. Within the nursing department, she performs the roles of coordinator for research, interprofessional education and for diversity. As such, she supports nursing faculty in research design and methodology to meet the strategic goals of the department and directs efforts to integrate IPE curricular requirements and IPE projects. Her personal research interests focus on the definition and evaluation of alternative and complementary processes or methods that foster integrative community engagement in disease prevention and wellness behaviors through interprofessional and collaborative teamwork. Within this larger theme, she is working on the definition of processes that provide access to Advance Care planning in rural environments, finding ways to standardize and evaluate the effects of alternative health care interventions, and assessing health care needs of immigrant populations. She has been a member of the Nexus and of the Midwest Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research Center (MIPERC) advisory board since Oct. 2016. Her research relies on the principles of Participatory Action Research, which is multi-dimensional and practical, coordinating action and understanding with personal reflexivity.

Prior to coming to USD, her qualifications include 14 years as a principal investigator of a biomedical research lab with more than 40 peer-reviewed scientific articles and support through extramural funding in cardiac electrophysiology and in molecular and cellular biology. She also has administrative and managerial experience in academics and the private sector.  Her projects have received funding from the NIH, the AHA and the Bush Foundation.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

• October 2018 - present: chair of the Interprofessional Health and Education Center (IHEC) at USD SHS
• August 2017 -present: IPE coordinator for Nursing, USD
• 2016 - present: Research coordinator for Nursing,
• USDNovember 2015 – present: Assistant Professor, Nursing Research & Health Sciences, University of South Dakota, Sioux Falls

• April 2014 – May 2015: Partner & Part Owner at Sage Project Consultants, Sioux Falls, SD;

• Jan 2013 – Mar 2014: Grant Specialist, Office of Research & Sponsored Programs, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD;

• Feb. 2007-present: Research Associate Professor, Departments of Anesthesiology & Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN.
• 1998–Feb. 2007: Assistant Professor, Departments of Anesthesiology and Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine;
• 1996-1998: Research Instructor, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Department of  Pharmacology;        
• May 1,1994 - Oct 1, 1996: Research Associate (Post-doc), Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Division of Clinical Pharmacology;
• Jan. 1991 - April 30, 1994: Research Associate (Post-doc), Dept. of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine;

EDUCATION AND CREDENTIALS

• 1990, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN; Microbiology and Immunology; specialization in Virology;

• 1984, BS (cum laude); major in Biology, minor in Chemistry; Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN;

• 1980, “Abitur” (high school diploma) Gymnasium Bad-Dürkheim, Germany;

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS (past and present)

American Heart Association, Biophysical Society, Cardiac Electrophysiology Society; American Society of Biochemistry and Microbiology; Grant Professionals Association; AAAS;

SERVICE ACTIVITIES

• expert peer reviewer for the National Institutes of Health Center for Scientific Review (2004-present) and the American Heart Association (2003-2012);
• expert peer reviewer for professional journals;
• certified Yoga Instructor, Integral Yoga, 200 level
• Board Member Buddhist Society of South Dakota, Inc.