Study Personnel

Susan Dunn, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN
Principal Investigator
Associate Professor and Department Head
University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing
Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Sciences

Dr. Susan Dunn is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science at the UIC College of Nursing. She has clinical experience working in both acute care and cardiac rehabilitation settings. She developed and published the State-Trait Hopelessness Scale, now used in 8 countries. Her published research focusing on hopelessness in patients with ischemic heart disease has received several awards and resulted in a national press release from the American Heart Association. Her current NIH R01-funded study is focused on an intervention to improve physical activity and reduce hopelessness in patients with ischemic heart disease.

 

Heather Pauls Hrynyk, MPH
Project Director
University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing

Heather joined HeartUp! as Project Director in February of 2023 where she is responsible for the
coordination of research activities at the home institution (UIC Site) and across the study, organizing
team meetings, and managing communications with co-investigators and stakeholders. Heather has
over 10 years of experience in data management, biostatistics and research design, implementation,
and methodology. She holds a Masters of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology from the UIC School of
Public Health and has more recently served as Project Director for a large ophthalmic study at the UIC
College of Medicine before returning to the UIC College of Nursing.

Madison Goodyke, BSN, RN
Michigan Site Director
University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing

Madison is a Research Specialist on the Heart Up! study. In this position, she coordinates and prepares materials for patient visits with nurses and data collectors. Madison graduated with her BSN from Hope College and is currently a fourth-year PhD student in the College of Nursing at University of Illinois at Chicago. She has clinical experience working in the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit at Spectrum Health. For her dissertation research, she is interested in studying the relationships among social support, heart rate changes and hopelessness in patients that have been hospitalized for a heart event.

Larisa Ann Burke, MPH
Data Manager 
University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing

Larisa has more than 10 years of applied research experience in biostatistics, research design, methodology, and outcomes measurement. She has contributed to the implementation of numerous patient-oriented research projects involving a varied team of collaborators. Larisa hold a Masters in Public Health with a Biostatistics major from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research focus is the statistical analysis of health data. She has extensive experience managing research data in SAS, STATA, SPSS, ACCESS, R, Qualtrics, REDCap and Excel, including database design, data queries, data cleaning, and statistical analysis.

Anna Luong, BSN, RN
Research Assistant
University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing

Anna Luong is a fourth year PhD student at the University of Illinois Chicago. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and is currently a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society. Her clinical expertise is in the physical and mental health care of trauma and cardiovascular disease patients. Her current work includes examining higher mortality rates and detrimental health outcomes in association with adverse childhood experiences in minority ethnic groups. The long-term goal of her research is to improve health outcomes related to childhood adversities and the systems which surround people affected by them.

Ulf G. Bronas, PhD, ATC, ATR, FSVM, FAHA
Co-investigator 
Associate Professor, University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing
Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Sciences

Eileen G. Collins, PhD, RN, FAACVPR, FAAN
Co-investigator
Professor, University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing,
Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Sciences

Holli A. DeVon, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN
Co-investigator
Professor, University of California Los Angeles School of Nursing

Nathan L. Tintle, PhD
Co-investigator
Professor, Dordt University Department of Statistics