Tampa, FL (May 5, 2006) –- Maureen Groer, PhD, RN, FAAN, a nurse physiologist with nearly 20 years experience in immunology research was recently appointed Director for the Center for Women's Health Research, a new program established in March at the USF College of Nursing. The Center was created to fund pilot research in women's health, assist in research development, foster collaboration between senior and junior researchers and target federal funding opportunities to be used for research dollars. Dr. Groer will lead the Center in developing new theoretical perspectives and methods for studying health in women across the lifespan.

"The USF College of Nursing is open to new ways of thinking. I am very excited be a part of such a great opportunity to enhance the research capabilities at the College by adding biological measures to faculty members' areas of research, which will lead to new and exciting explorations in nursing science," said Dr. Groer.

Before joining USF, Dr. Groer was the Associate Dean for Research and Evaluation at the University of Tennessee College of Nursing, where she developed and directed research in the College. She established a wet lab conducting and supervising several projects, including a National Institute for Nursing Research-funded study on stress and immunity. She also served as Director of Nursing and later as President of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Institute of Health Professions in Boston from 1992-1997.

After completing her PhD in human physiology and biophysics, she continued training through summer faculty programs at the Oak Ridge National laboratory, and the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. While at MGH she was an associate investigator on a Harvard Medical School Nutrition Center grant.

She has completed studies on immunity and inflammation in multiple populations (infant mice, postpartum women, healthy adult males, post-operative cardiac patients), using the lens of psychoneuroimmunology to examine relationships between stress and immune function. The types of assays that Dr. Groer has used in her work include flow cytometry, electron microscopy, tissue culture, Northern and Southern blots,  RT-PCR, proliferation assays, ELISAs, chromatography, radioisotopes and radioimmunassay,  electrophoresis, and most currently multiplex techniques for protein analysis. Dr. Groer has been accepted into an intensive two-week training program in molecular biology techniques this summer at Smith College.  Dr. Groer has mentored many doctoral students and new investigators.

Dr. Groer's research interests include the immunology of the postpartum, breast milk immunology, and the responses of women to life stressors such as trauma.

Dr. Groer has received numerous awards such as The Mayor's Award for Outstanding Achievement, John Hilton Knowles Endowed Professor, and The University of Tennessee Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award. She is a member of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Sigma Theta Tau, the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society, and the American Academy of Nursing.

- USF Health -

USF Health is the University of South Florida's enterprise of researchers, teachers and clinicians dedicated to improving the full continuum of health. Its core is the colleges of Public Health, Nursing and Medicine, including a School of Physical Therapy, as well as the healthcare delivered by its 450 physicians and more than 100 nurse practitioners. In partnership with its affiliated hospitals, USF Health's research funding last year was $134 million -- more than half of which came from federal sources. Last year, USF health clinicians cared for more than 31,000 patients and oversaw 396,000 outpatient visits.