Post-doctoral scholar receives $177,581 grant from NIH

USF Nursing Post-doctoral scholar Velda Gonzalez-Marrero was awarded a $177,581 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to be distributed over three years.

The grant is an Individual Post-Doctoral Fellows in Nursing Research (F-32) from the National Institute of Nursing Research and was awarded to Gonzalez-Marrero to further her research in Fatigue and the Gut Microbiome of Patients Receiving Chemoradiotherapy for Rectal Cancer.

“It has been a joy to work with Dr. Gonzalez-Marrero; she has excellent ideas for research to improve oncology care, and has worked hard to obtain this highly competitive and prestigious NIH funding,” said Cindy Munro, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, PHD, FAAN, FAANP, FAAAS, associate dean of research and innovation. “This is the first F32 (NIH-funded individual fellowship) awarded to the College of Nursing- in addition to serving as an excellent foundation for Dr. Gonzalez-Marrero’s research career, the award also boosts the College’s NIH funding, which contributes to our national research ranking.”

This training grant will provide Gonzalez-Marrero with three years of research time. Allowing her to gain some additional hands-on training experience and skills in microbiome approaches and metagenomics sequencing.

Dr. Gonzalez-Marrero works in the USF Nursing Biobehavioral lab with her mentor Dr. Maureen Groer, PhD, RN, FAAN, Gordon Keller Professor and the Director of the Biobehavioral Laboratory.

“This is perfect,” said Gonzalez-Marrero. “I will get training and preliminary data from this experience that will then allow me to pursue future grants after completing my post-doc.”

After completing her PhD in Nursing from the University of Kansas, Gonzalez-Marrero moved from Puerto Rico to Florida to increase her opportunity to obtain funding. She started at USF Nursing two years ago as a post-doctoral scholar and immediately submitted for a post-doc grant.

“It’s always very exciting to get funded,” said Susan McMillan, PhD, ARNP, FAAN, USF Nursing distinguished professor and Gonzalez-Marrero’s project mentor. “She is a self-starter. I am so impressed with her independence and her persistence. It is very impressive to get funded during a time period when funding is tight.”

Story by Jessica Samaniego, USF College of Nursing. Photo by Judy Plazarin, USF College of Nursing.