USF Nursing PhD student recognized at USF Health Research Day

USF College of Nursing PhD student, Samia Valeria Ozorio Dutra recently presented the microbiome team research at USF Health Research Day and at the 2017 Southern Nursing Research Society (SNRS) conference. She was recognized by USF Health as having the Best College of Nursing Presentation.

Dutra has been working with Maureen Groer, PhD, RN, FAAN, as a research assistant on her $2.7 million grant from National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) studying preterm infants’ gut microbiome, and its effect on their growth and development.

“Microbiome is a new area of study for me. It has been a lot of discovery and great to be a part of this cutting-edge research.”

The poster Dutra presented during USF Health Research day reported findings on “The Preterm Infant Microbiome,” and her SNRS poster was focused on “Correlations Among Later Health Status Variables in Very Low Birth Weight Infants.”

“Dutra is an important and vital member of our team,” Dr. Groer said. “She is involved in our research in various ways including data management, collection, and storage.”

Dutra started the Master of Science to PhD program in 2014. She completed her bachelor’s and master’s in Brazil – her home country. To study here at USF, Dutra applied for a scholarship to Laspau’s Ciência sem Fronteiras (Science without Borders), a program primarily funded by the Brazilian government. The entire process took nearly a year.

Her main areas of study have been mental and public health, and she taught women’s health and methodology of nursing care at Potiguar University for five years.

“Getting my PhD was my next step,” Dutra said. “I was exploring new areas of focus. USF is a top nursing and research-intensive university.”

“Dutra has been an asset to our PhD program,” said John Clochesy, PhD, RN, senior assistant dean of the PhD program at USF Nursing. “Her Brazilian background adds a different perspective to the research projects at the college, and her contributions are valuable.”