I am a tenured full professor, fellow of the American Academy of Nurses, nurse scientist and pediatric nurse practitioner-primary care at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where I currently serve as program director. I have worked as part of a multidisciplinary team, including experts in psychology, engineering, social work, speech and language, and education. My research has explored family caregiving stress, family functioning, quality of life, and the benefits of exercise as medicine, such as swimming programs for children with autism and their caregivers, and exercise for parents. I am also a member of the Milwaukee Pediatric Nursing Research Consortium, which focuses on translational research, implementation evaluation and the development and evaluation of staff development curricula for pediatric hospitals. My research has been published in more than 50 peer-reviewed journals.