Margaret Heitkemper PhD, RN, FAAN

Margaret McLean Heitkemper, RN, PhD, FAAN, is Professor and Chairperson, Department of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Informatics, Adjunct Professor, Division of Gastroenterology, and Director, Center for Research on Management of Sleep Disturbances at the University of Washington. She received her BSN from Seattle University, Masters’ degree in nursing from University of Washington, and PhD in Physiology and Biophysics from University of Illinois, Chicago. She leads an interdisciplinary team focused on the study of the pathophysiology and non-pharmacological management of individuals with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). At this time, her team is studying the interaction of stress, sleep, genetics, and symptoms (e.g., pain) in women with IBS. This work has been substantially funded by the National Institute for Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health.

 

Education

• BSN, Seattle University
• MSN, University of Washington
• PhD, University of Illinois

What classes do you teach?

Pharmacotherapeutics for Nursing Students; Physiological Measurement in Nursing Science

What do you love about the UW School of Nursing?

The UW SoN is a rich environment for students, faculty and staff to thrive. There are incredible interdisciplinary opportunities for collaboration in both research and education. The resources allow for the unique opportunity to study individual responses to challenging and often chronic health problems in a diverse patient population. There is also a rich history of combining a variety of methodological perspectives that combines ‘omics’ with clinical intervention trials. Students are actively engaged in hands on research experiences.

Department

Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Informatics

Research Areas

• Symptom Science

Research Centers

• Center for Innovation in Sleep Self-Management