Rose Ann DiMaria-Ghalili, PhD is the senior associate dean for Research and a professor of nursing, with courtesy appointments in the nutrition science department and School of Biomedical Engineering. She is a geriatric nurse scientist and her continuously funded interdisciplinary program of research focuses on integrating nutrition and novel technologies to improve health outcomes and quality of life for older adults with acute (e.g., cardiac surgery) and chronic (e.g., heart failure, chronic wounds, dementia) conditions across the care continuum. Recognizing the need to improve the measurement of nutritional intake, DiMaria-Ghalili led a team of engineers on the research and development of a patented wireless device to track and monitor fluid intake. DiMaria-Ghalili serves as the principal investigator of the Cell2Society Aging Research Network (Cell2Society), a Drexel Area of Research Excellence (DARE) initiative, where she leads an interdisciplinary team of 30 faculty across ten colleges at Drexel University to create a novel ecosystem for the pursuit of use-inspired aging research. As part of the administrative core for CNHP’s AgeWell Collaboratory she participates in developing evidence-based programs, science, policy and educational offerings to facilitate healthy aging.

DiMaria-Ghalili was a 2007-2009 Claire M. Fagin Fellow in the John A. Hartford Foundation’s Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity program. Prior to joining the faculty at Drexel University in 2009, DiMaria-Ghalili was a tenured associate professor at West Virginia University School of Nursing where she received the Faculty Award for Excellence, Innovative Teaching Award and Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award. In her early career she practiced at Jacobi Medical Center of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation as a surgical nurse caring for critically ill adults with trauma and burn injuries and coordinated an interdisciplinary nutrition support team as a nutrition support clinical nurse specialist.

Academic Distinctions

DiMaria-Ghalili is recognized for her contributions to research, teaching, and service. She is a fellow in the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), American Academy of Nursing and Gerontological Society of America. DiMaria-Ghalili received the Springer Award for a Distinguished Single Work of Research in Applied Geriatric Nursing and her Drexel teaching team received the American Academy of Nursing’s Infusing Geropsychiatric Nursing into Curriculum Award. Her leadership in nutrition science led her to be the first nurse scientist to receive the ASPEN’s Dudrick Research Scholar Award, and the first nurse inducted as an ASPEN fellow. She also received the Distinguished Nutrition Support Nurse Service award from ASPEN for her research contributions to the science of nutrition support nursing. DiMaria-Ghalili is an advocate for integrating nutrition in nursing practice. She contributed to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s recommendations to incorporate nutrition in education, training and research, and led the ASPEN committee to publish the revised standards of nursing practice. DiMaria-Ghalili is sought after to serve on national and international review panels and presented on nutrition during care transitions at a workshop sponsored by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. DiMaria-Ghalili works tirelessly on the issue of malnutrition in older adults across nutrition and geriatric societies. Her efforts are moving the needle in policy as well, from being part of the author group to petition the joint commission to consider optimal nutrition as a national patient safety goal, to her contributions to the national Malnutrition Awareness Week. DiMaria-Ghalili was named a Drexel Academic Innovator Ambassador in 2015 and received the inaugural Dr. Gloria F. Donnelly Excellence in Mentoring Award for CNHP in 2018. DiMaria-Ghalili was included in the Top 100 Nursing Professors List 2012 by BSNtoMSN.org and the 50 Top Nurse Practitioner Professors by NursePractionerSchools.Com in 2018.

Faculty Fellowships

Fellow of the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition

Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing

Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America

Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing

Professional Society

American Academy of Nursing
American Nurses Association
American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
Gerontological Society of America
Sigma Theta Tau

Selected Publications

Van Horn, L., Lenders, C. M., Pratt, C. A., Beech, B., Carney, P., Dietz, W., DiMaria-Ghalili, R. A., …& Lynch, C. (2019). Advancing nutrition education, training, and research for medical students, residents, fellows, attending physicians and other clinicians: Building competencies and interdisciplinary coordination. Advances in Nutrition, 10, 6, 1181-1200.

Gunasekaran, V., Ngo, O., Lafontant, A., Nadkarni, S., DiMaria-Ghalili, R. A., Neidrauer, M., ... & Lewin, P. A. (2018). Roadmap to Design Low Frequency (20–100 kHz), Low Intensity (100 mW/cm2) Ultrasound Applicator for Chronic Wound Treatment. In 2018 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS) (pp. 1-9). IEEE. doi: 10.1109/ULTSYM.2018.8579971.

DiMaria-Ghalili, R. A. (2016). Development of an integrated theory of surgical recovery in older adults. Journal of Nutrition in Gerontology and Geriatrics, 35, 1-14.

Corkins, M. R., Guenter, P., DiMaria-Ghalili, R. A., Jensen, G. L., Malone, A., Miller, S., ... & Resnick, H.E. (2014). Malnutrition diagnoses in hospitalized patients United States, 2010. Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 38(2), 186-195.

DiMaria-Ghalili, R. A., Sullivan-Marx, E. M., & Compher, C. (2014). Inflammation, functional status, and weight loss during recovery from cardiac surgery in older adults:a pilot study. Biological Research for Nursing, 16(3), 344-352.

Grant participation:

DiMaria-Ghalili is frequently called upon to serve on review panels for national organizations including the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Aging Clinical Science study section and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Biomedical Engineering study section), Veterans Administration’s Rehabilitation Research Study Section, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition’s Rhodes Research Foundation. At the international level she participated in review panels for the Canadian Network Centres of Excellence Network Competition and the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) Scientific TOP programme.

Editorial review board membership:

Journal of Nutrition in Gerontology and Geriatrics

Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition

Nutrition in Clinical Practice

Research Interests

Rose Ann DiMaria-Ghalili, PhD, is a gerontological nurse scientist who blends her passion for nursing, the older adult and nutrition into a strong body of research which impacts practice. DiMaria-Ghalili’s efforts are recognized nationally across disciplines (nursing, gerontology, nutrition, medicine and engineering) and contexts (research, practice and policy). Her research focuses on integrating nutrition and novel technologies to improve health outcomes and quality of life for older adults with acute (e.g., cardiac surgery) and chronic (e.g., heart failure, chronic wounds, dementia) conditions across the care continuum. Recognizing the need to improve the measurement of nutritional intake, DiMaria-Ghalili led a team of engineers on the research and development of a patented wireless device to track and monitor fluid intake. DiMaria-Ghalili is also a member of an interdisciplinary team of engineers and physicians developing and testing therapeutic ultrasound and diffuse correlational spectroscopy to monitor and treat chronic wounds. She leads the clinical aims of research studies focused on developing, testing and translating the impact of theragnostic devices on chronic wound healing in older adults, including persons living with dementia. DiMaria-Ghalili is also part of a team that is developing an interactive web-based training program for nurses and occupational therapists in the Care of Persons with Dementia in their Environment (COPE) program.

DiMaria-Ghalili serves as the principal investigator of the Cell2Society Aging Research Network (Cell2Society), a Drexel Area of Research Excellence (DARE) initiative, where she leads an interdisciplinary team of 30 faculty across ten colleges at Drexel University and external stakeholders to create a novel ecosystem for the pursuit of use-inspired aging research focused on preventing and managing chronic conditions, enhancing active and purposeful living, and enabling aging in place. As part of the administrative core for CNHP’s AgeWell Collaboratory she participates in developing evidence-based programs, science, policy and educational offerings to facilitate healthy aging.

Her interdisciplinary research interests include developing, testing,and implementing health technologies, malnutrition, inflammation, sarcopenia, frailty and wound healing. She also has expertise developing and implementing innovative educational initiatives and an interest in interprofessional nutrition assessment competencies.

DiMaria-Ghalili is a PI or Co-I on several research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, Pennsylvania Non-Formula CURE program, Drexel University Office of Research, Coulter-Drexel Translational Research Partnership Program and several foundations.

View Research Profile

Specialization

Geriatric Nursing

Duke University, The Fuqua School of Business, Certificate of Leadership & Management, June 2022

University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence, Philadelphia, PA, 2007-2009, Claire M. Fagin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. Sponsor: John A. Hartford Foundation & Atlantic Philanthropies

New York University, New York, NY, PhD, 1998 (Research and Theory Development in Nursing Science). Dissertation: Changes in nutritional status, age, and post-operative health outcomes in older persons undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.

Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY, MSN, 1990 (Major: Clinical Nurse Specialist in Medical-Surgical Nursing).

Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY, BSN, 1986.