University of Missouri-Kansas city

About

Dr. Mei Rosemary Fu (PhD, RN, FAAN) is an internationally and nationally well-known nurse scientist, researcher, and educator. Dr. Fu’s scientific focus has been on pain and symptoms, lymphedema, cancer, chronic illnesses, quality of life as well as intersections of culture, environments, climate change, and social determinants of health. Her research incorporates qualitative and quantitative research methods, genomic and biomarker approaches, cutting-edge technology, mobile health as well as innovative behavioral interventions. She led to develop the innovative intervention The-Optimal-Lymph-Flow (TOLF) activating lymphatic system to manage pain, lymphedema, obesity, fluid accumulation, inflammation to optimize symptom management, well-being and quality of life among many patients with chronic diseases. Her award-winning research has been supported by National Institute of Health (NCI/NINR/NIMHD), National Science Foundation, the Oncology Nursing Foundation, the Avon Foundation, Pfizer Independent Learning and Change grant and other organizations. She has 197 high quality publications in peer-reviewed journals, professional journals, book chapters, and scholarly professional publications. She has 175 invited or peer-reviewed keynote, podium, poster presentations, videos, and podcasts at international, national, regional, and local conferences. Dr. Fu holds the prestigious honor of the Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame (2017) to recognize her significant and sustained national and international research that has influenced the profession and the people it serves. Dr. Fu was the recipient of the Oncology Nursing Foundation Connie Henke Yarbro Excellence in Cancer Nursing Mentorship Award (2020) to recognize her excellence in cancer nursing mentorship that has been demonstrated in her role as a nurse scientist going above and beyond in many ways. Dr. Fu is a Fellow of American Academy of Nursing, Senior Fellow of Geriatrics at the Hartford Institute of Geriatrics and Fellow of New York Academy of Medicine.

 

PhD and DNP Teaching
-PhD and DNP Genetics and Genomics for Health Care
-PhD Seminar: Design and Methods
-PhD Seminar: Psychometric Measurements
-PhD Nursing Philosophy and Theory Development
-PhD Advanced Qualitative Research Methods
-PhD Research Seminar: Refining the Research Plan
-PhD Interpretive Phenomenology
-PhD Advanced Qualitative Data Analysis
-PhD Secondary Analysis of Health-related Datasets
-DNP Scholarly Seminar III: DNP Projects

Undergraduate and Graduate Teaching
-Conceptual Basis for Advanced Practice Nursing
-Research Methods for Advanced Practice Nursing
-An Aging Society: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Health Care
-Oncology Nursing
-Pathophysiology
-Fundamentals of Nursing

Select Grants

Grant Title: Healthy ME: Advancing Health Equity in Lymphatic Pain and Lymphedema in Black and Hispanic Women with Breast Cancer 
     Funding Agency: Oncology Nursing Foundation
     Funding Period:  01/3/2023 – 10/1/2024
The purpose of this project is to adapt The-Optimal-Lymph-Flow (TOLF) behavioral intervention to be culturally appropriate, and subsequently test the intervention in Black and Hispanic patients.

Grant Title: Advancing Health Equity through Data and Community Informed Strategies to Improve Care for Individuals with Cardiovascular Disease and Unmet Social Needs
     Funding Agency: Preparedness and Treatment Equity Coalition
     Funding Period:  03/1/2023 – 02/29/2024
The purpose of this project is to better understand the connections between structural racism, social needs assessment, and navigation outcomes to build a predictive model to identify individual risk for cardiovascular disease.

Grant Title: DCHS23PHS007 Person-Centered Approach to Promoting Healthy Weight and Reducing Pain in Older Adults in Camden New Jersey
     Funding Agency: the New Jersey Department of Health’s Preventive Health Services- Social Determinants of Health grant
The goal of this proposed project is to reduce and manage obesity and increase self-efficacy for keeping a healthy weight and improve pain, quality of life, and mental health symptoms among older adults in Camden City New Jersey.

Grant Title: Lymphatic system stimulation and fluid overload symptoms in patients with heart failure
     Funding Agency: Rutgers Busch Biomedical Grant Program
The goal of our research program is to elucidate the mechanisms of lymphatic system stimulation on fluid overload symptoms and body fluid level in heart failure.

Grant Title: FP00029945 A multi-level and person-centered assessment to understand the cumulative health outcomes exacerbated by climate change-driven environmental stressors in an environmental justice community.
     Funding Agency: Rutgers University Research Council Award – Social and Racial Justice
The overall goal of the proposed project is to use a multi-level and person-centered assessment to understand the cumulative health outcomes exacerbated by climate change-driven environmental stressors in an environmental justice community.

Grant Title: The-Optimal-Lymph-Flow Research Capital Equipment
     Funding Agency: Rutgers and Rowan Joint Board
The purpose of the fund is to purchase capital equipment for The-Optimal-Lymph-Flow research. 

Grant Title: Developing and Testing a Nurse-Led Technology-Enhanced Family Engagement Program
     Funding Agency: The South Jersey Institute of Population Health (SJIPH)
     Funding Period: 01/1/2023 – 03/2024
     Amount:  $25,000
     Role: Co-PI; PI Brigitte Cypress
The overall goal of our research is to test the impact of NURSE-TECH-Family program during patient-and-family-centered interdisciplinary rounds (PFCC-IR) in ICU.

Grant Title: Lymphatic Therapy in Improving Fluid Overload in Patients with Heart Failure
     Funding Agency: The South Jersey Institute of Population Health (SJIPH)
     Funding Period: 01/1/2023 – 03/2024
     Amount:  $30,000
     Role: Co-PI; PI Rida Gharzeddine
The purpose of this pilot study is to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of the lymphatic exercise (TOLF) in reducing fluid overload symptoms in patients with heart failure.

Grant Title: Factors Influencing Asthma Self-Management and Disparities in Asthma Control among Adolescents from Low-Income Minority Families
     Funding Agency: The South Jersey Institute of Population Health (SJIPH)
     Funding Period: 01/1/2023 – 03/2024
     Amount:  $30,000
     Role: Co-PI; PI Sangita Pudasainee-Kapri
The purpose of this pilot study is to investigate factors influencing asthma self-management and disparities in asthma control among adolescents from low-income minority families.

Grant Title: Reducing Breast Cancer Disparity of Black Women in an Environmental Justice Community
     Funding Agency: Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice - Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF): Black Bodies, Black Health: Imagining a Just Racial Future Program
     Funding Period: 03/2022 – 03/2023
     Amount:  $14,974
     Role: Co-PI; PI Wanda M. Williams
The purpose of this project is to develop and refine a novel multi-level intervention to reduce breast cancer screening disparity in Black women who live in an environmental justice community.

Grant Title: 1F31NR019929 A Multimethod Approach to Understanding the Biopsychosocial Underpinnings of Chronic Cancer Pain
     Funding Agency: National Institute of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research
     Funding Period: 06/18/2021-06/30/2022
The purpose of this mentored-career research is to use a multimethod approach to describe the lived experience of chronic pain in cancer survivors and to identify cancer specific bio-physical-social factors that influence the chronic pain experience and explain variability in pain inference and pain severity in cancer survivors.

Grant Title: Improving Early Detection and Intervention of Lymphedema
     Funding Agency: National Institute of Health/National Science Foundation/National Cancer Institute
     Funding Period: 09/21/2016-12/31/2020 Extension
     Role: Multiple PI; Contact MPI: Yao Wang
The first primary goal of this project is to use machine learning to understand the association between symptoms and other relevant personal and clinical factors, and the presence of lymphedema, and develop a web-based self-assessment platform that enables patients to assess their risk for lymphedema from anywhere. This platform will provide a decision support tool for both the clinician and the patient, to facilitate patient-centered, evidence-based intervention decision. The second goal is to develop a Kinect-enhanced intervention training system, which can provide instant audio-visual feedback to the patient performing intervention exercises. The feedback will enable the patient to follow the prescribed hand/shoulder/arm movement more precisely, thereby making the intervention more effective.

Select Honors

The 2020 Oncology Nursing Foundation Connie Henke Yarbro Excellence in Cancer Nursing Mentorship Award

The International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame by Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (STTI) inducted in 2017.

Citation of Merit Award by University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) in 2017.

Fellow, the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) since 2012.

Fellow, the New York Academy of Medicine since 2013.

Senior Fellow of Geriatrics at the Hartford Institute of Geriatric Nursing, awarded to recognize the expert knowledge contributed to the field of geriatrics from 2017 to 2019.

Select Publications

 Selected from 197 high quality publications in peer-reviewed journals, professional journals, book chapters, and scholarly professional publications.

^#Data-based; *Corresponding Author; ^Senior Author ^¢Shared First Author

1. Fu, M.R., Du, X., Li, Y., Fu, L., Chen, H., Zhang, X., Shui, Y., Zhang, A., and Feng, X. (2023). Data on the effects of The-Optimal-Lymph-Flow program on lymphedema symptoms in breast cancer survivors. Data in Brief, 48:109278. DOI: https//doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2023.109278
2. Williams, W., and Fu, M.R.(2023). Understanding Breast Cancer Disparities Affecting Black Women: Obtaining Diverse Perspectives Through Focus Groups Comprised of Patients, Providers, and Others. Journal of Community Health. DOI: https://doi.or/10.1007/s10900-023-01227-3
3. Fu, M. R., Li, Y., Conway, C., Masone, A., Fang, J., and Lee, C. (2022). The Effects of Exercise-Based Interventions on Fluid Overload Symptoms in Patients with Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Biomedicines, 10(5), 1111. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10051111; PMID: 35625848; PMCID: PMC9138396
4. Fu, M.R., McTernan, M.L., Qiu, J.M., Miaskowski, C., Conley, Y.P., Ko, E., Axrelrod, D., Guth, A., Sommers, T.J., Wood, L.J., and Wang, Y. (2022). Co-occurring fatigue and lymphatic pain incrementally aggravate their negative effects on activities of daily living, emotional distress, and overall health of breast cancer patients. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 21: 15347354221089605. DOI: 10.1177/15347354221089605. PMID: 35446180; PMICD: PMC9047803.
5. #*Fu, M.R., Axelrod, D., Guth, A.A., Scagliola, J., Rampertaap, K., El-Shammaa,N., Qiu, J.M., McTernan, M., Frye, L., Park, C.S., Yu, G., Tilley, C., Wang, Y. (2022). A Web-and-Mobile-Based Intervention for Women Treated for Breast Cancer to Manage Chronic Pain and Symptoms Related to Lymphedema: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Cancer, 8(1) e29485. DOI: 10.2196/29485. PMID: 35037883; PMCID: PMC8893593.
6. #^¢* Jones, K., Fu, M.R., McTernan, M.L., Ko, E., Yazicioglu, S., Axelrod, D., Guth, A., Miaskowski, C., Conley, Y.P., Wood, L.J., and Wang, Y. (2022) Lymphatic pain in  breast cancer survivors. Lymphatic Research and Biology. DOI:10.1089/irb.202.0017. PMID: 35089817
7. Fu, M.R., Axelrod, D., Guth, A., McTernan, M.L., Qiu, J.M., Zhou, Z., Ko, E., Magny-Normilus, C., Scagliola, J., Wang, Y. (2021). The effects of obesity on lymphatic pain and swelling in breast cancer patients. Biomedicines, 9 (7),818. PMID:34356882 PMCID: PMC8301355 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9070818
8. #*Fu, M.R., McTernan, M.L., Qiu, J.M., Ko, E., Yazicioglu, S., Axrelrod, D., Guth, A., Fan, Z., Sang, A., Miaskowski, C., and Wang, Y. (2021). The effects of Kinect-enhanced lymphatic exercise intervention on lymphatic pain, swelling, and lymph fluid level. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 20:15347354211026757 . DOI: 10.1177/15347354211026757 PMID:34160294; PMCID: PMC 8226364
9. #*Fu, M.R., Aouizerat, B.E., Yu, G., Conley, Y., Axelrod, D., Guth, A.A., Gagner, J-P., Qiu, J.M., and
10. Zagzag, D. (2021). Model-based patterns of lymphedema symptomology: Phenotypic and biomarker characterization. Current Breast Cancer Reports,13,1-18. DOI: 10.1007/s12609-020-00397-6 PMID: 34322193
11. Fu, M.R., Kurnat-Thoma, E., Starkweather, A., Henderson, W., Cashion, A.,  Janet Williams, Katapodi, M.C., Reuter-Rice, K., Hickey, K., Barcelona, V., Calzone, K., Conley, Y., Anderson, C., Lyon, D., Weaver, M., S. Shiao, P., Constantino, R., Wung, S., Hammer, M.J., Voss, J.G.,  Coleman, B. (2020). Precision health: A nursing perspective. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 7(10), 5-12. PMID:32099853   PMCID: PMC7031154  DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnss.2019.12.008