Fertility Decisions






Lead Investigator for the study is:
	Dr. Patricia Hershberger, PhD, APRN, BC Dr. Hershberger completed her undergraduate nursing degrees from Indiana University Northwest and her master’s degree in Maternal-Child Nursing from Valparaiso University. She received her Ph.D. degree in Nursing Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan. She is also a graduate of the Summer Genetics Institute that is sponsored by the National Institute of Nursing Research. Dr. Hershberger is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing. Further information about Dr. Hershberger’s research and interests in helping women and couples navigate novel and emerging assisted reproductive and genetic technology can be found on the University of Illinois at Chicago Nursing Faculty web page at: http://www.uic.edu/nursing/facultypages/Patricia_Hershberger.shtml
Co-Investigator's for the study are:
	Dr. Rebekah Hamilton, PhD, RN Dr. Hamilton received her Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Texas medical Branch-Galveston and her Ph.D. degree in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Hamilton is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Women, Children and Family Health Science in the College of Nursing at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Hamilton’s research focuses on 1) the long-term psychosocial impact of living with predictive genetic test results in individuals at risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) and 2) decision making in young women ages 18-39 years old who have received BRCA mutation test results and face many complex health care decisions as a result of their genetic test. Dr. Hamilton has successfully used Internet recruitment and email interviewing methods in each of her previous studies. Additional information about Dr. Hamilton and her research interests can be found at: http://www.uic.edu/nursing/facultypages/Rebekah_Hamilton.shtml
	Dr. Karen Kavanaugh, PhD, RN, FAAN Dr. Kavanaugh completed her undergraduate nursing degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing and her master’s degree in Maternal-Child Nursing from the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing at Loyola University of Chicago. She received her Ph.D. degree in Nursing Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Kavanaugh is a Professor in the Department of Women, Children and Family Health Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing. Dr. Kavanaugh has extensive expertise with qualitative research methods (particularly interviewing on sensitive topics), with a focus in the areas of loss, parenting, and parental involvement in decision making. She has been the lead investigator for several studies funded by the National Institutes of Health. Further information about Dr. Kavanaugh’s research, teaching, and service initiatives can be found on the University of Illinois at Chicago Nursing Faculty web page at: http://www.uic.edu/nursing/facultypages/Karen_Kavanaugh.shtml
	Dr. Penny Pierce, PhD, RN, FAAN Dr. Pierce is an Associate Professor and Faculty Associate at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. She received her Master of Science in Nursing degree from Yale University and completed her Ph.D. degree at the University of Michigan. Dr. Pierce has a longstanding interest in the executive functions of cognition including problem solving, decision making, reasoning and judgment. Her expertise in decision science is derived from studies of decision behavior in various health care contexts. Dr. Pierce’s work provides a useful transition in decision science research from traditional laboratory experiments of judgment and decision making to real-world decision behavior in complex and naturalistic environments. More information about Dr. Pierce and her research can be found on the University of Michigan Faculty web page at: http://www.nursing.umich.edu/faculty/pierce_penny.html
Consultants for the study are:
Dr. Allen Horwitz, PhD, MD Professor Department of Genetics and Department of Pediatrics University of Illinois at Chicago Dr. Susan C. Klock, PhD Professor and Clinical Psychologist Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Psychiatry Northwestern University School of Medicine Dr. Ellen Olshansky, DNSc, RNC, FAAN Professor and Director Nursing Science Program College of Health Science University of California, Irvine