Dr. J. Margo Brooks Carthon has been appointed to the rank of Assistant Professor of Nursing at the School of Nursing

It gives me great pleasure to announce that J. Margo Brooks Carthon, PhD, RN has been appointed to the rank of Assistant Professor of Nursing in the Standing Faculty tenure track effective July 1, 2010.

Dr. Carthon received her Master’s Degree in Adult Health/Psychiatric NP in 1998 from the University of Pittsburgh and her doctorate in Nursing in 2008 from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Immediately after earning her Ph.D. she entered a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research in the School of Nursing, which she completed in June 2010.

Dr. Carthon studies the historical context of persistent health disparities among racial and ethnic communities in the United States. This interest helped drive her dissertation topic in which she explored the mechanisms underlying the disproportionate burden of illness in Black Philadelphians during the first 30 years of the 20th century. She also uncovered the collaborative community health initiatives undertaken by local residents, social reformers, and health professionals to address the social and health concerns of Black community members. Her work also includes the investigation of current mechanisms underlying the concerns and the collaborations. Dr. Carthon also has an interest in researching safety net hospitals, which provides healthcare services to low-income, uninsured, and vulnerable patients. She is the first nurse to do so.

Although she's just starting her academic career, Dr. Carthon is PI on a K-award from NINR-NIH and another funded by the Penn Minority Aging Research for Community Health. She also served as PI or Co-Investigator on three previous grants. In addition, she presented her research through peer reviewed conferences for which she received invitations. She also collaborated with a number of renowned scholars within and outside of the University. She published six refereed publication, two as first author and two are in press. She also has one refereed abstract, a book chapter and web review in press.

As a novice teacher, Dr. Carthon has given a few formal lectures in the School and received excellent evaluations. She makes her teaching come alive for students by using exemplars from her clinical experience as a nurse practitioner. We expect that these experiences will continue to provide context and enrich her teaching.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Carthon on her appointment, welcoming her to our School, and in wishing her a very productive academic career.