McKenzie Jancsura
PhD, RN
Assistant Professor
Biography
Dr. McKenzie Jancsura has a passion for improving maternal health outcomes. Her research investigates immunological pathways associated with preeclampsia and leverages behavioral and social interventions to modulate the immune response in pregnancy. Her research has investigated cytokines and DNA methylation across pregnancy to identify prediction tools for preeclampsia. She also explores how factors like diet, physical activity and stress impact the immune milieu in pregnancy as possible intervention targets to prevent pregnancy complications. Her work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research, the Heilbrunn Nurse Scholars Award, and the nuMoM2b Heart Health Study. Through this program of research, Dr. Jancsura hopes to develop clinically useful tools to predict risk of preeclampsia and develop interventions to mitigate the risk to improve outcomes for mothers and babies. As a faculty member in the College of Nursing, she teaches in undergraduate programs and mentors students at all levels.
Dr. Jancsura’s clinical experiences include labor and delivery, postpartum, well-women care and primary care in community health settings. Her clinical experiences informed her program of research as she watched families struggle with the uncertainty surrounding a preeclampsia diagnosis and the lasting health impacts. Dr. Jancsura completed her postdoctoral training in nursing and genetics at the University of Pittsburgh, PhD in nursing at Case Western Reserve University, and BSN and BA in international studies and global health at the University of Iowa.
- *Magnus, M.C., *Wallace, M.K., Demirci, J.R., Catov, J., Schmella, M.J., Fraser, A (2023). Breastfeeding and later-life cardiometabolic health in women with and without hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Journal of the American Heart Association. https://doi.org/10.1161/jaha.122.026696
- *Ray, M., *Wallace, M. K., Grayson, S. C., Cummings, M. H., Davis, J. A., Scott, J., Belcher, S. M., Davis, T. S., & Conley, Y. P. (2022). Epigenomic Links Between Social Determinants of Health and Symptoms: A Scoping Review. Biological Research for Nursing, 10998004221147300. https://doi.org/10.1177/10998004221147300
- Wirth, M. D., Liu, J., Wallace, M. K., McLain, A. C., Turner-McGrievy, G. M., Davis, J. E., Ryan, N., & Hébert, J. R. (2022). Dietary Inflammatory Index and sleep quality and duration among pregnant women with overweight or obesity. Sleep, 45(12). https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsac241
- Wallace, M. K., Jones, M. A., Whitaker, K., & Barone Gibbs, B. (2022). Patterns of physical activity and sedentary behavior before and during pregnancy and cardiometabolic outcomes. Midwifery, 114, 103452. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2022.103452
- Whitaker, K. M., Jones, M. A., Wallace, M. K., Catov, J., & Barone Gibbs, B. (2022). Associations of objectively measured physical activity and sedentary time with pregnancy-specific health-related quality of life. Midwifery, 104, 103202. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2021.103202
- Jones, M.A., Whitaker, K.M., Wallace, M.K., Barone Gibbs, B. (2021). Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Health-related Predictors of Objectively-measured Sedentary Time and Physical Activity during Pregnancy. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2021-0097
- Tracy, E.M., Braxton, R., Henrich, C., Jeanblanc, A., Wallace, M., Burant, C.J., & Musil, C. (2021). Grandmothers raising grandchildren: Managing, balancing and maintaining family relationships. Journal of Women and Aging. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/08952841.2021.1951114
- Wallace, M. K., Shivappa, N., Wirth, M. D., Hebert, J. R., Huston-Gordesky, L., Alvarado, F., Mouzon, S. H., & Catalano, P. M. (2021). Longitudinal Assessment of Relationships Between Health Behaviors and IL-6 in Overweight and Obese Pregnancy. Biological Research for Nursing, 23(3), 481-487. https://doi.org/10.1177/1099800420985615
- Wallace, M. K.,Still, C. H., Jeanblanc, A. B., & Musil, C. M. (2021). Successful and Cost-Effective Facebook Recruitment: Is It Possible? Results From a Longitudinal Randomized Clinical Trial in Grandmother Caregivers. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 91415020987667. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091415020987667
- Musil, C. M., Wallace, M. K., Jeanblanc, A. B., Toly, V. B., Zauszniewski, J. A., & Burant, C. J. (2021). Theoretical and Operational Consideration of Mindfulness, Resilience, and Resourcefulness. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 43(3), 210-218. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193945920956684
- Wallace, M K., Jeanblanc, A.B., Musil, C.M.(2020). Incidental findings: A practical protocol for reporting elevated depressive symptoms in behavioral health research. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing. 34: 96-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2020.04.005 Jones, L.M., Wright, K.D., Wallace, M. K., Veinot, T.C. (2018). “Take an opportunity whenever you get it”: Information Sharing among African-American Women with Hypertension. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology. 69(1):168–171. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23923
- Wallace, M., Downing, N., Lourens, S., Mills, J., Kim, J. I., Long, J., Paulsen, J., Predict-Hd, I., & Coordinators Of The Huntington Study, G. (2016). Is There an Association of Physical Activity with Brain Volume, Behavior, and Day-to-day Functioning? A Cross Sectional Design in Prodromal and Early Huntington Disease. PLoS Currents, 8. https://doi.org/10.1371/currents.hd.cba6ea74972cf8412a73ce52eb018c1e
- Inflammatory potential of diet and cardiovascular health after pregnancy Role: Principal Investigator Funding Agency- nuMoM2b Heart Health Study (NHLBI) Funding Period: 03/2023-12/2023 Funding Amount: $20,000
- Longitudinal Investigation of Inflammatory Marker Profiles in Overweight and Obese Women with and without Preeclampsia Role: Principal Investigator Funding Agency: Heilbrunn Nurse Scholar’s Award- Rockefeller Foundation Funding period: 06/2021- 12/2022 Funding Amount: $20,900
- Determinates of Inflammation in Pregnancy Role: Principal Investigator Funding Agency: Sigma Theta Tau International Funding Date: 09/2017 Funding amount: $4,991