November 2023

ENDOCRINOLOGY

CHRISTINA COVENTRY, RN, PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO CLINICAL AND RESEARCH NURSING SUPPORT

Featuring: Christina Coventry, RN

Christina Coventry, RN, is a senior clinical research associate in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience and biology from University of Illinois at Chicago and her master’s in nursing from Purdue University.

Coventry first came to Northwestern in 2006 as a research assistant at the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology for Alzheimer’s Disease. After leaving to practice bedside nursing, she returned to Northwestern and now contributes to research activities in the laboratory of Amisha Wallia, MD, associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and of Preventive Medicine in the Division of Epidemiology. 

Where is your hometown?   

I grew up in Lake Forest, Illinois.

What led you to Northwestern?

I started at Northwestern back in 2006 as a research assistant at the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology for Alzheimer’s Disease. I was a behavioral neuroscience major in college and always knew I wanted to work in the neuroscience and clinical research fields. I worked at Northwestern until 2014 when I left for graduate/nursing school. After a few years of bedside nursing (some of which was at Northwestern Memorial Hospital), I returned to Northwestern as a clinical research associate in 2018.

What are you currently working on?   

I am currently working in the Division of Endocrinology in the laboratory of Dr. Amisha Wallia. I am the Northwestern program coordinator for the multi-site study called the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS). The newest phase of this study is focused on the relationship between diabetes, diabetes prevention, and the development of Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD). While DPPOS has been going on for over 20 years, this phase is almost an entirely new study as it now includes comprehensive cognitive and neurological assessments, MRI and PET brain scanning, and the measurement of plasma and brain imaging biomarkers of AD/ADRD. As the DPPOS program coordinator, I manage the day-to-day activities of the study including participant visits, data management, adverse event documentation and communication with central units, as well as participate in steering committees and working groups.
 
I also provide research nursing support to Dr. Wallia’s research studies that involve novel, user-centered interventions for persons with type 2 diabetes at high risk for complications. Some of my work in that role includes clinical chart review of potential participants for eligibility, monitoring adverse events, communication with participants about results and training staff on many of the activities for these pragmatic trials. I work closely with her cross-disciplinary team that includes experts in diabetes care, project management, user-centered design and public health.
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How does your work support the research enterprise at Feinberg?     

I believe that the research enterprise at Feinberg encourages multidisciplinary, collaborative studies that promote our understanding of health as well as the prevention and treatment of disease. My work is at the intersection of understanding health outcomes related to diabetes and interventions on the hospital side, both of which have implications for direct patient care.
 
Why do you enjoy working at Northwestern?     
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​There are many reasons why I enjoy working at Northwestern! My top reason is its people. Many of the research coordinators and students that I had the opportunity to mentor in the past have now gone on to become expert clinicians and researchers. I have had the pleasure of meeting so many bright people while working at Northwestern who went from colleagues to lifelong friends.
 
This article was originally published in the November issue of Breakthroughs, the newsletter of the Feinberg School of Medicine Research Office.
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Christina Coventry, RN

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