Faculty Expert Profile

Melissa deCardi Hladek PhD, CRNP, FNP-BC is a researcher-clinician focusing on how stress, self-efficacy, and sociocultural factors influence the biology of aging, chronic disease, and frailty. Her research goals are to further understand the role of stress, coping and social determinants of health in aging and develop novel strengths-based, person-environment strategies and policies to mitigate these effects and center the patient's voice in modern healthcare. She is aco-Investigator (PI: Szanton) looking at measuring structural discrimination effects on ADRD outcomes.

Hladek's other current work focuses around: 1. biological underpinnings of self-efficacy and resilience, 2. adaptation of a person-environment patient-directed intervention to improve end stage renal disease-related outcomes and 3. dissemination of a structured approach to center patient goals in shared decision-making with older adults, especially older Latinos. As a FNP, Hladek has worked with primarily Spanish-speaking communities and is an advisor for the Latinx Health Advocacy Group at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.