Patricia G. Buzelli, MSN, BA, AGNP-C is the honored recipient of a Johnson & Johnson Edwidge Thomas Health Equity Scholarship. Patricia is currently a PhD Student at Duke University School of Nursing and has a research interest in improving care for Latine immigrant families living through the loss of a child with a focus on strength-based approaches to care. Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, Patricia has wielded her lived experiences of immigration and personal loss to guide her academic and clinical pursuits. She graduated Suma Cum Laude from the University of Massachusetts Boston with a psychology degree where she worked as a research assistant in the Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development in partnership with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, was in the first cohort of the Health Equity Scholars Program in 2012, and completed a multi-semester independent study focused on family processes in grief through a cultural lens with grief specialist and her long-time mentor, Dr. Ester Shapiro.

Having always wanted to pursue a career in nursing, Patricia then attended Johns Hopkins University for her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing-Nurse Practitioner degrees. During that time, Patricia was a research honors student and Fuld Leadership Quality and Safety Research Fellow and worked with Dr. Marie Nolan extrapolating data on protective factors of Black caregivers from Dr. Nolan’s larger project: The Trial of Ascertaining Individual Preferences for Loved Ones’ Role in End-of-Life Decisions (TAILORED), a randomized controlled trial utilizing a nurse-led intervention.

Patricia then immersed herself in clinical practice as a Nurse Practitioner where she developed her expertise in hematology oncology and captured the practice challenges that remained in providing equitable care for diverse populations. Currently, and with the mentorship of Dr. Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda at Duke University, Patricia studies the pediatric bereavement experiences (grief after the death of a child) of Latine families in the United States (US) using Liberatory and decolonized research methodologies. Her approach places highest value on the cultural and contextual grounding of how individuals and families grieve and challenges the dominant discourses about mental health and well-being that are inherently oppressive and pathologizing. Patricia’s goal is to promote social justice in grief by leading a program of research that forges the field of health equity in bereavement for immigrant and minoritized populations in the US. Patricia is immensely grateful to be recognized for her work and for the support provided by the Johnson & Johnson Edwidge Thomas Health Equity Scholarship as it will greatly facilitate her journey to reaching her goal.

*The term Latine is used as a gender-inclusive label for individuals with Latin American ancestry. This term is used interchangeably with Latino/Latina