Sheila Santacroce, PhD, RN, CPNP

Carol A. Beerstecher-Blackwell Distinguished Professor

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
School of Nursing
Carrington Hall, CB #7460
Office: 5011
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7460

Sheila Santacroce received her PhD in Nursing (emphasis: Human Responses to Illness) from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed postdoctoral training in Advancing Care in Serious Illness (T32NR07036; PI: R. McCorkle) at University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Her research focuses on improving medical and quality of life outcomes for children, adolescents and young adults with serious chronic illness (cancer, HIV disease, stage 3-5 kidney disease) and their family members (parents, siblings). Her research interests include illness uncertainty, medical traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth, the psycho-neuro immunologic (PNI) symptom cluster, cancer survivorship, and cardiovascular outcomes of the cancer experience. Her methodological interests include designing and implementing intervention research, intervention fidelity, bio-behavioral methods and mixed methods. Her clinical background is in pediatric hematology-oncology (acute; long-term follow-up/late effects) and pediatric HIV/AIDS nursing.

Dr. Santacroce is PI/Director of the T32: Interventions for Preventing and Managing Chronic Illness, a pre- and postdoctoral research training program funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research (T32NR007091). She is a member of Carolina’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center [Cancer Prevention & Control Program] and serves on the Survivorship Advisory Board. She also serves on the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation Nursing Advisory Board, and is a founder of the Children’s Inn at NIH and the HEROS clinic for childhood cancer survivors at Yale University.