Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
Vanderbilt University | Vanderbilt University Medical Center  

 

Faculty Sketch

Karen D'Apolito, PhD, APRN, NNP

Program Director, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program
karen.dapolito@vanderbilt.edu

Current Research Interests


  • Infant Adaptation
  • Infant Organization
  • Perinatal and Infant Drug Addiction
  • Neonatal Drug Withdrawal
  • Interventions that decrease cerebral blood flow in preterm infants

Grants


Co-PI with Peter Martin, MD, Professor of Psychiatry & Pharmacy, Director of the Addiction Center and Addiction Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The title of the grant is: Maternal Opioid Treatment: Human Experimental Research. This is a 5 year grant funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The Co-Investigators include Barbara Englhardt, MD, Division of Neonatology; Nancy Chescheir, MD; Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Joseph Gignate, MD, Division of Pediatrics.

Representative Publications



D’Apolito, K. (2006). State of the Science: Procedural Pain Management in the Neonate. The Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing, 20(1), 56-61.

D’Apolito, K, & Hepworth, J. (2001). Most Prominent Symptoms of Withdrawal in Drug-Affected Infants. The Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing, 14(4), 46-60.

D'Apolito, K (1999). Comparison of a Rocking Bed and Standard Bed for Decreasing Symptoms in Drug-Exposed Infants. MCN, 24(3), 138-144.

D'Apolito, K. (1991). What is an organized infant? Neonatal Network, (1), 23-29.

Professional Organizations


Chair, SNRS Ethics Committee, 2006-present

Abstract Reviewer, MNRS, 2005-2007

HRSA Grant Reviewer, 2007-2008