Rate My Professor kathleen Insel

Kathleen C. Insel is a Research Professor in the College of Nursing at The University of Arizona, where she holds the position of Chair of the Biobehavioral Health Science Division and serves as Director of the Innovations in Healthy Aging Initiative. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, M.S. in Nursing, and B.S.N. in Nursing, complemented by a post-doctoral fellowship in Community Based Interventions. Dr. Insel joined the University of Arizona in 2002 and has progressed through various roles, including from 2008 to 2013 and 2013 onward as Research Professor, as well as Adjunct Instructor. Prior to UA, she worked at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center San Antonio from 2000 to 2002. Notable appointments include Interim Dean of the College of Nursing in 2022 and Division Chair appointed in 2020. Her expertise encompasses quantitative research methods applied to studying cognitive changes.

Dr. Insel's research program centers on cognitive function over the lifespan, with a specific emphasis on executive function and working memory, and their effects on self-management of chronic diseases. Key populations include older adults with hypertension, where medication adherence serves as a primary measure, and children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, focusing on school achievement. These findings extend to broader chronic disease self-management challenges. She has authored or co-authored numerous impactful publications, such as 'Executive function, working memory, and medication adherence among older adults' (2006, cited 477 times), 'The handbook of health behavior change' (2013, cited 612 times), 'Chemotherapy-related change in cognitive function: a conceptual model' (2007), 'Multifaceted prospective memory intervention to improve medication adherence' (2016), and recent articles including 'A Cross-Sectional Study of Cognitive Function, Illness Perceptions, and Immunosuppression Medication Adherence After Heart Transplantation' (2024) and 'The Impact of Resilience and Perceived Autonomy Support on Medication Adherence among Rural Older Adults with Hypertension' (2024). With over 1,400 citations across 54 publications, her work has advanced understanding in cognitive aging, medication adherence, health behavior change, gerontology, and prospective memory interventions, influencing interdisciplinary approaches to healthy aging and chronic disease management.