Dr. Michelle Nichols is an Associate Professor at the College of Nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), teaches in the Ph.D. program, and is the Director of the Community Engaged Scholars Research Program through the South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research Institute. Dr. Nichols completed her undergraduate work at the University of Maine, obtaining degrees in both French and Nursing and studied at the University of Paris, Sorbonne. She obtained her Master’s degree in Nursing from the University of Phoenix and her PhD from the Medical University of South Carolina. She has also completed fellowships in Clinical Research Ethics, Ethics with CRISPR/cas9, and in Race and Medicine.

Dr. Nichols has always had a strong interest in working with diverse populations and cultures. She worked clinically for several years in acute and outpatient settings, followed by working as a researcher for the Veterans Administration (VA) and transitioned to public and population health within the community setting. She has carried her long-standing passion of working with the most under-resourced populations across the globe throughout her research, scholarship, and service. She actively leads and collaborates on studies in Sub-Saharan Africa and volunteers on medical missions in Low-and-Middle Income Countries in Central and South America.

Dr. Nichols specializes in the self-management of non-communicable chronic diseases that contribute to cardiovascular disease burden using mobile technology among under-resourced populations in the U.S. and globally. She has expertise in qualitative and mixed methodological approaches and in conducting Community Engaged Research and is the President of the Mixed Methods International Research Association. Among her awards, she received the 2014 American Nurses Association (ANA) Presidential Scholar Award through the American Nurses Foundation, the 2017 Palmetto Gold Award, was the 2018 recipient of the MUSC Values in Action Award for Integrity, and most recently received the MUSC 2021 Teaching Excellence Award, Educator-Mentor, in the Scholarship-Academic category.

Research Interests:
Global health disparities (emphasis on Low-and Middle Income Countries)
Self-management of Non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) (diabetes, stroke, hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and asthma)
Qualitative & Mixed methodological approaches
Community-engaged research
Ethics

Health Promotion/Disease Prevention, Health Disparities, Underserved and Vulnerable Populations, Children, Adolescents, and Families, Community-Based Participatory Research, Chronic Health Conditions (obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease), Ethics, Global Health, Veteran and Military Health