Mary C. Kapella, PhD, MS, RN

Dr. Kapella has been appointed Interim Director of the Center for Narcolepsy, Sleep and Health Research (CNSHR). She has an 19-year history with the UIC CON. Formerly, she served as Associate Director for Outreach and Education. Dr. Kapella's research focuses on fatigue and insomnia in people with chronic illness. She is currently investigating non-pharmacological therapy for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who have problems falling asleep or staying asleep. Dr. Kapella received her MS and PhD in nursing from the UIC CON and her clinical background is in cardiopulmonary critical care nursing.

Current Area of Teaching
Dr. Kapella teaches and serves as a research mentor to students at the master's and doctoral levels.

Selected Honors & Awards
1998 Doctoral Dissertation Award, Kapella (PI). Nursing Assembly of the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago
1999 Doctoral Dissertation Award, Kapella (PI). Nursing Assembly of the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago
2007 Clinical Translational Scholars Award. 2007, Center for Clinical Translational Science, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago
2008-11 Mentored Research Scientist Development Awardee, NIH, National Institute for Nursing Research
2009 UIC Council for Excellence in Teaching Departmental Teaching Excellence Award
2011 UIC Chancellor’s Discovery Fund for Multidisciplinary Pilot Research Awardee

Selected Publications
Covey, M., McAuley, E., Kapella, M., Collins, E., Alex, C., Berbaum, M., & Larson, J. (2012) Upper-Body Resistance Training and Self-Efficacy Enhancement in COPD. Journal of Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine, S(9):1-8.

Kapella MC, Herdegen JJ. (2012). Non-pharmacological therapy for insomnia in chronic illness. American Thoracic Society Treatment Strategies Respiratory. 3(1), 45-48.

Corbridge, S., Wilken, L., Kapella, MC. & Gronkewicz, C. (2012). An Evidence-Based Approach to COPD: Part 1. American Journal of Nursing. 112(3) 46-57. PMID: 22333971.

Kapella MC, Herdegen JJ, Perlis ML, et al. (2011). Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia co morbid with COPD is feasible with preliminary evidence of positive sleep and fatigue effects. International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, 11(6) 625-635. PMID: 22162648.

Berger BE, Kapella MC, Larson JL. (2011). The experience of stigma in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 33(7):916-932. PMID: 20940446.

Kapella MC, Larson JL, Covey MK, Alex CG. (2011). Functional Performance in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Declines with Time. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 43(2):218-24. PMID: 2989985.

Kapella, MC, Larson, JL., Patel, M., Covey, MK., Berry, JK. (2006). Subjective fatigue, influencing variables and consequences in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Nursing Research, 55(1)10-17. PMID:16439924.

Larson, JL., Kapella, MC, Wirtz, S., Covey, MK., & Berry, J. (1998). Reliability and validity of the Functional Performance Inventory in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Journal of Nursing Measurement, 6(1) 55-73.

Current Research
Kapella, MC (PI). Efficacy and mechanisms of a behavioral therapy for insomnia coexisting with COPD. RO1, NIH/NINR (1R01NR013937-01A1).

Rubin L, and Kapella, MC. (co-PIs). UIC Chancellor’s Discovery Fund for Multidisciplinary Pilot Research. A pilot study of mechanisms underlying the relationship between hot flashes, sleep and memory dysfunction in perimenopausal women.