When a child’s life is on the line, families can struggle to talk about tender topics. That silence can leave brothers and sisters feeling anxious, lonely, and left out.This Breakthroughs Can’t Wait story shares how University of Maryland School of Nursing research led by Kim Mooney-Doyle, PhD, RN, CPNP-AC, FAAN, is building practical, family-based ways to keep communication open and help siblings feel seen.Research funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR).#BreakthroughsCantWaitUMB #FamilyFirstCare #WholeFamilyHealth #PediatricPalliativeCare #NursingResearch #UMBresearch #NINR

Danya Mazen Qato, PhD, PharmD, MPH, Associate Professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, shares why courage matters in science and healthcare. In her speech “On the Imperative of Courage” at the 2025 University of Maryland, Baltimore Convocation, she challenges assumptions about pain in Black infants and calls out racism as the true driver of inequity. #Shorts #DanyaQato #ImperativeOfCourage #UMBConvocation #HealthcareEquity #SpeakUp

“When your child is seriously ill… what do I do for my other kids?”Nursing associate professor Kim Mooney-Doyle builds preventive, family-based support so parents and siblings get what they need—before crises hit. Research funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR).#BreakthroughsCantWaitUMB #FamilyFirstCare #PediatricPalliativeCare #WholeFamilyHealth #NursingResearch #UMBresearch #NINR

Nearly 200,000 children and adolescents in the U.S. have a brother or sister with a life-limiting illness. These siblings face unique challenges that often go unseen.Kim Mooney-Doyle, PhD, RN, CPNP-AC, FAAN, associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, explained that siblings of seriously ill children experience “dual losses.” They not only lose the companionship and guidance of a close friend when their sibling is hospitalized or dies, but they also face disruptions in their bond with parents whose attention is consumed by caregiving.

In 2025, more than 67,000 people are expected to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer — and 80% will die within the year.Student researcher Lynijah Russell is working to change that. By creating virtual tumor simulations that grow in minutes instead of days, her work could help doctors detect cancer earlier and save more lives.Breakthroughs Can’t Wait — and at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, we’re changing the future today. #BreakthroughsCantWaitUMB #CancerResearch #PancreaticCancer #UMBresearch #HealthcareInnovation

Jacqueline C. Mitchell, PhD, MS, CRNA, FAANA, assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, recalls joining the Army, learning its values, and volunteering to deploy to Afghanistan after 9/11. #BecomingTheStory #JacquelineMitchell #ArmyNurse #9_11 #MilitaryStories #Shorts

Student researcher Lynijah Russell is designing virtual environments that act and react like human organs in order to simulate diseases and treatments. Now a sophomore at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Russell says her love for science was jump-started at the University of Maryland, Baltimore where she participated in the UMB CURE Scholars Program.#ComputerModeling #CancerResearch #PancreaticCancer #MedicalSimulation #PythonProgramming #StudentResearch #BiomedicalEngineering #VirtualOrgans #CancerCure #CUREScholars

Jacqueline C. Mitchell, PhD, MS, CRNA, FAANA, Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, recalls serving in Afghanistan and realizing she was living the dreams she whispered as a child.#JacquelineMitchell #BecomingTheStory #UMBConvocation #ArmyNurse #Inspiration #Shorts

UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, shares that in this high-stakes moment that the university finds itself, the university perseveres as a team focusing on what UMB can control while we search for the light.The president praised the University for its resilience in challenging times, recalling a procedure he and his surgical team performed years ago amid a power failure.

Every mother deserves to feel respected during childbirth.Rachel Blankstein Breman, assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, explains how trauma-informed maternity care helps preserve dignity, prevent harm, and keep mothers and families at the center of the birth experience.This research is supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).#BreakthroughsCantWaitUMB #SafeBirths #MaternalHealth #FamilyCare #NursingResearch