Marianne Shaughnessy, Ph.D., CRNP
Associate Director for Education and Evaluation
Assistant Professor
Baltimore VA GRECC 

Marianne Shaughnessy received her B.S.N. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in 1984; her M.S.N. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Nurse Practitioner, Mature Family Track, in 1989; her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in 1996; and was awarded the Department of Veterans Affairs Nursing Research Post Doctoral Fellowship, 1999-2001.

Dr. Shaughnessy’s clinical and research expertise focus on the care of older adults, particularly geriatric rehabilitation following stroke.  Her dissertation research involved analysis of the trajectories of functional recovery over twelve months following stroke in a large urban stroke population.  Dr. Shaughnessy utilized a VA Nursing Research Postdoctoral fellowship experience to become involved with ongoing studies in the Baltimore VA GRECC, investigating the effect of cognitive/executive dysfunction on functional recovery.  She is extending this research to examine the effects of exercise during the sub-acute post stroke period on functional and psychological aspects of well-being and quality of life as reported by stroke survivors and their caregivers.  Dr. Shaughnessy has begun pilot work to identify barriers to exercise and develop a behavioral intervention to motivate stroke survivors to exercise.  A randomized controlled trial funded through the Exercise and Robotics Center of Excellence will investigate the effectiveness of this intervention on the exercise behavior of a sub-acute stroke population over the first year following discharge from an inpatient rehabilitation facility. Presently, she is the Associate Director of Education and Evaluation at the Baltimore VA GRECC, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Nursing.