Faculty Directory

M. Colleen Simonelli

Associate Dean for Student Services and Professor of the Practice

Profile

M. Colleen Simonelli, Ph.D., RNC, is the associate dean for student services and a professor of the practice at the Connell School of Nursing. Currently she teaches childbearing theory and clinical courses in the undergraduate and master’s programs.

Dr. Simonelli has been a maternal child health nurse for 32 years. The majority of her experience has been in high-risk labor and delivery. She has been teaching clinical obstetrical and pediatric nursing to undergraduate and graduate students since 1989. She has held part-time appointments with the University of Massachusetts Boston, MGH’s Institute of Health Professions, Regis College, and Boston College prior to joining 51²è¹Ý’s full-time faculty in 2001.

Dr. Simonelli received a B.S. in nursing from Marquette University, an M.S. from Boston College in the Clinical Nurse Specialist acute care pediatric program, and a Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Her research has focused primarily on optimizing health for women and their infants. Currently she is engaged in a randomized control trial evaluating alternative therapies for pain management in post-cesarean birth women to address the nation’s opioid crisis. 

Selected Appointments and awards

  • 2015: Excellence in Undergraduate Clinical Teaching Award, Connell School of Nursing
  • 2014: Undergraduate Teaching and Mentorship Award, Connell School of Nursing
  • 2010: Classroom Teaching Award, Connell School of Nursing
  • 2004: Outstanding Graduate Student Award University of Massachusetts Lowell 
  • 2004: Graduate Student Research Day Award - Relapse: A Concept Analysis