Background

Dr. Karen Warren is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Health & Nursing Science at the College of Nursing. Dr. Warren’s research program aims to address multiple determinants of health, especially racial and social factors, to improve the well-being of preterm infants and their mothers and eliminate health disparities in maternal and infant outcomes. She is particularly interested in the state of South Carolina, whose infant and maternal mortality and morbidity rates are well above the national average, with stark disparities by race and ethnicity.

Dissemination

Dr. Warren has presented her research at local, regional, national, and international conferences including the Southern Nursing Research Society, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), Sigma Theta Tau International, and the European Academy of Pediatric Societies (EAPS).

Professional Service

Dr. Warren is a member of several professional organizations including:

• Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN)
• Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science
• Sigma Theta Tau International

She serves as a manuscript reviewer for nursing journals and has served as a grant reviewer for the March of Dimes.

Professional Practice

Dr. Warren has almost two decades of clinical experience. She began her career as an RN in the Neonatal ICU and then spent nine years as a flight nurse on the Neonatal/Pediatric ICU Critical Care Transport team. She was also a Research Nurse and Research Nurse Coordinator.

Research Studies (selected)

Exploring the health of Black preterm infants and psychosocial challenges faced by mothers in relationship to multiple determinants of health. Prisma Health Seed Grant 2025-2026. Role- Principal Investigator.

Exploring the impact of neonatal transport on the health of Black preterm infants and psychosocial challenges faced by parents in relation to social determinants of socioeconomic and racial inequities. NIH/NINR (F31NR020731-01A1) 2023-2024. Role-Principal Investigator.

Publications (selected)

Warren, K., Dail, R.B., Dawson, R., Boghossian, N., & Felder, T. (2024). When a baby is born, so is a parent: Understanding the effects of preterm birth and transport on Black parents through the lens of the NIMHD Framework. Nursing Outlook 72(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2024.102246

Dail, R. B., Everhart, K. C., Iskersky, V., Chang, W., Fisher, K., Warren, K., & Steflik, H. (2024). Prenatal and postnatal disparities in very preterm infants in a study of infections between 2018-2023 in the Southeastern US. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 9(4), 70. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed9040070