Research Staff

The Center for Health Disparities Research (CHDR) is based in Charleston at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), which is a state university with a medical center and six different colleges. Many of CHDR’s investigators also teach at the university. Their work is supported by a dedicated group of research nurse coordinators and other staff.

Dawn DerickeDawn Dericke, RN, BSN, CCRC (Research Nurse Coordinator)
Dawn joined MUSC as a registered nurse for the MUSC Center for Health Disparities Research (CHDR) in September 2014. Dawn was born in Massachusetts and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She studied life sciences at Penn State University and went to nursing school at Horry Georgetown Technical College. Her clinical research interests include health behavior and health disparities research with special emphasis on integrative health and vulnerable populations.

Caroline WallingerCaroline Wallinger, RN, BSN (Research Nurse Coordinator)
A Charleston native, Caroline received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from MUSC in 2012. Nursing is a second career for her after working in the publishing industry for a decade. She enjoys educating diabetes patients, and believes preventive health and managing chronic disease are the keys to controlling the ever-increasing costs of health care, while enabling more people to enjoy a better quality of life.