Rate My Professor Ellen Brown

Ellen Leslie Brown, EdD, MS, RN, FAAN, is a Tenured Professor in the Graduate Nursing Department at Florida International University’s Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences, holding the Erica Wertheim Zohar Endowed Chair in Community Mental Health, awarded in 2021. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Rhode Island, Master of Science in Nursing in Adult Health and Doctorate of Education from Columbia University, and a secondary Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from Cornell University. Dr. Brown’s established research program focuses on the emotional health and well-being of community-dwelling older adults, the mental welfare of family caregivers, and support for aging in place. Her scholarly contributions include over 60 peer-reviewed articles in high-impact journals such as the American Journal of Psychiatry, Journal of Applied Gerontology, and Journal of Medical Internet Research. Key publications encompass “Major depression in elderly home health care patients” (2002), “Recognition of depression among elderly recipients of home care services” (2003), “Smartphone-based health technologies for dementia care: opportunities, challenges, and current practices” (2019), “Chatbots to support people with dementia and their caregivers: systematic review of functions and quality” (2021), and “ChatGPT vs Google for queries related to dementia and other cognitive decline: comparison of results” (2023).

Dr. Brown has secured significant funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, and the National Institutes of Health, including a $1.6 million R01 grant from the National Institute on Aging in 2020 for the project “Integration of Health Information Technology and Promotion of Personhood in Family-Centered Dementia Care,” in collaboration with the University of Alabama. This work builds on her team’s development of the Care Heroes app, supported by prior federal funding (AHRQ R21 HS026571), to enhance communication and care coordination for dementia patients and caregivers. Her nursing intervention “Training in the Assessment of Depression” (TRIAD) has been recognized nationally by the American Academy of Nursing’s Raise the Voice Edge Runner Program for its efficacy in depression assessment among older adults. An elected Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, Dr. Brown serves as a founding editorial board member of Research in Gerontological Nursing and an editorial board member of the Journal of Applied Gerontology. Her research has been presented nationally and internationally, influencing gerontological nursing, dementia care technologies, and mental health services for older adults and caregivers.