Michele Polfuss is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee College of Nursing and Joint Research Chair in the Nursing of Children at Children’s Wisconsin. Dr. Polfuss’ research addresses weight management of children with developmental disabilities to integrate nursing science into health and wellness, promote health equity, and improve healthcare delivery, for a currently underserved population. As a nurse scientist and a pediatric nurse practitioner, she has identified key deficiencies in measurement and feeding behaviors that impede health promotion and create healthcare inequities for these children’s lifetimes. Her key areas of innovation and impact are accuracy of assessment of weight status and body composition in the clinical environment, identification of the variation in total daily energy expenditure, and the importance of the family’s feeding behaviors to the child’s weight status. Outcomes from her federally funded research will translate to clinical practice to advance science locally, nationally, and internationally and provide direction to policy initiatives that will guide healthcare providers and empower families in the prevention and treatment of obesity in this vulnerable population.

Dr. Polfuss received her BSN from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh and her MSN and PhD from Marquette University College of Nursing.