Faculty Information

Susan Heffernan Vacca, MSN, RN, CPNP
Clinical Instructor

E-mail:

Education:

1984 B.S.N. Niagara University
1995 M.S.N. Seton Hall University

Research Interests / Professional Overview:

Pediatric nurse practitioner for over 11 years providing primary care and HIV specialty care for children with HIV disease. She has participated in federally funded clinical trials for prevention of maternal to child HIV transmission and treatment protocols for HIV infected children. She is currently participating in vaccine trials for HIV infected children. Her clinical expertise has expanded to the International communities in Vietnam and Ethiopia. Prior to this work, 12 years were spent in the field of oncology.

Research/Clinical Interests

Pediatric HIV
Chronic Illness

International Work

Worldwide Orphans Foundation
Team member of a HIV training group for Ethiopia and Vietnam
Project Vietnam Medical Mission Conference Ho Chi Minh City October 2006: Lectured on Maternal to Child HIV Transmission
1st Conference on Pediatric HIV, April, 2005, Ethiopia: Lectured with a team from Columbia University on the care of the HIV infected child. Evaluated HIV infected orphans and consulted on their plan of care.