Karen Burkett, PhD, RN, PNP-BC, LEND Core Faculty Member in Nursing,  is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (DDBP) at CCHMC and a Clinical Instructor in the College of Nursing (CON) at UC. She received her Master of Science in Parent-Child Nursing with focus in Developmental Disabilities, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  She is a doctoral candidate in the CON at UC. She has served as a mentor in the Center for Professional Excellence, Research and Evidence-based Practice at CCHMC and is currently engaged in a research project:  The Culture Care Meanings, Expressions and Cultural Lifeways of Selected Urban African American Family Members Caring for their Child with Autism. She is a member of the Transcultural Nursing Society and the Society of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.