Dr. Christina Wills joined the College of Nursing, Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention as an Assistant Professor in January 2021. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) School of Nursing in 2011. Dr. Wills returned to complete her DNP from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing in 2016. She is an assistant professor in the Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner concentration. She holds a certification as a Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner. Christina has been a nurse for 12 years and has spent the majority of her time working in the Hematology/Oncology setting at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Areas of teaching focus:

Dr. Wills has dedicated most of her clinical practice to the care of children and adolescents with hematological and oncological diseases. Her career in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology began as a Registered Nurse (RN) in August 2012. She transitioned to the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Role within the St. Jude Hematology Department in July 2017, where she became the co-lead practitioner for the General Hematology Clinic. Her clinical practice includes diagnosing and managing autoimmune hemolytic anemias (AIHA), congenital hemolytic anemias, iron-deficiency anemias (IDA), G6PD deficiencies, immune thrombocytopenias (ITP), and may-hegglin anomalies. She is occasionally works as a clinician in the Sickle Cell Disease & Hemostasis clinics.

Areas of research/scholarship focus:

Areas of research include understanding and disseminating knowledge of Sickle Cell Disease on a local, regional, national, and international level with a goal of ultimately improving the overall care of individuals living with Sickle Cell Disease.
 

Areas of clinical care focus:

Dr. Wills has a keen interest in creating nursing curriculum to strengthen understanding of Sickle Cell Disease including complications such as pain management and Acute Chest Syndrome. She is a presenter at the St. Jude Nursing Academy program, which provides nursing education for newly hired nurses.

Other interests:

In her spare time, Dr. Wills enjoys staying active, running, and spending time with her husband, four young boys, and dog.