Melissa M. Klamm, PhD, MSN, RN
Associate Professor
Department:
SON-Instruction School Nursing
Email:
mklamm@umc.edu
Work Phone:
(601) 984-6216
Biography
Dr. Klamm's first degree was in kinesiology and exercise science with a concentration in athletic training. She worked as an athletic trainer for several years at the collegiate and high school levels, which entailed skills in sports injury prevention and rehabilitation. She decided to pursue a degree in nursing due to its vast opportunities for growth and diversification. Upon completion of her BSN degree, she worked in the neonatal intensive care unit and then later in the pediatric intensive care unit at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) Children’s Hospital. During these years, she found my passion for teaching new nurses on the units and pursued a master's degree in nursing education. While working with undergraduate nursing students at UMMC, she decided to continue her education and pursue a PhD in nursing to become a nurse scientist. Her research interests developed from her background, combining a passion for physical activity and movement behaviors from her kinesiology degree with the importance of primary prevention in health promotion from her nursing degree. In her current position as a PhD in nursing faculty member, she serves on dissertation committees and also teaches in several PhD in nursing courses.
Her research is focused on physical activity and health behavior change. She has served as a Co-Investigator on an NIH grant (P50 MD017338-02) focused on health behaviors, such as physical activity through gardening, among the elderly in the Mississippi Delta region. She served as a PI on a state-level grant through the Mississippi Nurses Foundation that supported her doctoral dissertation work, which examined the effect of a virtual motivational interviewing intervention on physical activity and sedentary behavior in inactive adolescents living in Mississippi. In this study, she utilized wrist-worn ActiGraph accelerometers to estimate physical activity. She also co-led the development of new measures to quantify physical activity patterns within an individual’s day (i.e., pure and total movement dispersion). Currently, physical activity is reported as average daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity to match the suggested physical activity guidelines for children and adults. However, research has shown the importance of movement throughout the day and the counterproductive effects of prolonged sedentary behavior despite a single bout of physical activity earlier in the day.
Education
| University of Mississippi Medical Center, PhD, Nursing | 2023 |
| University of Mississippi Medical Center, MSN, Nursing Education | 2017 |
| University of Mississippi Medical Center, BSN, Nursing | 2012 |
| University of Arkansas, BS, Kinesiology/Athletic Training | 2003 |
Specialty Certification Licensure
| Licensure, Registered Nurse | 09/2012 - 12/2024 |
Current Positions
| Associate Professor, School of Nursing | 07/2024 - Present |
| PRN Registered Nurse - PICU | 09/2021 - Present |
| The University of Mississippi Medical Center Jackson, Mississippi 39216 | |
Academic Appointments or Other Previous Appointments
| Assistant Professor, UMMC, School of Nursing | 07/2020 - 06/2024 |
| Instructor, University of Mississippi Medical Center, School of Nursing | 10/2017 - 06/2020 |
| Registered Nurse in PICU, University of Mississippi Medical Center | 07/2015 - 10/2017 |
| Registered Nurse in NICU, University of Mississippi Medical Center | 10/2012 - 07/2015 |
Sponsored Program Funding
| Intramural, MWCCS UAB-UMMC Internal Developmental Pilot Award, MWCCS UAB-UMMC | 04/2024 - 03/2025 |
Publications
Journal Article | |
| Konkle-Parker D, Hall K, Sung JH, Karimi M, Wise JM, Edmonds A, Sharma A, Weiser SD, Brill I, Alcaide ML, Camacho-Rivera M, Chandran A, Cohen M, Spence AB, Wingood G, Klamm M, The association between social drivers of health, HIV status and physical activity with perceived stress in U.S. women with or without HIV. BMC public health, 2025 Nov 25;25(1):4134 | 2025 |
| Klamm, M. M., Stewart, M. W., Duck, A., Lim, C. S., Brocks, T., Zhang, L., & Tacy, J. Increasing autonomous motivation for physical activity among adolescents Journal of Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, e12423 | 2024 |
| Klamm, M. M., Andries, C., & Lee, L. Bridging didactic and clinical across the lifespan: An innovative health assessment activity. Teaching and Learning in Nursing | 2023 |
| MacSorley, R. T., Adcock, K. G., Lopez-Lambert, E., Henson, Z., Weatherly, L., Klamm, M. M., Tacy, J. Integrating interprofessional core competencies through simulation that promotes ethical decisions, patient safety, and cultural diversity. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 14(1), 32-41 | 2023 |
| Carr K, Rhodes KA, Klamm MM, McElwain S, Engaging Nursing Students in Mental Health Concepts Through Multiple Teaching Modalities. The Journal of nursing education, 2023 Jun;62(6):359-363 | 2023 |
| McElwain, S. D., Rhodes, K., Carr, K. L., Clayton, J. S., & Klamm, M. Bridging the gap in simulation: A faculty development intervention for debriefing skills. . International Journal of Nursing & Health Care Science, 02(06). 124 | 2022 |
| Klamm MM, Duck AA, Welsch MA, Yan Y, Torres ER, Wade B, Stewart MW, Clayton J, Zhang L, Dispersion of daily physical activity behaviors in school-age children: A novel approach to measure patterns of physical activity. Journal for specialists in pediatric nursing : JSPN, 2022 Apr;27(2):e12364 | 2022 |
| Welsch MA, Duck AA, Klamm M, Torres E, Wade B, Using Accelerometer Data to Identify Movement Patterns in an Older Adult: Innovative Strategy for Physical Activity Promotion. Open journal of clinical & medical case reports, 2021 May 17;7(5) | 2021 |
| Duck AA, Hall KC, Klamm M, Temple M, Robinson JC, Physical activity and fitness: The feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of wearable activity tracker technology incorporating altruistic motivation in youth. Journal for specialists in pediatric nursing : JSPN, 2021 Jan;26(1):e12313 | 2021 |
| Robinson JC, Temple ML, Duck A, Klamm M, Feasibility and effectiveness of two built environmental interventions on physical activity among 3-5-year-old preschoolers. Journal for specialists in pediatric nursing : JSPN, 2019 Jul;24(3):e12262 | 2019 |
| Klamm M, Utilizing Classic Philosophical Allegory for Teaching Health Promotion in Undergraduate Nursing Education. Nurse educator, 2024 Sep-Oct 01;49(5):245 | |
| Klamm MM, Andries C, Cherry M, Collaboration of DNP- and PhD-prepared faculty in an undergraduate nursing research course: Leaning on each other's strengths. Journal of professional nursing : official journal of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2025 Sep-Oct;60:28-31 | |
Presentations
| National and International Invited Seminars/Lectures, Movement dispersion, sleep quality, and quality of life among men with and without HIV, Sigma International Research Congress, Seattle, WA | 07/2025 |
| National and International Invited Seminars/Lectures, Digital yoga and mindfulness to improve mental health and social-emotional learning in underserved children, American College of Sports Medicine, Atlanta, GA | 05/2025 |
| Regional Invited Seminars/Lectures, Exploring movement dispersion differences among men with and without HIV, Southern Nursing Research Society, Memphis, TN | 02/2025 |
| National and International Invited Seminars/Lectures, Validation of pure and total movement dispersion as measures of the spread of daily activity using accelerometers among men with and without HIV, ActiGraph Digital Data Summit, Pensacola, FL | 02/2025 |
| Regional Invited Seminars/Lectures, Enhancing undergraduate nursing research education through collaboration between DNP- and PhD-prepared faculty, Sigma Region 8, Jackson, MS | 09/2024 |
| Regional Invited Seminars/Lectures, Increasing Autonomous Motivation for Physical Activity Among Adolescents, SNRS, Charlotte, NC | 02/2024 |
| State/Local Invited Seminars/Lectures, Bridging didactic and clinical across the lifespan: An innovative health assessment activity., MNA, Biloxi, MS | 10/2023 |
| State/Local Invited Seminars/Lectures, Virtual motivational interviewing: Helping adolescents find the why for physical activity, MNA, Biloxi, MS | 10/2023 |
| State/Local Invited Seminars/Lectures, Objective measurement of physical activity, Belhaven Sports Medicine Student Group, Jackson, MS | 04/2023 |
| State/Local Invited Seminars/Lectures, Virtual motivational interviewing: Creating space to improve physical activity among adolescents, UMMC SON Research Day, Jackson, MS | 04/2023 |
| Regional Invited Seminars/Lectures, Virtual motivational interviewing: Creating space to improve physical activity among adolescents, SNRS, Orlando, FL | 03/2023 |
| State/Local Invited Seminars/Lectures, Dispersion of daily physical activity behaviors in school-age children: A novel approach to measure patterns of physical activity, UMMC SGSHS Research Day, Jackson, MS | 11/2022 |
| State/Local Invited Seminars/Lectures, Using accelerometer data to identify physical activity patterns in an older adult: Innovative approach for individualized physical activity promotion, UMMC SGSHS Research Day, Jackson, MS | 10/2022 |
| Regional Invited Seminars/Lectures, Plato’s Cave: Teaching Health Promotion Principles through Philosophical Allegory, Sigma Region 8, Virtual | 09/2022 |
| Regional Invited Seminars/Lectures, Dispersion of daily physical activity behaviors in school-age children: A novel approach to measure patterns of physical activity, Sigma, Memphis, TN | 04/2022 |
| State/Local Invited Seminars/Lectures, Dispersion of daily physical activity behaviors in school-age children: A novel approach to measure patterns of physical activity, UMMC SON Research Day, Jackson, MS | 03/2022 |
| National and International Invited Seminars/Lectures, Using accelerometer data to identify physical activity patterns in an older adult: Innovative approach for individualized physical activity promotion, American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), Virtual | 06/2021 |
| Regional Invited Seminars/Lectures, Identification of physical activity patterns from raw accelerometer data: Innovative approach for individualized physical activity promotion, SNRS, Virtual | 02/2021 |
| Regional Invited Seminars/Lectures, Promoting autonomous motivation for physical activity, Sigma Region 8, Virtual | 09/2020 |
| State/Local Invited Seminars/Lectures, Broadening the horizon: Integrating interprofessional educational simulation to promote communication, teamwork, and patient safety, MNA, Biloxi, MS | 10/2018 |
Honors, Awards, and Recognition
| Mississippi Nurses Foundation Leadership Institute, MNF | 2024 |
| Mentoring Academy, MCCTR | 2023 |
| Rene Reeb Research Award, UMMC School of Nursing | 2021 |
| Phi Kappa Phi International Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi | 2020 |
| Daisy Nominee, UMMC Pediatric ICU | 2017 |
Professional Membership and Service
| American College of Sports Medicine, Member | 2020 - 2022 |
| Southern Nursing Research Society, Member | 2018 - Present |
| American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Graduate Nursing Student Academy, Member | 2018 - 2023 |
| Mississippi Nurses Association, Member | 2018 - Present |
| Sigma Theta Tau International, Member | 2012 - Present |
Committee Service
| SCHOOL OF NURSING-FACULTY APPOINTMENT, PROMOTION AND TENURE, Chair | 2024 - Present |
| MEDICAL CENTER-INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD 1, Member | 2023 - Present |
| SCHOOL OF NURSING-FACULTY APPOINTMENT, PROMOTION AND TENURE, Member | 2022 - 2024 |
| MEDICAL CENTER-FACULTY SENATE, Secretary (2020-2021) | 2020 - 2023 |
| SCHOOL OF NURSING-UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS AND PROGRESSION, Chair | 2019 - 2021 |
| PICU Mentor/Preceptor Committee, Member | 2016 - 2017 |
| PICU Bereavement Committee, Member | 2015 - 2017 |
| NICU TEARS Committee, Member | 2013 - 2015 |
Community Service
| Metro Jackson Heart Walk, AHA, SON Team Captain | 08/2019 - 08/2023 |
| Sanderson Farm Golf Tournament, On course services volunteer | 10/2018 - Present |
| IHL Health Fair, Coordinator of UMMC section | 08/2017 - Present |
| Center for Pregnancy Choices, RN-assistant in patient care | 10/2012 - 12/2013 |
Teaching Experience
| PHN 706, Graduate, Course, Course Director, Philosophy of Science | Fall 2024-2025 |
| PHN 720, Graduate, Course, Lecturer, Methods and Analysis 1 | Spring 2024-2025 |
| N436, Nursing, Course, Course Director, Scholarship for Evidence-Based Practice | Spring 2023-2024 |
| N436, Nursing, Course, Course Director, Scholarship for Evidence-Based Practice | Fall 2021-2023 |
| N405, Nursing, Course, Course Director, Health Assessment | Spring 2021-2023 - 2024 |
| N413-1, Nursing, Course, Course Director, Health and Illness Across the Lifespan 1 | Spring 2021-2023 |
| N434-2, Nursing, Course, Course Presenter, Clinical Practicum 2 | Summer 2020-2023 |
| N434-1, Nursing, Course, Course Presenter, Clinical Practicum I | Spring 2020-2023 |
| N412-1, Nursing, Course, Course Director, Professional Nursing | Spring 2020-2021 |
| N433-3, Nursing, Course, Course Director, Interprofessional Education 3 | Fall 2020 |
| N433-2, Nursing, Course, Course Director, Interprofessional Education 2 | Summer 2020 |
| N433-1, Nursing, Course, Course Director, Interprofessional Education I | Spring 2020 |
| N434-3, Nursing, Course, Course Presenter, Clinical Practicum 3 | Fall 2019-2023 |
| N413-2, Nursing, Course, Course Presenter, Health and Illness across the Lifespan 2 | Summer 2019-2023 |
| N302, Nursing, Lab, Facilitator, Health Assessment Throughout the Lifespan | Summer 2017 - 2017 |
| N426, Nursing, Course, Graduate Student Facilitator, Maternal-Newborn Nursing | Fall 2017 |
| N 613, Nursing, Course, Guest Presenter, Fundamentals of Nursing Education | Fall 2016 - 2016 |
Directed Student Learning
| Dissertation Defense Committee Member, Advised: Matthew Byrd | 2024 - 2025 |
| Dissertation Committee Chair, Advised: LaDaryl Watkins | 2024 - Present |
| Preceptor, Advised: Candice Buchanan | 2023 - 2023 |