Faculty

Joyce Black

PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor Emeritus
University of Nebraska Medical Center

Joyce M. Black, PhD, RN is an emertus Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. She taught advanced pathophysiology to nurse practitioner, pharmacy and physical therapy students. Dr. Black also supervised research activities of graduate students. She is an Internationally recognized expert in pressure injury prevention and treatment. Dr. Black is a past President of the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel and has been active in developing many position papers related to the COVID-19 crisis and detecting pressure injury in persons with very dark skin. She is often credited with the rediscovery of deep tissue pressure injury and was inducted into the Academy of Nursing for this work. Dr. Black has received many awards for her work in pressure injury, most recently the Joyce Black Excellence in Teaching Award created for her accomplishments with NPIAP and given to her as the first recipient. A prior award was the Kosiak award from NPIAP for her work to rediscover deep tissue pressure injury.

2026 Sessions

NPIAP: Stage 2 Pressure Injuries: New Insights and Defining Characteristics

This session will present new insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the development of stage 2 pressure injuries. Faculty will discuss emerging evidence that refines understanding of how these wounds form and progress. Attendees will learn to identify the defining characteristics that distinguish stage 2 pressure injuries from other pressure injury stages and similar dermatologic conditions, supporting more accurate diagnosis and targeted care.

Co-Presenter

Moderator

Friday, October 16 11:00–12:00 PM
Room Octavius 4
1.00 Credits
Pressure Injury
Faculty

Joyce Black

PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor Emeritus
University of Nebraska Medical Center

Joyce M. Black, PhD, RN is an emertus Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. She taught advanced pathophysiology to nurse practitioner, pharmacy and physical therapy students. Dr. Black also supervised research activities of graduate students. She is an Internationally recognized expert in pressure injury prevention and treatment. Dr. Black is a past President of the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel and has been active in developing many position papers related to the COVID-19 crisis and detecting pressure injury in persons with very dark skin. She is often credited with the rediscovery of deep tissue pressure injury and was inducted into the Academy of Nursing for this work. Dr. Black has received many awards for her work in pressure injury, most recently the Joyce Black Excellence in Teaching Award created for her accomplishments with NPIAP and given to her as the first recipient. A prior award was the Kosiak award from NPIAP for her work to rediscover deep tissue pressure injury.

Faculty

Virginia Capasso

PhD, CNP, CNS, CWS, FACCWS, FAAN
Formerly Advanced Practice Nurse / Nurse Scientist
Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School

Dr. Virginia Capasso, PhD, CNP, CNS, CWS, FACCWS, FAAN was an Advanced Practice Nurse for Patient Care Services, Office of Quality, Safety, Informatics, and Practice and a Nurse Scientist, Yvonne L. Munn Center for Nursing Research, at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), as well as an Instructor in Surgery at Harvard Medical School, until March, 2025. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the American College of Clinical Wound Specialists as well as a Diplomate of the American Board of Wound Management. She is a Director on the Board of Directors of the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP). Her other NPIAP roles include Co-Chair of the Stage 2 Task Force, member of the Education Committee and conference planning committees, Nominating Committee, Support Surface Standard Initiative (S3I) [2014-present], the international Prophylactic Dressing Standards Initiative (PDSI) [2021-present] and two PDSI subgroups focused on adhesiveness and mechanical properties / durability. Her research has focused on methods of measurement of wound volume and the cost and effectiveness of wound treatments.

Faculty

Yi-Ting Tzen

PhD
Assistant Professor
UT Southwestern Medical center

Dr. Yi-Ting Tzen, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She received her PhD in Rehabilitation Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interest is pressure injury prevention and early detection in people with spinal cord injury and elderly population. Several strategies she has examined with this topic include localized cooling, non-invasive perfusion markers and serum index. She is currently the co-chair of the NPIAP Standards Mission Committee and the taskforce leader of the NPIAP Emerging Leader Program.

NPIAP: AI and Pressure Injuries

This session will examine the expanding role of artificial intelligence (AI) in pressure injury research, education, and clinical practice. Faculty will discuss current applications alongside potential risks, limitations, and ethical challenges associated with AI-generated content in wound care. attendees will gain three evidence-based strategies to critically evaluate the accuracy and validity of AI-derived information to ensure safe, responsible, and effective integration into clinical decision-making.

Co-Presenter

Moderator

Friday, October 16 2:00–3:00 PM
Room Octavius 4
1.00 Credits
Pressure Injury
Faculty

Virginia Capasso

PhD, CNP, CNS, CWS, FACCWS, FAAN
Formerly Advanced Practice Nurse / Nurse Scientist
Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School

Dr. Virginia Capasso, PhD, CNP, CNS, CWS, FACCWS, FAAN was an Advanced Practice Nurse for Patient Care Services, Office of Quality, Safety, Informatics, and Practice and a Nurse Scientist, Yvonne L. Munn Center for Nursing Research, at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), as well as an Instructor in Surgery at Harvard Medical School, until March, 2025. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the American College of Clinical Wound Specialists as well as a Diplomate of the American Board of Wound Management. She is a Director on the Board of Directors of the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP). Her other NPIAP roles include Co-Chair of the Stage 2 Task Force, member of the Education Committee and conference planning committees, Nominating Committee, Support Surface Standard Initiative (S3I) [2014-present], the international Prophylactic Dressing Standards Initiative (PDSI) [2021-present] and two PDSI subgroups focused on adhesiveness and mechanical properties / durability. Her research has focused on methods of measurement of wound volume and the cost and effectiveness of wound treatments.

Faculty

Joshua Morriss

PhD
CEO & President
Ziplitics, Inc.

Joshua Morriss, Ph.D., serves as the CEO and Cofounder of Ziplitics, a research services corporation for the health sciences. Dr. Morriss obtained a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical sciences from Virginia Commonwealth University, where his research was on explainable artificial intelligence (AI) platforms and QSRR and QSPR models. He has expertise in explainable AI, metabolomics, and natural language processing, with experience in cardiovascular and inflammatory disease management. He is the inventor of the Literature Review Network (LRN), a propriety explainable AI platform for literature reviews, meta-analyses, real world evidence research and health economics outcomes research. As an advocate for trustworthy AI use, Dr. Morriss collaborates with pharmaceutical and medical device companies to conduct cutting-edge evidence-based research and responsibly develop consensus statements that help inform and shape wound care practice. Dr. Morriss has also collaborated with WOCNs and wound-care experts to produce the first ever XAI-assisted Consensus Statement. The evidence underpinning this consensus statement on ostomy care was generated in 5 business days.

Faculty

Joyce Black

PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor Emeritus
University of Nebraska Medical Center

Joyce M. Black, PhD, RN is an emertus Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. She taught advanced pathophysiology to nurse practitioner, pharmacy and physical therapy students. Dr. Black also supervised research activities of graduate students. She is an Internationally recognized expert in pressure injury prevention and treatment. Dr. Black is a past President of the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel and has been active in developing many position papers related to the COVID-19 crisis and detecting pressure injury in persons with very dark skin. She is often credited with the rediscovery of deep tissue pressure injury and was inducted into the Academy of Nursing for this work. Dr. Black has received many awards for her work in pressure injury, most recently the Joyce Black Excellence in Teaching Award created for her accomplishments with NPIAP and given to her as the first recipient. A prior award was the Kosiak award from NPIAP for her work to rediscover deep tissue pressure injury.

NPIAP: Etiology of Pressure Injuries: Undoing the Old Paradigm

There are two pathways of pressure injury formation, the slow damage mechanisms and the fast damage mechanisms. This session will describe the two different pathways and their underlying mechanisms leading to pressure injury.

Co-Presenter

Moderator

Saturday, October 17 9:15–10:15 AM
Room Octavius 4
1.00 Credits
Pressure Injury
Faculty

Joyce Black

PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor Emeritus
University of Nebraska Medical Center

Joyce M. Black, PhD, RN is an emertus Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. She taught advanced pathophysiology to nurse practitioner, pharmacy and physical therapy students. Dr. Black also supervised research activities of graduate students. She is an Internationally recognized expert in pressure injury prevention and treatment. Dr. Black is a past President of the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel and has been active in developing many position papers related to the COVID-19 crisis and detecting pressure injury in persons with very dark skin. She is often credited with the rediscovery of deep tissue pressure injury and was inducted into the Academy of Nursing for this work. Dr. Black has received many awards for her work in pressure injury, most recently the Joyce Black Excellence in Teaching Award created for her accomplishments with NPIAP and given to her as the first recipient. A prior award was the Kosiak award from NPIAP for her work to rediscover deep tissue pressure injury.

Faculty

Janet Cuddigan

PhD, RN, FAAN
Emeritus Professor
University of Nebraska Medical Center

Janet Cuddigan, PhD, RN, FAAN is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Nursing in Omaha, Nebraska. She is a recipient of the the NPIAP's Kosiak Award and President's Award. She has 40 years of critical care clinical experience. Her research focuses on physiological risks for pressure injury development in critical care, prevention of medical device related pressure injuries and PPE related injuries. She currently serves as the Chair of the 4th Edition International Pressure Injury Guideline Governance Group.

NPIAP: Search for Clinical Evidence: Does Support Surface Microclimate Management Feature Improve Pressure Injury Outcomes?

This session will explore the latest clinical evidence on the impact of support surface microclimate management features in preventing and treating pressure injuries. Faculty will review recent studies assessing how temperature and moisture control influence skin integrity and healing outcomes. Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of when and how microclimate management should be prioritized in support surface selection to optimize patient outcomes.

Co-Presenter

Moderator

Saturday, October 17 10:30–11:30 AM
Room Octavius 4
1.00 Credits
Pressure Injury
Faculty

Michele Deppisch

PT, CWS, FACCWS
President
NPIAP

Michele Deppisch, a distinguished self-employed wound care consultant, holds certifications as a clinical wound specialist from the American Board of Wound Management and as a Fellow in the American College of Clinical Wound Specialists. Her expertise and dedication extend to various leadership roles within the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP), where she currently serves as President on the Board of Directors.

Within NPIAP, Michele actively contributes to multiple committees, including the Education, Research, and Standards Committees, and as Task Force Leader for the eCQM Hospital Harm - Pressure Injury Quality Reporting Measure.

Michele's contributions extend beyond committee work; she has authored numerous resources available through the NPIAP website, including the recently published Root Cause Analysis + OR Toolkit 3.0. Additionally, she co-authored pivotal works, including "The Role of Shear Stress and Shear Strain in Pressure Injury Development" and "The Clinical Relevance of Microclimate Tests on Support Surfaces."

In recognition of her outstanding dedication to pressure injury prevention, Michele was honored several times with the prestigious NPIAP President's Award. Her tireless efforts and leadership significantly advance the mission of Pressure Injury Prevention, impacting countless individuals within the wound care community.

Faculty

Joyce Black

PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor Emeritus
University of Nebraska Medical Center

Joyce M. Black, PhD, RN is an emertus Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. She taught advanced pathophysiology to nurse practitioner, pharmacy and physical therapy students. Dr. Black also supervised research activities of graduate students. She is an Internationally recognized expert in pressure injury prevention and treatment. Dr. Black is a past President of the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel and has been active in developing many position papers related to the COVID-19 crisis and detecting pressure injury in persons with very dark skin. She is often credited with the rediscovery of deep tissue pressure injury and was inducted into the Academy of Nursing for this work. Dr. Black has received many awards for her work in pressure injury, most recently the Joyce Black Excellence in Teaching Award created for her accomplishments with NPIAP and given to her as the first recipient. A prior award was the Kosiak award from NPIAP for her work to rediscover deep tissue pressure injury.

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