Ekaterina Burduli, PhD, MS is an associate professor at Washington State University’s College of Nursing in Spokane. Her research focuses on the birth outcomes of women who use substances during pregnancy and their infants, and the development and implementation of novel interventions for perinatal women with substance use disorders. Her long-term goal is to identify points of intervention and improve health outcomes for both mothers with substance use disorders and their children, and ultimately, reduce health disparities for this population. Dr. Burduli has a Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) funded through the National Institute on Drug Abuse in which she is developing and testing a mobile caregiving education tool for perinatal women receiving opioid treatment.

Dr. Burduli credits the C-DIAS program for enhancing her skills in D&I, focusing on equitable access to evidence-based perinatal addiction treatment, and integrating relevant theories, models, and frameworks into her research projects. During her fellowship, Dr. Burduli expanded her D&I expertise through the development of a manuscript that explores systemic challenges of D&I in the Fentanyl epidemic among perinatal women with substance use disorders and their infants, from the perspective of frontline healthcare workers; and through refining an R34 grant application focused on developing and implementing a provider education for perinatal opioid use disorder using D&I methods and frameworks.