About Us
With rising smartphone ownership and advances in digital health technologies, mobile Health (mHealth) interventions have demonstrated promising effects on prevention and self-management of health conditions, however, there are limited apps specific to the needs of women on community supervision. Therefore, we developed a mHealth app, JUNTM, which may be effective in symptom tracking, reporting, and transmitting healthcare resources to hard-to-reach groups such as women with risks associated with criminal legal system involvement. JUNTM is short for the Junonia shell, a native shell to South Texas, which is the region where this research originated and means strength and self-sufficiency. In addition, JUNTM was informed by women with criminal legal system involvement to address their healthcare and safety needs. JUNTM, has the ability to bridge channels of care by giving resources and information in a discreet and non-stigmatizing format around issues such as symptom management, safe health behavior, and strategies to identify violence.
Meet our JUN Team
Allison Ihle, PhD, RN, FAAN
Principle Investigator
Dr. Allison Ihle (formerly Crawford), PhD, RN, FAAN is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio’s School of Nursing, where she conducts research involving childbearing communities influenced by incarceration. As a registered obstetrical nurse with post-doctoral training in digital health and over 33 publications, Dr. Ihle is an expert on the barriers associated with criminal legal oversight.
Dr. Ihle’s research has directly informed two Texas state laws (HB 1651 and HB 1308) to improve healthcare in Texas jails. In 2025, Dr. Ihle was awarded top 25 Nurses in the Texas by the Texas Nurses Association and was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). Dr. Ihle is currently a trainee in the National Institutes of Health Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium for Health and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (AIM-AHEAD NCAT) Training Cohort 3 (2026); a trainee of the CARES Social Determinants of Health Program at Yale School of Nursing (2026); a member of the inaugural cohort of the Nursing Program for Advancing Training in Health and Social Determinants (N-PATHS) nine-week course (2026); and an Ambassador for the Friends of the National Institutes of Nursing Research (2026-2028). She has also been appointed as the interim Assistant Director of Impact and Innovation in the Office of Nursing Research and Scholarship at University of Texas at San Antonio’s School of Nursing and a Board member for Research in Nursing and Health (RINAH) journal.
Dr. Ihle’s research has been funded by IIMS CTSA and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01HD103634-03S2 (PI, Ihle; Parent PI, Rebecca Shlafer, UMN). The long-term goal of her research is to culturally tailor and test a technological intervention her research informed, JUN, to enable self-efficacy and access to care discreetly and affordably for hard-to-reach groups.
Christina Strauser, LVN
JUN Team
Christina is a licensed practical nurse currently working toward her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. She has a strong passion for women’s health with a goal to earn her doctorate and be part of advancing care and research for women at every stage of life.
Breann Wicks, BSN RN
JUN Team
Breann is a PhD student at the School of Nursing, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX. Her research interests are genetics co-occurring with neurodevelopmental disorders. Inspiration for this interest is her personal and professional experience as a nurse. As she develops and refines her goals throughout the program, expansion of areas she would like to focus on is currently working to understand the art of artificial intelligence in hopes to aid in communication for non-verbal individuals in the future.
Collaborators
Kavita Radhakrishnan, PhD, RN, FAAN: UTATX
collaborator
Rebecca Shlafer, PhD: UMN
collaborator
Rocky Slavin, PhD: UTSA
collaborator
Min Wang, PhD: UTSA
collaborator
Jacqueline McGrath, PhD, RN, FAAN: 51˛čąÝ
collaborator
Ariadna Forray, MD: Yale
collaborator
Cristina Mendoza, LCDC: Lifetime Recovery
collaborator
Emily Herbert, DrPH: OUHCS
collaborator
Tonya Van Deinse, PhD: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
collaborator
Jennifer W. Bourgious, PhD (TSU)
collaborator
Vangelis Metsis (TXST)
collaborator
Past Students
Denise Aguilar
Student Assistant
Crystal Berryhill
Student Assistant
Stacy Braddy, BSN, RN
Student Assistant
Adrianna Duran
Student Assistant
Ashlynn Estrada, BSN, RN
Student Assistant
Destiny Francis
Student Assistant
Laura Pavitt, OTD
Student Assistant
Richard Powell
Student Assistant
Gregory Quiroz
Student Assistant
Farhan Tajwar Romit
Student Assistant
Matylynn Soules
Student Assistant
JUN Team and Research Photos
Research Day 2026
Christina Strauser, LVN presenting on our research findings on: “Adverse experiences of childbearing women on community supervision”, at the UT Health SA’s School of Nursing’s Office of Nursing Research and Scholarship’s Research Day (Funding support by 51˛čąÝ IIMS CTSA; 2026).
Research Day 2026
Allison Ihle, PhD, RN, FAAN and Breann Wicks, BSN, RN, presenting on our research findings on: “Genetic testing to inform specialized care for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders”, at the UT Health SA’s School of Nursing’s Office of Nursing Research and Scholarship’s Research Day (2026).
Research Day 2026
Dr. Ihle presenting on “Applying an Interdisciplinary Approach to Develop, Test, and Tailor an AI chatbot to manage health in populations with risks associated with criminal legal system” at the UT Health SA’s School of Nursing’s Office of Nursing Research and Scholarship’s Research Day (2026).
Research Day 2025
Denise Aguilar, BSN and Dr. Ihle at the at the 51˛čąÝ School of Nursing’s Office of Nursing Research and Scholarship’s Research Day presenting on “Expert perspectives of the needs of perinatal women on community supervision” (2025).
Research Day 2025
Breann Wicks, BSN, RN and co-mentor Dr. Ko at the at the UT Health SA’s School of Nursing’s Office of Nursing Research and Scholarship’s Research Day presenting on “Conversational agents for self-management of chronic condition in aging populations” (2025).
Academic Consortium on Criminal Justice Health Conference
Dr. Ihle presenting on “Training an Artificial Intelligence Chatbot to Manage Health in Underserved Populations: A Methodological Approach” at the Academic Consortium on Criminal Justice Health Conference in Atlanta, Georgia (2026).
Criminal Legal System Researchers and Collaborators
Fellow criminal legal system researchers and collaborators Abigail Beliveau, BSN, RN (UNC); Jennifer W. Bourgious, PhD (TSU); Allison Ihle, PhD, RN, FAAN (UTHealthSA); and Patrice Collins, PhD (Boston University).
7th Generation Doulas and Wellness
Allison Ihle, PhD, RN, FAAN and JUN team members Christina Strauser, LVN and Breann Wicks, BSN, RN and community partners Mary Helen Lopez LCSW; Ari Chagoya and Jennifer Alvarado with 7th Generation Doulas and Wellness; and Officers Richard Baker and Stephanie Velasquez with Southwest ISD Police Department.
Texas Nurses Association’s Award ceeremony in Ausitn, Texas
Dr. Ihle and colleugues at the Texas Nurses Association’s Award ceeremony in Ausitn, Texas (2025)
Association for Justice-Involved Females and Organizations (AJFO)
Dr. Ihle presenting on the “The Effects of Trauma Across a Life Course on Perinatal Outcomes of Women on Community Supervision” at the Association for Justice-Involved Females and Organizations (AJFO) biannual national 2025 conference in Cincinnati Ohio (2025)
American Academy of Nursing’s Fellow induction ceremony
Dr. Ihle with mentor/collaborator Dr. Jacqueline McGrath PhD, RN, FAAN and 51˛čąÝ School of Nursing leadership team, Dr. Lixin Song PhD, RN, FAAN and Dr. Azizeh Sowan, PhD, RN, FAAN at the American Academy of Nursing’s Fellow induction ceremony in Washington DC (2025)
Team Birthday Dinner
Team birthday dinner for Christina Strauser dinner in Washington DC (2025)
American Public Health Association Annual Conference
Christina, Breann, and Dr. Ihle at the American Public Health Association Annual Conference in Washington DC (2025).
American Public Health Association Annual Conference
Christina, Breann, and Allison Ihle, PhD, RN, FAAN at the American Public Health Association Annual Conference in Washington DC presenting on the Methodological approach to train an AI chatbot to address the health needs in underserved populations” (Funding support from UT health San Antonio ONRS and IIMS CTSA; 2025).
American Public Health Association Annual Conference
Breann Wicks, BSN, RN at the American Public Health Association Annual Conference in Washington DC presenting on “Genetic testing to inform specialized care in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders” (Funding support from 51˛čąÝ ONRS and IIMS CTSA; 2025).
Texas State University’s Translational Health Research Center’s lunch and learn
Dr. Ihle lecturing on the testing of the JUN app at Texas State University’s Translational Health Research Center’s lunch and learn (Funding support from 51˛čąÝ IIMS CTSA; 2025).
Campfire Research Retreat
Campfire with members of the E4P research retreat at the Johnson Foundation at Wingspread in Racine, WI (2025) to support dissemination and sustainment efforts of the research on enhanced perinatal programming in prison systems and perinatal needs and outcomes among women on community supervision (funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01HD103634-03S2 [PI, Ihle, UTHealthSA; Parent PI, Rebecca Shlafer, UMN
Conference session at the Johnson Foundation at Wingspread
Conference session with members of the E4P research retreat at the Johnson Foundation at Wingspread in Racine, WI (2025) to support dissemination and sustainment efforts of the research on enhanced perinatal programming in prison systems and perinatal needs and outcomes among women on community supervision (funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01HD103634-03S2 [PI, Ihle, UTHealthSA; Parent PI, Rebecca Shlafer, UMN])
Office of Nursing Research Staff Recognition Celebration
On-campus training and Office of Nursing Research Staff Recognition Celebration (February 2025)
Undergraduate Sunshine Research Student
Denisse Zepeda Aguilar, presenting at the Academic Consortium on Criminal Justice Health (ACCJH) Conference in Austin, Texas (March 2025)
Redeemer House Annual Fundraiser Luncheon
Redeemer House Annual Fundraiser Luncheon (May 2025)
Team Building Dinner
Pam’s team building dinner, weekly meeting, and end-of-the year celebration (May 2025)
On-campus training and team building lunch
On-campus training and team building lunch (July 2025)