If an abused woman in a large city needs help, she can usually find a number of agencies willing to assist. In rural areas, however, those support systems may not exist, or victims are reluctant to seek help because the community is too close-knit to afford them confidentiality. For some women who have had experiences of violence in their life, dissociation - psychologically escaping through fantasy or forgetfulness - may become a coping mechanism.

Those harsh realities have inspired Dissociation - Pathway Towards Risky Behaviors in Women, the work of Melissa Sutherland '97, MS '01, now a doctoral student at the University of Virginia. She's making a name for herself with her research, recently securing coveted funds from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)/National Institutes of Health (NIH).

"It puts me in a unique situation looking for jobs and for getting funding for future studies," Sutherland said. "I will have on my c.v. that I'm an NIH-funded researcher."

Sutherland, a former instructor at Binghamton's Decker School of Nursing, hopes to secure a faculty position after graduating from Virginia next year. Although nursing professors are already in high demand, Sutherland is further supplementing her qualifications by excelling at research and presenting her work at a recent international forum at the University of Nottingham in England.

"We [19 doctoral students from 9 countries] exchanged ideas and talked about research," Sutherland said. "I was really blown away that some of the same struggles we have here, they have in their countries. It was wonderful to exchange ideas."

As time permits, Sutherland still works at Broome County's Health Department and actively maintains ties to the Binghamton community.

"[Decker] has a great reputation," she said. "It gave me a solid foundation for my education. The professors were excellent. They really encouraged me from day one that I needed to go on for my Ph.D."

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