Zina Karana PhD, RN, CMSRN, CNL

Assistant Professor
Human Health Building, Room 3038
(248) 364-8722
zkarana@oakland.edu

Biography:

Dr. Karana grew up in the metro Detroit area and spent over a decade in Chicago where she obtained both her nursing MSN and PhD at RUSH University. She worked as a general medicine nurse and a clinical instructor for fundamentals and medical-surgical nursing at RUSH. At RUSH University’s College of Nursing, she became a Certified Trainer for the Virtual Dementia Tour  (VDT) and implemented the VDT simulation for medical-surgical students. She studied the impact of the VDT on empathy in both family and professional caregivers for her PhD research. 

Dr. Karana joined Oakland University School of Nursing in 2025 as a simulation lab and clinical instructor. She began her role as an assistant professor in 2026.

Education:

• BS Biology: University of Michigan-Dearborn
• MSN: RUSH University
• PhD: RUSH University

Clinical Expertise:

• Medical-surgical nursing
• Geriatric care

Research Area Interests:

• Dementia care 
• Dementia caregivers/caregiving support
• Empathy
• Simulation

Research/Publications:

Karana, Z., Paun, O., Kujath, A., & Inventor, B. (2026). Effects of dementia simulation on empathy in family caregivers: A pilot study. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services, 64(7), 18–24. https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20260209-02 

Karana, Z., & Paun, O. (2023). Dementia simulation for family caregivers of persons with dementia: A scoping review. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 45(11), 1053–1062. https://doi.org/10.1177/01939459231201085

Manning, L., Jimenez, A. D., Wolfe, M., Karana, Z., Shah, R. C., & Bouchard, L. (2020). Perceptions of aging well study: Exploring how HIV-positive and HIV-negative older adults successfully age. Gerontology & Geriatric Research, 3(1).

Professional Affiliations:

• Midwest Nursing Research Society
• Sigma Theta Tau International-Gamma Phi
• Alzheimer’s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART)