Edson College DNP-PhD student is preparing to be a new kind of provider

Alisa Squires has followed a fairly traditional academic and career path in nursing–until now.

The master’s-prepared nurse is one of a select few who has chosen to pursue not one, but two doctorates through the Concurrent DNP - PhD program at Arizona State University’s Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation.

“I think the two degrees go hand in hand. Research and practice today are more intertwined than they've ever been before. And this dual degree really emphasizes both,” she said.

Like many nurses pursuing terminal degrees, Squires was initially drawn to ASU’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program, specifically the nationally ranked adult gerontology concentration. However, her interest in teaching and research—and her admiration for her father, ASU's Senior Vice Provost for Engineering, Computing and Technology and Dean of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, Kyle Squires—inspired her to pursue the dual degree.

“We’ve always been really close and getting to see the progression of his career and all of the amazing things that he's doing now and gets to do motivated me to want to do something similar for myself,” Squires said.

Her studies are centered on evidence-based health promotion and disease prevention. In particular, Squires is interested in the cognitive health of older adults experiencing homelessness, public systems and safety for individuals living with dementia and mild cognitive impairment. She’s also looking into promoting health literacy practices among public safety professionals.

This program will set her up for success, preparing Squires as a nurse scientist who can bridge the gap between hands-on care and research. There are only about a dozen dual DNP-PhD programs nationwide, but demand is growing.

As patients face increasingly complex health issues, there’s a growing need for providers with interdisciplinary training. It’s not just in nursing, either; ASU’s new School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering will prepare students to work at the intersection of medicine and engineering.

Ultimately these programs aim to create hybrid providers who can treat patients and also develop and apply cutting-edge knowledge to improve patient outcomes in real, tangible ways.

“Solving the complex problems facing health care and society today requires examining them from different lenses,” Squires said, adding, “Nurse practitioners with PhDs who practice and engage in research are really valuable because they can contribute their clinical knowledge and expertise to research and vice versa. So I would love to do something in the future that incorporates both.”

Her recent internship with SolarSPELL, an ASU initiative that provides digital educational resources to communities with limited access to the internet, offered a glimpse of what her future might hold.

Squires said her dad was the one who first alerted her to the program due to its connection with engineering. Over the summer of 2024, she was responsible for curating health information on dementia and cognitive impairment—topics that had not previously been included in SolarSPELL’s digital health libraries.

She described that experience as both rewarding and fun.

Squires still has a lot of work ahead of her, and speaking candidly she said it has been the most challenging program she’s ever been a part of. A self-described problem solver and fixer of situations, she found herself in unfamiliar territory during her first year, overwhelmed and seriously considering quitting.

“One of the things I took away from going through that was I realized it's okay to ask for help and admit when you are struggling because there are people around you who want to help and want you to be successful.”

Through her dad’s encouragement, support from Edson College faculty and remembering why she started the program to begin with, she stayed the course.

With her anticipated graduation in Spring 2027, Squires will join a growing group of nurse scientists and interdisciplinary providers bringing diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and expertise to health care teams striving to provide the best care for their patients.