Heather Fuller

Interim Department Head/Professor

Administration

Human Development and Family Science

Heather Fuller

Areas of Study & Research

Social relationships and well-being across the lifespan (e.g. intergenerational relationships); Successful aging and health promotion; Aging in rural and cross-cultural contexts; Aging families and caregiving; Survey research and program evaluation

Courses Taught

  • Undergraduate
    • HDFS 230 Lifespan Development
    • HDFS 480 Community Resources in Later Life
    • HDFS 482 Family Dynamics of Aging
  • Graduate
    • HDFS 760 Aging Policy and Advocacy
    • HDFS 802 Teaching and Learning in the Human Sciences
    • HDFS 811 Developmental Theories and Concepts

Previous Work

2021 - Present, HDFS Doctoral Program Coordinator
2017 - 2022, Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Science, North Dakota State University
2009 - 2017, Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Science, North Dakota State University

Current Grants

Fuller, H.R. (PI). ND Aging in Community Expansion: Program Evaluation. $135,923 subgrant of $2,422,000 grant from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies to J. Strommen, 2025-28.

Awards & Honors

2026 Mary Berg Award for Excellence in Teaching, College of Health and Human Sciences
2023 Excellence in Mentoring Award, North Dakota State University
2022 Named Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America
2022 Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance Faculty Excellence Award
2021 NDSU Research and Creativity Researcher of the Month Award (January)
2020 NDSU Amy Rupiper Taggart Award for Excellence in Program Assessment
2020 NDSU College of Human Science and Education Award for Exceptional Contributions to Learning
2018 James Lebedeff Endowed Professorship, College of Human Development and Education, 2018-2019
2015 NDSU College of Human Development and Education Award for Exceptional Contributions to Research

Links

Education

  • PhD, Developmental Psychology, University of Michigan
  • MS, Developmental Psychology, University of Michigan
  • BS, Psychology and Spanish Studies, University of Minnesota

Publications

Select Refereed Journal Articles (Last 5 Years)
note: * denotes student co-author

1. Fuller, H.R., Huseth-Zosel, A., & Carson, P.J. (2026). Healthcare Provider Recommendations for Vaccination among Older Adults: Demographic Variation and Associations with Vaccination Uptake. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
2. Van Vleet, B.*, Fuller, H. R., Huseth-Zosel, A., & Giddens, A.* (2026). "This is not any of your business so stop your bulls**t": An abductive thematic analysis of antagonism towards others in a vaccination study. Patient Education and Counseling, 143.
3. Skoy, E., Steig, J., Fuller, H.R., Brynjulson, R., & McGrath, R. (2025). Integration of Potentially Inappropriate Medication Screening into Community Pharmacies: A Pilot Study of Feasibility and Impact. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
4. Owino, J.A.* & Fuller, H.R. (2025). Predictors of Quality of Life among Refugees Aging Out-of-Place. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology.
5. Van Vleet, B.*, Fuller, H.R., & Huseth-Zosel, A. (2024). "There's a Lot of Factors": Researcher reflections on using I-Poetry to empathetically understand vaccine hesitant older adults. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics Plus.
6. Owino, J.A.*, & Fuller, H.R. (2025). Qualitative Research on the Match/Mismatch in Perceptions of Successful Aging and Lived Experiences among Older Burundian Refugees in the USA. Journal of International Migration and Integration.
7. Van Vleet, B.*, Fuller, H.R., Hofmann, B.*, & Huseth-Zosel, A. (2024). Older adult’s future perspectives and attitudes amid the uncertainty of COVID-19. Journal of Adult Development.
8. Huseth-Zosel, A., Fuller, H.R., & Carson, P. (2024). Vaccine motivators and deterrents among under-vaccinated older adults in North Dakota. Journal of Community Health, 49, 848-856.
9. Van Vleet, B.*, Fuller, H. R., Kinkade, E. E.*, & Huseth-Zosel, A. (2024). Lacking family ties during COVID-19: A longitudinal small-scale qualitative analysis of fictive kin and friendship in older adulthood. Personal Relationships, 31(2), 379-396.
10. Fuller, H.R., Huseth-Zosel, A., Van Vleet, B.*, & Carson, P. J. (2024). Barriers to Vaccination Among Older Adults: Demographic Variation and Links to Vaccine Acceptance. Aging and Health Research, 4(1), 100176.
11. Fuller, H.R., Huseth-Zosel, A., Kinkade, E.E.*, Van Vleet, B.*, & Hajdar, M.* (2023). "Stronger than I thought I was": Older Adults’ Coping across Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Gerontologist, online first.
12. Fuller, H.R., Huseth-Zosel, A., Van Vleet, B.*, Hajdar, M.*, & Carson, P. J. (2023). Vaccine attitudes and acceptance among older adults in North Dakota: Understanding demographic characteristic variability. Vaccine, 41(42), 6350-8
13. Owino, J.A.* & Fuller, H.R. (2023). Aging Out-of-Place: Perceptions of Successful Aging Among Burundian Refugees in the US. The Gerontologist, 63(7), 1238-47.
14. Van Vleet, B.*, Fuller, H.R., Hofmann, B.*, & Huseth-Zosel, A. (2022). Untapped insight: A longitudinal qualitative analysis of older adults' advice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Innovation in Aging, 6(7), 1-12.
15. Fuller, H.R., Huseth-Zosel, A., Kinkade, E.*, Van Vleet, B.*, Hofmann, B.*, Carlson, S.* & Sturn, E.* (2022). Changes in Older Adults' Social Connections Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Gerontologist, 62 (8), 1160-1172.
16. Fuller, H.R., & Huseth-Zosel, A. (2022) Older Adults' loneliness in early COVID-19 Social Distancing: Implications of Rurality. Journal of Gerontology - Social Sciences, 77(7), 100-105.
17. Toyama, M.*, Fuller, H. R. & Owino, J.* (2022) Longitudinal Implications of Social Integration for Age and Gender Differences in Late-Life Physical Functioning. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 94(2), 169-192.
18. Fuller, H.R. & Huseth-Zosel, A. (2021) Lessons in Resilience: Initial Coping among Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Gerontologist, 61(1), 114-125.
19. Fuller, H.R., (2021). Implications of Relationships with Family, Friends, and Neighbors for Women's Well-being in Late-life. The Journal of Women and Aging, 33(4), 362-377.
20. Toyama, M.*, & Fuller, H.R. (2021). The Longitudinal Association of Perceived Control with Functional Health for American and Japanese Aging Adults. The Gerontologist, 61(6), 917-929.