Nicole Summers-Gabr
Senior Researcher
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Nicole Summers-Gabr is a senior researcher on the Community Development Research team at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Her work often explores economic conditions through the lens of youth employment and rural communities. Additionally, her work examines the human, organizational and community experience that supports workforce stability and growth. Her primary research interests include:
- Changes in the health care workforce
- Impact of health and mental health on workforce participation
- Supports for the economy’s youth and young adult workforce
Summers-Gabr received a Ph.D. in experimental psychology with concentrations in developmental psychology and quantitative methods in behavioral sciences from Saint Louis University. She also earned a master’s degree in experimental psychology. She holds bachelor’s degrees in psychology, with a minor in applied statistics, and German from Grand Valley State University.
Prior to joining the St. Louis Fed in 2023, Summers-Gabr was an assistant professor and director of social innovation in the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine’s Population Science and Policy Department. During this time, she helped form community coalitions and evaluated programming in central and southern Illinois to support adolescent mental health. She also facilitated partnerships among schools, rural hospitals and public health departments to address resource shortages and improve health outcomes. She began her career as a data analyst for Pennsylvania State University’s Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center.
Summers-Gabr has presented research in 12 states and four countries outside of the U.S. She was also featured in Psychology Today and on Rural Health Leadership Radio and Iowa Public Radio.
Research Interests
AI and the health care workforce, AI adoption in rural health care
Featured Publications
“The Use of AI in the Health Care Workplace: The U.S. Experience”
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis On the Economy, July 15, 2025
“The Use of AI in the Health Care Workplace: The Experience in Eighth District States”
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis On the Economy, July 24, 2025
“Health Care Opportunity Occupations and Workforce Strategies in U.S. and Eighth District Hospitals”
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, November 6, 2025
“An Approach to Addressing Health Care Workforce Shortages”
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Open Vault, November 24, 2025
“Disconnected Young Adults: A Look at the Eighth Federal Reserve District”
with Alice L. Kassens and William M. Rodgers III
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, October 24, 2024