NOTEWORTHY

Beth Barba, associate professor of nursing at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and director of a federally funded project that provides geriatric education to nurses practicing in rural regions of North Carolina, is one of 54 nurses worldwide inducted as 2007 fellows by the American Academy of Nursing (AAN). She will be inducted Nov. 10 during the Academy’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., USA.

Stewart Bond, research associate in nursing at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, was recently awarded a Claire M. Fagin Fellowship from the John A. Hartford Foundation to study neurocognitive impairment in older cancer patients. During the past decade, neurocognitive functioning in cancer patients has become an important area of clinical research since a significant percentage of patients experience neurocognitive changes as a result of their cancer and cancer treatment. Older adults with cancer may be at increased risk. The two-year, $120,000 award, which launched in July, will allow Bond to conduct a study to determine if cancer or cancer treatments have a negative impact on neurocognitive functioning in this population. The study, which launched in July, will look closely at patients with newly diagnosed cancers of the upper aerodigestive system (head and neck, lung and esophagus). The research team hopes to identify the extent of the problem before, during and after treatment, and identify if there are certain patient groups that are most adversely affected.

John M. Brion has joined Duke University School of Nursing as an assistant clinical professor. Brion earned his PhD in Nursing from The Ohio State University. He was executive director of the Ohio State Board of Nursing from 2002-05, and he served as administrator of the Ohio HIV Drug Assistance Program for three years. His research focuses on adherence to prescribed treatment in HIV patients.

Marie Cowan (Brentwood), dean of the UCLA School of Nursing, has been chosen to receive the Living Legend Award by the American Academy of Nursing (AAN). Considered one of the highest honors in the nursing field, the Living Legend award spotlights senior academy members who serve as extraordinary role models and whose lifetime of achievements embody the history of the nursing profession. Cowan began her academic career in 1972 as an assistant professor at Seattle University’s nursing school, then joined the nursing and medical schools of the University of Washington in 1979. Holding a rare triple appointment in the departments of nursing, pathology and cardiology, she rose from assistant professor to the rank of full professor in all three fields. Arriving at UCLA in 1997, she recruited more than 20 prominent new faculty members to the school, greatly expanding its research capacity and restoring its reputation as one of the top 10 nursing schools in the nation. In an effort to combat California's severe nursing shortage, Cowan re-opened the first University of California undergraduate-nursing program in 2006. Cowan steps down as dean next June for a one-year sabbatical, then returns to the UCLA faculty to teach, mentor faculty and continue her research.

Susan G. Dorsey, assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, has received a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research for her study, “BDNF signal strength modulates NRTI-induced allodynia in the mouse.” The purpose of the study is to determine how nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, one component of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) regimens for patients with HIV cause painful peripheral neuropathy, so that new therapeutic targets for treatment can be identified. Barbara A. Smith, associate dean at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, is co-investigator in the study.

Mary Ann Fuchs, Duke University Health System, was presented a 2007 Women in Business Award on August 9 by Triangle Business Journal. Triangle Business Journal, provider of local business news for the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area of North Carolina, started the Women in Business Awards in 1998 and has recognized 250 women in the 10 years of the program.

Elaine Germano has been named education projects manager at American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) and will be responsible for leading the implementation of the work plan that emerged from the 2005 ACNM Education Summit. Germano has been involved in midwifery education throughout her career, most recently as director of the Nurse-Midwifery Education Program at Georgetown University from 2002-05. In addition to her work in midwifery education, she spent 12 years as a public health director for the New Mexico State Department of Health, obtaining additional experience in project management and coalition building.

Nancy Glass, associate professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, has been named an Ambassador in Research!America’s Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research. She is one of 50 U.S. global health experts who have joined forces to increase awareness about the critical need for greater public and private investment in research to improve global health. Glass serves as associate director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health, establishing collaborations to design research projects, implement new prevention and treatment interventions and seek resources for new lifesaving programs. The Paul G. Rogers Society, named for the former Florida congressman, was established in 2006 by Research!America with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.