Leadership in Action: Alumni, Faculty, Staff and Student Milestones

Nursing Leaders

Nov. 16, 2020

By School of Nursing Communications

Christine Miaskowski Honored With Prestigious Ada Sue Hinshaw Award

Christine Miaskowski Christine Miaskowski, professor in Physiological Nursing, has been awarded the 2020 Ada Sue Hinshaw Award from the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR). The School will host a recognition celebration in early 2021. This is FNINR’s preeminent award, named in honor of the first permanent director of the National Institute of Nursing Research. Recipients have a substantive and sustained program of science that affords them recognition as a prominent senior scientist.

Joanne Spetz Appointed Director, Receives Nursing Education Award

Joanne Spetz, professor, has been appointed the director of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies. She will also be Joanne Spetz appointed as the Caldwell B. Esselstyn Chair and will be the inaugural holder of the Claire D. and Ralph G. Brindis Endowed Professorship. Read the full announcement. Spetz has also been awarded the 2020 Excellence in Nursing Education Award from Nursing Outlook for her article “Projections of Progress Toward to 80% Bachelor of Science in Nursing Recommendation and Strategies to Accelerate Change.”

Additionaly, Spetz's research and expertise played a significant role in defining the issues surrounding Assembly Bill 890, legislation recently signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom allowing nurse practitioners to practice without physician supervision. Spetz produced a series of briefs on scope of practice issues with California Health Care Foundation — including one on nurse-midwives co-authored by School of Nursing associate professor Kim Dau (Gov. Newsom also signed a bill expanding scope of practice for nurse-midwives earlier this year). In addition, Spetz and School of Nursing associate professor Ulrike Muench co-authored a Health Affairs article on how California NPs can fill the state’s primary care gap.

Spetz also shared research studies from scholars across the U.S. with Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa), who introduced the bill, and his staff related to AB 890. She and School of Nursing faculty member Garrett Chan also spoke at a caucus event earlier this year on this topic.

Orlando Harris Selected for NIAID Expert Panel on COVID-19

Orlando Harris Orlando Harris, assistant professor in Community Health Systems, has been selected to join a peer expert panel established by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The expert panel, part of the NIAID-funded COVID-19 Prevention Network, is comprised of African American/Black experts who will review U.S. government-sponsored COVID-19 vaccine efficacy trial protocols and provide an overall report of significance, impact, ethics and recommendations for African American/Black communities.

New Partnership Will Help Grow and Diversify State’s Mental Health Workforce

A four-year, $4 million grant partnership between UCSF and UnitedHealth Group will expand the mental health workforce in California. Co-led by UCSF’s School Carol Dawson-Rose, Beth Phoenix of Medicine and School of Nursing, the partnership will grow the pipeline of diverse child and adolescent psychiatry clinicians by creating new clinical learning opportunities and mentoring supports for child and adolescent psychiatry fellows and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners, as well as providing scholarships and financial supports to underrepresented medical and nursing students pursuing child and adolescent mental health careers. School of Nursing professors Carol Dawson-Rose and Beth Phoenix are helping to guide this effort. Read the full press release and see the video, which includes student Meaghan Jung who shares how her personal story influenced her decision to pursue PMHNP training.

Cherry Leung Receives Hellman Family Award

Cherry Leung Cherry Leung, assistant professor in Community Health Systems, was awarded the 2020 Hellman Family Award for Early-Career Faculty to continue her research on risk factors of adolescent behavioral and mental health. With the award, Leung plans to examine the involvement of the stress response and immune system activation as they relate to the gut microbiome and the development of adolescent depression.

Gina Intinarelli Appointed Associate CNO for Nursing Excellence

Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs Gina Intinarelli has been appointed Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Nursing Excellence within UCSF Health. Gina Intinarelli Intinarelli's appointment is especially relevant to the School's work and growing integration with UCSF Health, as she will be responsible for leading the Institute of Nursing Excellence (InEx) which includes these key areas: education and training; research; evidenced-based practice support; quality improvement; and clinical innovation. Under her leadership, the School will continue its work toward greater alignment between the School and UCSF Health, transforming care delivery and educational opportunities through innovative and more integrated models. Read the full announcement here.

Monica McLemore to Serve on NINR Strategic Plan Working Group

Monica McLemore Monica McLemore, associate professor in Family Health Care Nursing, has joined the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) new Strategic Plan Working Group. She is one of 21 experts from institutions across the country on the working group for the Strategic Plan, which focuses on areas of science with the greatest health needs and in which NINR-supported research can have the largest impact.

Barbara Koenig Joins UC Working Group on AI

Barbara Koenig Barbara Koenig, professor in the Institute for Health & Aging, has been appointed to the University of California Presidential Working Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The cross-UC committee will consider the implications of advances in AI across multiple sectors, including health.

Jerry John Nutor Becomes Associate Scholar With UCLA

Jerry John Nutor, assistant professor in Family Health Care Nursing, is a new associate scholar with the UCLA HIV/AIDS, Substance Abuse, and Jerry John Nutor Trauma Training Program. The two-year position includes networking opportunities, participating in their training programs and funding for a pilot project. Nutor plans to use the funding to support his research on investigating factors influencing post-partum retention in HIV care in Uganda.

Andrew Penn, Bruce Poulter Present at Psychiatric Nurses Conference

Andrew Penn Andrew Penn, associate professor in Community Health Systems, and alumni Bruce Poulter co-presented a pre-conference seminar on Sept. 30 at the American Psychiatric Nurses National Conference. The session, titled "Nursing: Caring Science meets Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy for Depression and PTSD,” reviewed data for MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression. The session concluded with a Psychedelic Caritas Nursing model from a forthcoming paper authored by Penn and other experts.

Oi Saeng Hong Joins AAPINA Board

Oi Saeng Hong, professor in Community Health Systems, was elected to the Board of Directors for the Asian American Pacific Islander Nurses Oi Haeng Song Association(AAPINA). AAPINA serves as the unified voice for Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) nurses around the world and strives to positively affect the health and wellbeing of AAPIs and their communities. Hong is past president of the organization.

Sandy Staveski Honored With Founders Award

Sandra Staveski Sandy Staveski, assistant professor in Family Health Care Nursing, received the Founders Award from Children’s HeartLink, the first nurse to receive this award. In its notification, the nonprofit organization recognized Staveski’s commitment, generosity of time and spirit, and leadership. The award is given to an individual who demonstrates extraordinary dedication and contributions to the Children’s HeartLink mission, which strives to help children with heart disease by training medical teams, providing education, and transforming health care in underserved parts of the world.

Diane Tober Presents Posters on Survey Data From First U.S. Study on Egg Donor Health Over Time

Diane Tober, assistant professor in the Institute for Health & Aging, and her team presented five posters on her research with egg donors at The American Society Diane Tober forReproductive Medicine annual meetings in October.

The posters drew on her survey data with 501 current and former egg donors. The topics covered included clinical and psychological factors that influence egg donors' decisions to undergo repeat donations; the correlation between certain medication protocols used in egg donation and egg donors' experiences of immediate complications; and egg donors' self-reports of long-term reproductive health status. This is the largest U.S.-based study on egg donor health and well-being to date and the first to address egg donor health over time. View the posters (under "our research" section).

Faculty, Staff Honored With Best Poster Award

Cherry Leung, Bruce Cooper, Sandra Weiss Cherry Leung, Sandra Niemann, Bruce Cooper and Sandra Weiss were awarded the Best Poster Award for Clinical Programs at the 2020 National Network of Depression Centers Annual Conference. The study, titled "Women's Perinatal and Postpartum Depression Predict Sympathetic Dominance in Infant ANS Response to Stressors Over the First 6 Months of Life," reported a pattern of sympathetic dominance among infants exposed to maternal depression, not only in their basal or resting state autonomic nervous system activity but in their reactivity to stressors.

Howard Pinderhughes Delivers Keynote Address

Howard Pinderhughes, professor in Social and Behavioral Sciences, delivered the keynote address “The Importance Howard Pinderhughes ofInterprofessional Practice and Teamwork for the Healing, Health and Wellbeing of the Most Vulnerable” at UCSF's Interprofessional Curriculum Kickoff event on Oct. 19. His address highlighted the value of interprofessional teams in addressing health inequity. Watch the video recording.

Stacy Torres Joins USA Today’s Board of Contributors

Stacy Torres Stacy Torres, assistant professor in Social and Behavioral Sciences, is a new member of USA Today’s Opinion Board of Contributors. The board is a diverse group of people with a broad range of expertise and views that span the political spectrum. It includes professors, journalists, authors, attorneys and strategists. Her first column as a member of the board, “Isolation Kills, Especially Seniors. Community Spaces Can Be a Vaccine for COVID Loneliness,” published Oct. 20.

Van Park Launches New Survey in Study of COVID-19 Impact on AAPI Community

To paint a more complete picture of the impact of COVID-19 on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Van Park, associate professor in Community Health Systems, Van Park andher team launched the nationwide online survey, “COVID-19 Effects on the Mental and Physical Health of AAPI Survey Study (COMPASS)” on Oct. 24. The survey seeks to understand the extent to which COVID-19 influences AAPI health, health care access, social support, discrimination experiences, coping strategies and the use of technology. The survey is available in English, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Korean and Vietnamese. Visit the COMPASS website for more information and to complete the survey. You have the option to receive a $10 gift card for participating.

Street Nursing Project Garners Catalyst Award

Heather Leutwyler, Laura Wagner The Street Nursing team has been awarded the Catalyst Award from the Hillman Foundation to support its efforts. The principal investigators are Heather Leutwyler, associate professor in Physiological Nursing, and Laura Wagner, associate professor in Community Health Systems. The current Street Nursing team members are Taylor Cuffaro, Megan Grant, Katie Machado and Tessa Rubin, all graduates of the master’s program. Pamela Dudzik is the project manager.

The Street Nursing project has two major components: twice-weekly street clinics in collaboration with Lava Mae, and twice-weekly “home-based” clinics for frequent emergency department (ED) users in collaboration with UCSF Department of Emergency Medicine’s Emergency Department Information Exchange Program. The long-term aim is to reduce high-cost ED visits and improve the continuity of care for chronic illness management for unhoused individuals.