Pictured are (from top left moving clockwise): Cherry Leung, Julene Johnson, Glenn-Milo Santos, Elena Portacolone and Van Park are among the NIH grant recipients in 2023.
The UCSF School of Nursing continues to lead the country as the top public recipient of competitive federal research funding among nursing schools nationwide, securing $19.2 million in 2023 to advance research that transforms the health and well-being of communities.
The school ranks No. 1 among public institutions in its field in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, and No. 3 overall among all private and public nursing organizations in the country, according to rankings released by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research based on NIH data.
“Our researchers lead innovative projects that drive advancements in health care,” says Interim Dean Catherine Waters, PhD, RN, FAAN. “Our continued achievement in securing NIH funds illustrates our ongoing commitment to improve health outcomes for the diverse communities we serve – locally, nationally and globally.”
The school captured $6 million more in grants than in 2022, representing an increase of 45%.
“The significant increase in funds received this year demonstrates our researchers’ dedication to improving health quality and equity, an integral part of our school’s mission,” says Interim Associate Dean for Research Abbey Alkon, PhD, RN.
Researchers use funds to increase our understanding of health disparities, inform health policies, advance health equity and improve patient care.
In addition to NIH funding, school researchers also received millions of dollars in grants and contracts from other federal sources, state agencies, foundations and other key organizations.
The school maintains a strong commitment to preparing the next generation of nurse scientists. Predoctoral and postdoctoral scholars engage in faculty-led research or in NIH-funded training programs, including a new program that trains nurse scientists to lead efforts to end the HIV epidemic.
The research enterprise is supported by the school’s Office of Research which provides an array of funding, technological and consultative services to faculty, staff and students.
Projects Awarded NIH Funding in 2023
| Principal Investigator | Project |
|---|---|
| Stella Bialous | Effect of integration of tobacco control into HIV care in Kenya on distribution of household expenses |
| Stella Bialous | Addressing disparities in tobacco-related diseases by understanding the tobacco industry strategies |
| Stella Bialous | Integrating tobacco use cessation into HIV care and treatment in Ministry of Health Facilities in Kisumu County, Kenya |
| Julia Brown | The emergence of prenatal gene therapy: an “embedded ethics” ethnography investigating clinical, scientific and societal values |
| Carol Dawson-Rose | Next generation nurse scientists ending the HIV epidemic |
| Mica Estrada | Studying inclusive mentor networks to diversify the biomedical workforce |
| Mica Estrada | Scaling up culturally affirming pathways to biomedical faculty careers for Native scholars |
| Annesa Flentje | Investigating the portability of an automated coding system of the two-step method of gender |
| Annesa Flentje | Mentoring the next generation of substance use, HIV, and epigenetic researchers in sexual and gender minority health |
| Annesa Flentje | Substance use and DNA methylation at the intersection of sex and gender |
| Elena Flowers | Empirically cased career development program for historically under-represented early career trainees supported by NIDDK |
| Elena Flowers | Mentorship of individuals from historically under-represented groups in health sciences research |
| Elena Flowers | The impact of interventions to treat incident diabetes on circulating microRNAs in the Diabetes Prevention Program |
| Sarah Gutin | Couples Advancing Together for Safer Conception (CATSC): A couples’-based intervention to improve engagement in sexual and reproductive health services for mobile fisherfolk in Kenya |
| Orlando Harris | Jamaica CARES Project: Connecting HIV/AIDS resources to engage Jamaican sexual and gender minorities |
| Kelsea Hosoda | The role of multicultural identity integration on well-being and biomedical science pathway persistence |
| Lauren Hunt | Hospice use in older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: patterns, policies and caregiver experiences |
| Jennifer Jain | Women, Intersectionality, Substance Use and HIV (WISH) |
| Julene Johnson | Research Network to accelerate mechanistic studies of Music for Dementia (RN-MusD) |
| Julene Johnson | Impact of music improvisation training on brain function and cognition among older adults |
| Kord Kober | An evaluation of cloud computing for symptom science research: moving genomics and machine learning analyses of cancer chemotherapy-related fatigue to the cloud |
| Kord Kober | An investigation of the molecular mechanisms for and prediction of the severity of cancer chemotherapy-related fatigue using a multi-staged integrated 'omics approach |
| Cherry Leung | Probiotic administration for adolescent depression |
| Jenny Liu | AmbassADDOrs for Health: Supporting young women’s health through girl-friendly drug vendors |
| Jenny Liu | Effects of a prosocial intervention among sellers of HIV and reproductive health supplies on young women’s health |
| Jenny Liu | Exploring influences of the socio-ecological environment on the Queen Club program for adolescent girls in Tanzania |
| Van Ta Park | Collaborative Approach for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders Research and Education (CARE) 2.0 |
| Van Ta Park | Asian Americans & Racism: Individual and Structural Experiences (ARISE) |
| Elena Portacolone | Leveraging the national infrastructure of trusted organizations to increase representation of Latinos in dementia research |
| Elena Portacolone | Access and use of long-term services and supports for older adults living alone with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias from four racial/ethnic groups |
| Glenn-Milo Santos | BEATS: Binge drinking Ecological Antecedents with Transdermal alcohol monitoring Study |
| Glenn-Milo Santos | ASTERISK: Alcohol and Substance use Treatment and Engagement Research on Intervention Studies among Key populations |
| Glenn-Milo Santos | The ION+EMI Study: Intermittent Oral Naltrexone enhanced with an Ecological Momentary Intervention for Methamphetamine-using MSM |
| Shannon Smith-Bernardin | Evaluation of paramedic decision making in triage and transport of adults with acute uncomplicated alcohol intoxication to the emergency department versus sobering center |
| Laura Wagner | Relationships of dementia care workforce experiences, training and work environment to resident outcomes in skilled nursing facilities |
| Sandra Weiss | Perinatal precursors of early microbiome development |