Penn, Liu, Huggans-Zapeta, Kirksey and Bakken

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

Nursing Leaders
Sept. 30, 2024
By School of Nursing Office of Communications and Marketing

Faculty, staff, students and alumni of the UCSF School of Nursing are leading innovative projects to promote health quality and equity worldwide.

Academy of Medical Educators Recognizes School Faculty

Jennifer Huggans-Zapeta, MS, RN, FNP, assistant professor, has been named the recipient of the peer-nominated Excellence in Interprofessional Teaching Award from the UCSF Program for Interprofessional Practice and Education and the Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators. Huggans-Zapeta and other awardees were honored at the academy’s Celebration of New Members on Sept. 11. Annette Carley, DNP, RN, NP, professor, was inducted into the academy at the same celebration.

Huggans-Zapeta, Carley
From right: Jennifer Huggans-Zapeta, MS, RN, FNP, and Anette Carley, DNP, RN, NP

 

Suzanne Bakken
Suzanne Bakken, PhD, MS, FAAN

Suzanne Bakken Named Living Legend

Alumna Suzanne Bakken, PhD, MS, FAAN, has been named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing (AAN). This prestigious recognition honors an individual’s extraordinary contributions to the nursing profession, sustained over the course of their career. 

Bakken will be honored during the AAN’s Health Policy Conference, Oct. 31-Nov. 2, in Washington D.C. Four members of the school community will also be inducted into the AAN 2024 Class of Fellows during the conference: Marianne Biangone, PhD, RN, CNE, professor; Leslie Dubbin, PhD, RN, associate professor; Michele Pelter, PhD, RN, associate professor; and Elizabeth Scruth, PhD, RN, MPH, an alumna and volunteer faculty member.

Kristen Kirksey Honored as Changemaker in Family Planning

Kristen Kirksey, PhD, MPH, project policy analyst, received a 2024 Changemaker in Family Planning award from the Society of Family Planning. The award will support Kirksey in leading applied research on integrative approaches to reproductive health, developing and evaluating interventions and disseminating findings to effectively integrate into policy and practice. 

Kristen Kirksey
Kristen Kirksey, PhD, MPH

Kristen Harknett
Kristen Harknett, PhD

Kristen Harknett Named Futures Fellow

Kristen Harknett, PhD, professor, was selected as a 2024-2025 Futures Fellow of Stanford University's Education and Learning for Longer Lives initiative. The project brings together talent from across academia, venture capital, philanthropy and the civil sector to imagine a new ecology for developing human potential across century-long lives. 

Ifeyinwa Asiodu Selected as CTSI RAGE Faculty Director

Ifeyinwa Asiodu, PhD, RN, FAAN, associate professor, was selected as the faculty director of the Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Research Action Group for Equity (RAGE) program. As faculty director, Asiodu will be instrumental in leading efforts to increase institutional capacity for workforce diversity and increase research participation among diverse populations. 

Ifeyinwa Asiodu
Ifeyinwa Asiodu, PhD, RN, FAAN

Elena Portacolone, PhD, MPH, MBA, associate professor

Elena Portacolone on Living Alone with Cognitive Impairment

Elena Portacolone, PhD, MBA, MPH, professor, hosted the Symposium on Living Alone with Cognitive Impairment as part of the Alzheimer's Association International Conference, July 28-Aug. 1, in Philadelphia, PA.

Ouner, Lewis, Lee, Cunningham
From right: Jerry John Ouner, PhD, RN, FAAN and Kimberly Lewis, PhD, RN, CGNC; Soo-Jeong Lee, PhD, RN, FAAOHN, and Brian Cunningham, RN


 

School Community Members Engage at Sigma International Nursing Research Congress 

Jerry John Ouner, PhD, RN, FAAN, delivered the opening keynote presentation at the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing's 35th International Nursing Research Congress, July 25-28, in Singapore. Ouner's talk was titled "Aligning Sigma's Advocacy Efforts at the United Nations with Nursing Research and Practice." Soo-Jeong Lee, PhD, RN, FAAOHN, professor, also delivered a presentation during the event. Lee presented with Brian Cunningham, RN, a UCSF Health nurse. They shared about their project, "Efficacy of Enhanced Stress Resilience Training for Intensive Care Unit Nurses: Waitlist-Controlled Randomized Clinical Trial," a study that was funded by a UCSF Clinical Nursing Research Grant. Postdoctoral scholar Kimberly Lewis. PhD, RN, CGNC, also represented the school at the event.

Jenny Liu
Jenny Liu, PhD, MA, MPP

Jenny Liu Shares Expertise at International AIDS Conference

Jenny Liu, PhD, MA, MPP, professor, delivered two presentations during AIDS 2024, the 25th International AIDS Conference, July 22-26, in Munich, Germany. Liu presented the abstract "Increasing Access to HIV Self-Testing and Sexual and Reproductive Health Products Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women by Harnessing Pro-Sociality Among Drug Shopkeepers in Tanzania." Additionally, Liu presented the abstract "Using Natural Language Processing and Audio-Based Machine Learning Models to Characterize Youth-Friendly HIV Prevention Services to Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Tanzania.”

Jarmin Yeh Presents at International Gerontology Conference

Jarmin Yeh, PhD, MPH, MSSW, associate professor, delivered two presentations during the British Society of Gerontology Conference, July 3-5, in Newcastle, England. Yeh presented the abstract "Training a Workforce to Provide In-Home Care to Older Adults Living with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: An Example from California, USA," co-authored with Matthew Beld, research data analyst. Additionally, Yeh presented "From Root Shock to Urban Alchemy: The (Re)making of Urban Spaces Through the Lens of Black Older Women."

Jarmin Yeh
Jarmin Yeh, PhD, MPH, MSSW

Susan Chapman
Susan Chapman, PhD, RN, FAAN

Susan Chapman on Workforce Challenges

Susan Chapman, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor, was a panelist during the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine's July 10 workshop, "Addressing Workforce Challenges Across the Behavioral Health Continuum in Care." 

Andrew Penn on Improving Psychedelic Treatment

In a new blog post, Andrew Penn, MS, PMHNP, professor in Community Health Systems, reflects on the recent decline by the Food and Drug Administration of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD and how nursing should occupy a central role in future delivery of care. 

Andrew Penn
Andrew Penn, MS, PMHNP

Claudia Barrera
Claudia Barrera, MS, AGPCNP-BC

Celebrating Preceptors

Claudia Barrera, September Preceptor 

Claudia Barrera, MS, AGPCNP-BC, is the school's September Preceptor of the Month. Since 2020, she has been a clinical preceptor and a faculty member in the EdPACT program, a program affiliated with the school's Department of Community Health Systems. 

"Claudia is a highly sought-after mentor for nurse practitioner students and residents due to her inviting spirit, clinical skills and dedication to learners," said Miranda Surjadi, MS, RN, ANP, professor in Community Health Systems and coordinator of the AGPCNP specialty. 

 

Susannah Ewing
Susannah Ewing, NP

Susannah Ewing, August Preceptor 

Susannah Ewing, NP, is the school's August Preceptor of the Month. She has provided outpatient gynecology care at UCSF for 20 years and has been precepting nurse-midwifery and nurse pracititioner students for six years.

"We are immensely grateful for Susannah’s dedicated and skillful contributions," says Cynthia Belew, MS, RN, CNM, professor. "She has not only precepted but also contributed her content expertise in the development of lectures and case studies on complex topics in sexual and reproductive health.” 

Read more about Barrera and Ewing, including comments from students, on the Preceptor Portal.

Faculty, Alumni Capture New Funding

  • Glenda Baguso, PhD, alumna of the PhD in Nursing program, received a K23 grant from the NIH National Institute of Mental Health for her project "A Trauma-Informed Approach to Improve Engagement in HIV Prevention and HIV Care Among Transgender Women." The award is $183,100.
  • Kimberly Baltzell, PhD, RN, MS, professor, received a grant from the Wyss Medical Foundation for her project "Global Action in Nursing (GAIN)." The award is $2.7 million.
  • Jerry John Ouner, PhD, RN, FAAN, associate professor, received a grant from the NIH National Institute of Mental Health for his project "Identifying the Mechanisms of Water Insecurity on HIV Treatment Outcomes." The award is $538,531.
  • Linda Park, PhD, NP, FAAN, associate professor, received a R01 grant from the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for her project "Supportive Training After Cardiac Rehabilitation Including Virtual Engagement: The STRIVE Study." The award is $503,980.
  • Van Park, PhD, MPH, professor, has ranked 6th among all UCSF recipients for total NIH funding in 2023, receiving $6.7 million. This remarkable achievement highlights Park's dedication to advancing research and innovation at UCSF and in the School of Nursing. Park's primary research interest is to address issues related to racial and ethnic minority health and health care disparities, especially among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, through community-based participatory research.
  • Yingning Wang, associate professor, received a grant from the UC Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program for her project "Impact of Tobacco Use, Secondhand Tobacco Exposure and Cannabis Use on School System Cost." The award is $753,240.
     

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