Linda S. Weglicki, PhD, RN
Medical University of South Carolina

What made you want to become an FNINR Ambassador?
It was clear to me that the nursing profession and community, the largest segment of the healthcare industry, needed and would benefit from well informed and passionate advocates for increased congressional funding to support the National Institute of Nursing Research and its strategic mission and priorities (noting that NINR has one of the lowest budgets at NIH).

How long have you been an FNINR Ambassador?
I believe since 2015.

Colleen A. Leners, DNP, APRN, FAAN, FAANP
1stCallHEALTH

What advice would you give your younger self?
Be patient with yourself.... be bold go forward without any trepidation!

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Italy and Greece

Teri H Hernandez, PhD, RN
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

What made you want to become an FNINR Ambassador?
The goals of the NINR are at the forefront of my values and the values of the CU College of Nursing; our shared ideals include improving the health of individuals and families, and developing the next generation of highly trained nurse scientists who will lead the future of health by generating knowledge focused on chronic conditions, symptoms, and palliative care. To move our mutual vision forward will require courage and thoughtful advocacy through education of government leaders and key stakeholders on the importance of our work, its impact, and the resources required to support its success. I wanted to serve as an ambassador to support forward movement of these shared visions.

How long have you been an FNINR Ambassador?
2 years

Mulubrhan Mogos, PhD, MSc
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing

What made you want to become an FNINR Ambassador?
Commitment to serve nursing and advance nursing science.

How long have you been an FNINR Ambassador?
2 years

Cyrus Batheja, EdD, MBA, BSN, PHN, RN, FAAN
OptumRx

What advice would you give your younger self?
Patience is necessary; Resilience is required; Care is the key

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Hawaii, Big Island

Brenda J. Baker, PhD, RNC, FAAN
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

What made you want to become an FNINR Ambassador?
Opportunity to continue the work I was exposed to while a RWJ Health Policy Fellow.

How long have you been an FNINR Ambassador?
1 year

Each year at the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR) Annual NightinGala, FNINR bestows awards to truly deserving candidates who are nominated by their peers. This year’s awards were presented on October 4, 2023 during the 30^th Anniversary FNINR NightinGala at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC.

The Ada Sue Hinshaw Nurse Scholar Award is considered the pre-eminent award given by FNINR and is 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 would afford her/him recognition as a prominent senior scientist.

Bethsheba Johnson, DNP, APRN-BC, CNS, AAHIVE
Gilead Sciences, Inc.

What advice would you give your younger self?
Have a growth mindset and not a closed mindset. Utilize your natural resilience, perseverance in grit to believe you can do it and help others through scientific discourse.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
I love anywhere with warm water and beaches. Last year it was Punta Cana and this year it was Cancun.

Diane M. Santa Maria, DrPH, MSN, RN, FAAN
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Cizik School of Nursing

What advice would you give your younger self?
To follow your heart, do good work, and have fun along the way.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Anywhere with my family, a beautiful view, and time to exhale.

Teri A. Murray, PhD, PHNA-BC, RN, ANEF, FAAN
Saint Louis University Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing

What advice would you give your younger self?
Build a strong program of research that can shape macro-level health policies to improve population health. Always connect research to outcomes. In community-based participatory research, know that community engagement is key in shaping health equity focused policy changes.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Paris

FNINR CELEBRATES ITS 30^TH ANNIVERSARY!

The Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR) is an independent, non-profit organization founded in 1993. FNINR’s mission is to strengthen and magnify the impact of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) in the advancement of nursing science.

To celebrate our anniversary, FNINR would like to honor the individuals who have helped shape the organization through donations, volunteering, and support over the past 30 years, including our current and past presidents (listed below); without all these individuals we wouldn’t be where we are today.

Cathleen Wheatley, DNP, RN, CENP, FAAN
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

As the new year begins gaining momentum, Mayo Clinic’s Department of Nursing, Division of Nursing Research is taking a moment to reflect on the research goals and accomplishments made in 2022. Hear directly from a handful of our Nurse Scientists and Post-Doctoral Research Scholars on what they’ve been working on, and what that means for our patients.
 

FNINR ANNOUNCES THE SIXTH COHORT OF FNINR AMBASSADORS

January 9, 2023 – Lexington, KY – The Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR) are pleased to announce the selection of their sixth cohort of Ambassadors. This unique advocacy program began in 2014 and has grown to include over 30 Ambassadors. The 2023 selection includes 12 nurse scientists to join the ranks of others currently filling this role.

Ambassadors are selected from a national pool of applicants based on their abilities to advance public, health professional, and policy-maker awareness of the critical research agenda advanced by the National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR).

Congress has passed H.R. 2471, which includes $180.862 million for the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR); this number represents an increase of $5.905 million over the previous fiscal year.

To view the Nursing Community Coalition press release around H.R. 2471, please click here.

Submissions are open for the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) Early-Stage Investigator (ESI) Paper Competition awards. They recognize emerging scientists whose research reflects Dr. Matilda White Riley’s vision of research excellence in health-related behavioral and social sciences.

Submission deadline is January 31, 2022.

Learn more here

On December 17, 2021 at 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. (ET), NINR will host “Notes from the Field: Pivoting a Research Program to Climate Change,” part of the NIH Climate Change and Health Webinar Series.

Speakers 

• Shannon Zenk, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, NINR Director
• Linda A. McCauley, PhD, RN, Emory University, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Read more and register here.

On November 29, 2021, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences held a special National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council meeting to consider an NIH-wide Climate Change and Health Concept. 

The proposals were as follows: