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.

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

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.

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:

NIH is holding a series of listening sessions from December 2021 - February 2022 to learn from external stakeholders about the full range of issues and challenges in advancing racial and ethnic equity in the biomedical research enterprise.

Learn more and register here

NIH is providing a three-day virtual workshop called Food Insecurity, Neighborhood Food Environment, and Nutrition Health Disparities: State of the Science. It will review the state of the science related to food insecurity and the neighborhood food environment, then identify research gaps and opportunities.

This event will include panel discussions, networking opportunities, and poster sessions. Registration closes on September 7, 2021. You can read more information on this workshop here.

In the last year, the public has focused on scientific research more than ever, and at the 2020 NightinGala, we heard stories directly from nurse scientists on the frontlines of COVID-19 research. FNINR wants to continue honoring nurse scientists fighting for better health outcomes by presenting stories of NINR-funded research during the 2021 NightinGala.

If you are a nurse scientist working on an NINR-funded project and would like to share the story of your research, please fill out this brief form. Several of the submissions will be showcased during the 2021 NightinGala.

The NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative has opened an idea exchange to hear from the public. The goal is to crowdsource solutions to improve pain management and the prevention and treatment of opioid misuse and addiction. The comment period will close on June 1. Read more about this initiative here.

Registration is now open for Research!America's Reaching the Peak: A Science & Technology Career Summit. The Summit will be held on June 30 from 11:00 am - 6:00 pm ET. 

Sample topics include:

The Lois Capps Scholarship Fund provided by the Nursing Community Coalition recognizes the work of the Honorable Lois Capps by offering the opportunity for nurses to attend the Nurse in Washington Internship (NIWI) conference offered by the Nursing Organizations Alliance.

Applicants must be a nurse or nursing student AND a member of one of the NCC's organizations. 

Learn more and apply here