Celebrating 22 Sigma members and their research

Sigma inducted 22 distinguished members into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame during the 34th International Nursing Research Congress.

The International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame honors Sigma members who have achieved global recognition for their impactful work, shaping the nursing profession and benefiting the people it serves. We encourage you to read more about their stories and their groundbreaking research.

Lora E. Burke, PhD, MPH, FAHA, FAAN
Professor Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
Seattle, Washington, USA

Dr. Lora E. Burke is a Professor of Nursing, Epidemiology, and Clinical Translational Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. She has been trained across several disciplines, including epidemiology and cardiovascular behavioral medicine. Dr. Burke has a record of nearly three decades of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to support her research program, focusing on three areas of behavioral research: the examination of self-monitoring as the centerpiece of behavioral treatment for weight loss, testing the use of mobile or digital devices to assess behaviors and deliver behavioral interventions in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, and testing strategies to enhance long-term engagement with digital tools so that individuals can benefit from their use. She incorporated the use of technology—instrumented paper diary—to provide objective evidence to validate self-report measures nearly 20 years ago and documented the actual patterns of self-monitoring among participants in behavioral treatment for weight loss and provided evidence for the association between consistency in self-monitoring and weight loss outcomes. She has since focused on developing and testing intervention strategies to reduce the burden and improve adherence to three behaviors recommended for self-monitoring: diet, physical activity, and weight. To this effort, she has conducted a series of NIH funded randomized clinical trials that incorporated the use of digital technology to develop applications for hand-held devices and an investigator-developed algorithm that reads the self-monitoring data and sends a remotely delivered tailored feedback message to the study participants in real time with the ultimate goal of scaling up the availability of behavioral treatment to a broader population that currently does not have access to treatment.

Denise Charron-Prochownik, PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN
Distinguished Service Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Dr. Denise Charron-Prochownik is a Distinguished Service Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Pittsburgh and School of Public Health and Chair of the Department of Health Promotion and Development in the School of Nursing. She has had an active program of funded research for over 28 years in the field of diabetes in youth and young adults, with a focus on adolescent reproductive health behavior and preconception counseling (PC) to prevent both unplanned pregnancies and pregnancy-related complications. A pediatric diabetes clinical nurse specialist, pediatric nurse practitioner, and behavioral scientist, Dr. Charron-Prochownik conducts multisite randomized control trial studies with a long-standing team of multidisciplinary co-investigators. She has received three American Diabetes Association (ADA) Clinical Research Awards and two National Institutes of Health RO1 funding for her research on developing and evaluating technology-based, theory-driven, developmentally tailored, and culturally competent PC and educational interventions for adolescent girls with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. Her research program Reproductive-health Education and Awareness of Diabetes in Youth for Girls (READY-Girls) has been culturally adapted for African American and Latina adolescents with diabetes, and for American Indian/Alaskan Native adolescents at risk for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). This latter program, called Stopping-GDM, has a mother-daughter dyadic approach, garnering support from the adolescent’s mother. Dr. Charron-Prochownik and her team are expanding the Stopping GDM research to include other Indigenous populations, such as Native Hawaiians, and webinars for healthcare professional education and program dissemination uptake.

Jyu-Lin Chen, PhD, RN, CNS, FAAN
Professor and Chair, University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, California, USA

Dr. Jyu-Lin Chen’s research focuses on a global impact of childhood obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and the related health challenges of modernity among Chinese American population in the USA and several Pacific Rim countries. Dr. Chen was the first nurse scientist to specialize in the prevention of childhood obesity in Asian immigrants. She utilized bio-behavioral model with use of technology in her research. Dr. Chen has received several millions of dollars of funding for her research and for advancing nursing practice education programs since 2002. She and her teams have received more than 30 grants from external and internal agencies for their innovative research projects were funded by various competitive external agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Sigma Nursing, Fulbright Scholars Program, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Hong Kong Research Grant Council, and the China Medical Board. Dr. Chen has published more than 95 articles and mentored more than 40 doctoral students. She has been inaugurated as the first Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Presidential Chair in Global Health Nursing in 2016 at UCSF School of Nursing and was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing the same year.

Wei-Ti Chen, PhD, RN, CNM, FAAN
Associate Professor, University of California, Los Angeles School of Nursing
Los Angeles, California, USA

Dr. Wei-Ti Chen has worked in the immigrant population, especially with those living with HIV, in the United States for more than 25 years. In addition, Dr. Chen is an expert in global health where she works mainly in Asian countries, including Thailand, Myanmar, China, and Taiwan, for adherence, side effects, substance use, and other mental health issues in HIV-positive populations. Dr. Chen’s research trajectory focuses on two major areas:  vulnerable populations, including Asian and Pacific Islanders living with HIV (AALHIV) in the US and discrimination experiences in adults with Tourette syndrome; and self- and family-management in individuals with infectious and chronic diseases and maternal health in Asia, specifically China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Myanmar. Stigma reduction in vulnerable populations is an area of research that has expanded her interest in stigma-related topics to adults with Tourette syndrome in the US. Dr. Chen is working closely with the Tourette Association of America’s Centers of Excellence at UCLA. Datasets from senior researchers were obtained from the Centers to help better understand microaggressions and stigma experience in adults with Tourette syndrome. She also developed a culturally tailored intervention targeting the AALHIV noted above. The outcomes were reflected in religious practice, acculturation, stress, patient-healthcare provider relationships, physical symptoms and sleep disturbances, family support, and immigration experiences in AALHIV in the US. Additional concurrent research activities include conducting research on the Thai/Myanmar border to examine the needs of Myanmar refugees during the pandemic and military coup and expanding the self-management intervention study focusing on structural racism and stigma in California and New York. These studies are focusing on understanding structural racism and stigma in Asian Americans living with HIV for stigma reduction intervention testing.

Carmen Giurgescu, PhD, RN, WHNP, FAAN
Professor, Associate Dean for Research, and Chatlos Foundation Endowed Chair in Nursing, University of Central Florida, College of Nursing
Orlando, Florida, USA

Dr. Carmen Giurgescu is a Professor, the Associate Dean for Research, and the Chatlos Foundation Endowed Chair in Nursing at the University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Nursing. Dr. Giurgescu has more than 15 years of clinical experience as a Labor and Delivery Registered Nurse and a Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner. She has taught across the undergraduate and graduate nursing programs and is committed to academic excellence as measured by her students’ success. Dr. Giurgescu is internationally known for her work in reducing health disparities in maternal and infant outcomes among Black women. She has a strong commitment to nursing research and has demonstrated exceptional success in scholarship and mentorship. Dr. Giurgescu has received more than US $11 million in research funding. She is the principal investigator of two National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 funded studies that examine the influence of maternal and paternal factors (e.g., racial discrimination, depressive symptoms, telomere length) on preterm birth among Black families. Dr. Giurgescu has consistently disseminated her scholarship in peer-reviewed journals with more than 90 publications. As Associate Dean for Research, Dr. Giurgescu’s impact has resulted in a 250% increase in research funding at the UCF College of Nursing. She is committed to the success of faculty as evidenced by her mentoring of many faculty members at UCF and across the country. Diversity, equity, and inclusion have been central to her research and mentoring of students and faculty. She supported research and educational programs focused on reducing health disparities, promoting health equity, and improving the health and well-being of all individuals in the 21st century.

Linda Hong-Gu He, PhD, MSc, BScMed, RN, MD, FAAN
Professor and Director of PhD/MSc Progammes, National University of Singapore
Singapore

Dr. Linda Hong-Gu He is a Tenured Professor, Director of PhD/MSc Programmes, and Convenor of Women and Children Health Care Research Programme at the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Nursing), Singapore. She is an Executive Committee Member at the East Asian Forum of Nursing Scholars (EAFONS), representing Singapore. Professor He was one of the 2022 World’s Top 2% Most Cited Scientists identified by Stanford University. Professor He mainly focuses on research areas in Women's and Children's Health Care and Chronic Disease Management to improve clients' health outcomes and promote cost-effective care. She is passionate about involving technology in her interventional programmes to facilitate patients’ self-care. Professor He has received over US $13 million international and national competitive research grants, published more than 200 professional publications, and delivered more than 165 presentations/invited speeches. She demonstrates leadership in research as an Associate Editor and Editorial Board member for several international nursing journals. Professor He has played essential roles in establishing and leading nursing education programs in tertiary institutions. She has supervised over 110 PhD/MSc/ MN/BSc (Nurs)(Hons) research students from Singapore, China, Finland, and Norway. She has been a visiting professor at five universities in Finland and China. Her leadership roles enable her to collaborate globally, advance science, and improve health.

Teresa Kelechi, PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor, Associate Dean for Research and PhD Studies, and David and Margaret Clare Endowed Chair, Medical University of South Carolina, College of Nursing
Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Dr. Teresa J. Kelechi is a certified wound care nurse, gerontological clinical nurse specialist, a Professor with Tenure, Associate Dean for Research and PhD Studies, and the David and Margaret Clare Endowed Chair, College of Nursing Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She has been a registered nurse for 42 years, and it is her clinical background and experience that drives her passion for patient-oriented research. Her research interests focus on wound prevention/management and caregivers stress reduction. She is a leading nurse scientist in the use of infrared technology including thermal imaging and thermometry for leg and foot monitoring to detect ulcers, artificial intelligence for wound bioburden detection in non-healing wounds, and the development and evaluation of cooling therapy to decrease leg and foot ulcer recurrence. She maintains ongoing research collaborations with academics nationally and globally, most recently involving the impact of social isolation and loneliness on wound healing biomarkers. Another area of her research is caregiver stress associated with caregiving for persons living with dementia. She and her colleagues developed and are investigating the biopsychosocial mechanisms through which a self-directed, web-based, mind-body intervention reduces stress reactivity and improves caregiver health outcomes. She has received funding to support her research from various agencies and organizations such as the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Nursing Research. She currently teaches in the PhD program as a senior scholar and mentor. Dr. Kelechi has participated in and held numerous intramural and extramural leadership roles over almost four decades of service to MUSC, including directorships of the College’s Symptom Self-Management Center and University’s Recruitment Core for their South Carolina Clinical and Translational Research Institute.

Bridie Kent, PhD, BSc(Hons), RN, RNT, PGCert (Teaching in HE), FRCN
Professor in Nursing Leadership, University of Plymouth
Plymouth, England

Dr. Bridie Kent is a registered nurse with a background in both clinical and academic appointments in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia, resulting in extensive experience in leadership, practice change, health workforce, and implementation research. She is proud to be a Clinical Academic Nurse, working to improve patient experiences through research, education, and clinical practice. Dr. Kent continues to work clinically in the field of adult intensive care. Over the last 20 years, she has led or been a co-investigator in at least 41 successful research grant applications totaling over £4.5m in the UK, AUS $2.5m in Australia, and NZ $1.3m in New Zealand. Currently, Dr. Kent is leading a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Health and Policy Systems grant in the Philippines, co-designing rehabilitation services for those living in rural communities following stroke. Her research has resulted in practice and policy changes, making a difference to the quality of care received by patients. She has held senior academic leadership positions at the University of Plymouth and is a Non-Executive Director at the Royal Devon University Healthcare National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust in Exeter, UK. She holds honorary professorial appointments at University College Dublin, Ireland, and Deakin University, Australia.

Cheryl A. Krause-Parello, PhD, RN, FAAN
Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship and Professor, Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, Florida, USA

Dr. Cheryl Krause-Parello is the Associate Dean for Nursing Research and Scholarship, Schmidt Family Distinguished Professor, Sharon Phillips Raddock Distinguished Professor of Holistic Health, and Faculty Fellow, Institute for Human Health and Disease Intervention (I-HEALTH) at Florida Atlantic University Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing. Krause-Parello is the founding director of a university-based health research initiative for veterans, Canines Providing Assistance to Wounded Warriors® (C- P.A.W.W.®). Her program of research examines the relationship between human-animal interaction and stress biomarkers in active-duty military, veterans, and their families. Her research goals include the implementation of effective interventions to modulate the long-term effects of PTSD on returning active-duty military and veterans. Dr. Krause-Parello and her husband, a marine veteran, are the proud parents of rescue dachshunds Daisy and Heidi.

Jianghong Liu, PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor of Nursing and Marjorie O. Rendell Endowed Professor in Healthy Transitions, University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Dr. Jianghong Liu is Professor of Nursing, the Marjorie O. Rendell Endowed Professor in Healthy Transitions at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Liu is an internationally recognized scholar. Her work is grounded in the premise that child behavior is complex and is influenced by health factors that occur as early as the prenatal and postnatal period, an approach that had received little attention in the field of nursing. Therefore, her interdisciplinary research program is concerned with understanding how early health risk and protective factors influence emotional and behavioral development in children and adolescents and how brain mechanisms account for these links. Factors include prenatal factors, environmental exposures, nutrition, and sleep. She is a PI and dual PI of two international longitudinal child cohort studies. Dr. Liu is currently leading teams on several projects. As Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded China Jintan Child Health Project, she is following more than 1,000 children in Jintan, from preschool into adolescence to understand the influence of environmental lead exposure, nutrition, and psychosocial influences on their behavioral outcomes. Her current research, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, investigates the effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplements on child behavior problems. Dr. Liu has received continuous funding from the NIH since she entered her research career 20 years ago. Her research findings have been disseminated in more than 180 peer reviewed journal articles with her work appearing in leading journals in the disciplines of psychiatry, pediatrics, epidemiology, and nursing. She has received numerous academic awards including the Trustees Council of Penn Women Award for Undergraduate Advising and mentoring awards from Penn Nursing school for both undergraduate and PhD students.

Jody Rae Lori, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN
Professor and Associate Dean for Global Affairs; Director, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Chair, University of Michigan, School of Nursing
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Dr. Jody R. Lori is a professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Biological Sciences and Associate Dean for Global Affairs at the School of Nursing. She also represents the School of Nursing as Director of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Research and Clinical Training in Health Promotion Nursing, now in its 25th year. Dr. Lori is internationally recognized for her research on the development and testing of innovative models of care to improve maternal and newborn health in areas of the world challenged by a lack of human resources, long distances to care, and cultural, gender, and socio-economic barriers. She has two decades of experience working in sub-Saharan Africa and has served as PI on externally funded research in Liberia, Zambia, and Ghana where she is currently conducting a randomized controlled trial on group antenatal care. She holds a PhD in Nursing from the University of Arizona and a MS in Midwifery from the University of Michigan.

Jane Maguire, PhD, BA, RN, BNursing Honours, Grad Cert Child and Family Health, MACN
Deputy Head of School-Research and Professor of Nursing, University of Technology Sydney
Sydney, Australia

Dr. Jane Maguire has two main research programs. She is a leading nurse researcher and regarded as a world-leading stroke recovery genetic researcher who maintains ongoing research collaborations with academics nationally and globally. Additionally, she is an experienced teacher, student supervisor, and clinician in the field of nursing. As a registered nurse for over 39 years, Dr. Maguire’s clinical background and experience drives her passion for person-centred outcomes, clinical excellence, and innovation in research. Her vision for the genomic education program is to increase the knowledge and understanding of genomic science of all Australian nurses by 2030 through implementing educational strategies that address literacy in the tertiary and continuing education sectors; raise awareness of the importance of genomic science in nursing practice with key stakeholders; build research capacity with higher degree students; and advocate and lobby key nursing leadership organisations to incorporate genomic science into nursing education.

Matthew D. McHugh, PhD, JD, MPH, RN, FAAN
Professor, University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Dr. Matthew D. McHugh is Professor and Independence Chair for Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at Penn. As the Director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR) at Penn Nursing, Dr. McHugh conducts highly visible studies that draw on his expertise in nursing, law, public health, and health services research to evaluate how nursing can be a force for quality, equity, and innovation in health services. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, Faculty Director of the Coordinated Dual Degree Program in Nursing and Healthcare Management at Penn Nursing and The Wharton School, and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar. His work has been funded by AHRQ, NINR, NIMHD, NIA, and multiple foundations and international funding bodies. He received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health, JD from the Northeastern University School of Law, and ASN/BSN from Gwynedd-Mercy University. Dr. McHugh was a Fulbright Scholar with the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe in Denmark, a graduate fellow at the Institute on Urban Health Research at Northeastern University, and a post-doctoral fellowship in health outcomes and policy research at the University of Pennsylvania.

Brett Mitchell, PhD, PhD, M.Adv.Pract., Dip Trop Nursing, BN, C.HealthM, C.TeachSuper, FACN, FACIPC
Professor of Nursing, Avondale University and Monash University
Lake Macquarie, Australia

Dr. Brett Mitchell is an internationally renowned nurse researcher in the field of infection prevention and control and health services research. He is a Professor of Nursing at Avondale University (New South Wales, Australia) and holds a position at the Central Coast Local Health District. He has adjunct appointments at Monash University and the Newcastle University. He is Editor-in-Chief of Infection, Disease & Health. Dr. Mitchell has over 150 peer reviewed publications and conference presentations and has worked in a variety of clinical, public health, and academic positions in Australia and abroad. Professor Mitchell is Fellow of the Australian College of Nursing and Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control where is also a credentialed expert in infection prevention and control. His primary research interests are making a difference to patient outcomes, with a focus on infection prevention.

Ukamaka M. Oruche, PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN
Gordon Keller Professor, University of South Florida, College of Nursing
Tampa, Florida, USA

Dr. Ukamaka Oruche is the Gordon Keller Professor and Assistant Dean of the PhD Program at the University of South Florida (USF) College of Nursing. Her primary responsibilities involve conducting funded research as a principal investigator within a transdisciplinary team and mentoring faculty researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and students. Her work includes collaborations with faculty and partners in diverse practice settings and throughout USF Health to stimulate and cultivate research capacity in the college. Dr. Oruche is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, member of the Edge Runners National Advisory Council, and President of the International Society of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses. She previously served at the Indiana University School of Nursing where she built a program of research and advocacy focused on advancement of mental health equity around the globe. With a grant funded by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, her current work involves developing a dyadic parent/caregiver and healthcare provider intervention to support adolescents with disruptive impulse control and conduct disorders, which she plans to test in a future clinical trial. Dr. Oruche’s outstanding contributions to global mental health have been recognized with numerous accolades, including the COVID-19 Courage Award from the American Academy of Nursing, and designation as a U.S. News Hospital Hero. Outside of her academic pursuits, Dr. Oruche is the founder of Village Community Health Initiative, Inc., a nonprofit organization providing healthcare and nutrition to populations in southern Nigeria.

Alessandro Stievano, PhD, MNursSci, MSoc, MEd, BNurs, RN, FEANS, FAAN, FFNMRCSI, FTNSS
Professor, Centre of Excellence for Nursing Scholarship-OPI Rome-Italy
Rome, Italy

Dr. Alessandro Stievano is the research coordinator of the Centre of Excellence for Nursing Scholarship (CoE) of OPI Rome – Italy (the Regulatory Authority for the Nursing Professions). He is also an expert on learning processes and social health policy issues and achieved master’s degrees in education (Rome Tre University) and Sociology for Health and Policy (University of Bologna). Dr. Stievano has post-doc programmes in clinical research at Harvard Medical School (Global Clinical Scholars Training Program) and at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health on Principles and Practice of Clinical Research (PPCR), where he is also a Teaching Assistant. He is widely published nationally and internationally, particularly on ethics and transcultural matters. His main research interests are linked to professional and policy issues in nursing and health professions, nursing ethics, and transcultural nursing. Dr. Stievano is a Professor at the University “Our Lady of Good Counsel” Tirana – Albania; Tor Vergata University of Rome; Unicamillus University in Rome; and La Sapienza University in Rome. Furthermore, he has appointments at the University of Messina, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, and the University of Pavia. Dr. Stievano is a visiting scholar at Boston College (USA) and an adjunct Professor at Case Western University (USA). He has received an Honorary Fellow ad eundem from the Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery - Royal College of Surgeons - Dublin (Ireland) in 2016, a Fellowship at the American Academy of Nursing (2018), and a Fellowship at the European Academy of Nursing Science (FEANS) in 2021.

Lorna Kwai Ping Suen, PhD, MPH, BN, RN, RM, FHKAN, FAAN
Dean and Professor, School of Nursing, Tung Wah College
Homantin, Hong Kong

Dr. Lorna Kwai Ping Suen earned her BN and MPH from the University of Sydney and her PhD from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She has been an academic at tertiary institutions of Hong Kong for over 26 years and is now the Dean and Professor of the School of Nursing of Tung Wah College, Hong Kong. The numerous teaching awards that she had received over the years and the consistently positive feedback from her students demonstrate that she has a strong passion in nursing education. As an active researcher, Professor Suen has published over 150 scientific articles in international refereed journals. She has successfully led many clinical trials that apply auriculotherapy for symptoms management and scientific studies related to infection control. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) and has been recognized as the top 2% of scientists worldwide by Stanford University. She is frequently invited by different universities and conferences (local, national, and international) to be a keynote speaker, plenary speaker, moderator, or guest speaker.

Yun-Fang Tsai, PhD, RN, FAAN
Distinguished Professor, School of Nursing, Chang Gung University
Tao-Yuan, Taiwan

Dr. Yun-Fang Tsai is a Distinguished Professor at Chang Gung University School of Nursing in Taiwan. She also serves as the Director of the Human Research Protection Office at Chang Gung University. Her research highlights the needs of minority populations in Taiwan, which are vulnerable to healthcare disparities because they often cannot access care resources and are often misunderstood by the majority ethnic group. Her research areas are the care needs of minority populations.

Kwua Yun Wang, PhD, RN, FAAN
Director and Professor, RUI GUANG HEALTH CARE GROUP
Taipei, Taiwan

Dr. Kwua Yun Wang is position director at Riu Gang Health Care Group in Taipei, Taiwan. Dr. Wang is also an adjunct professor in the School of Nursing at the National Defense Medical Center, Taiwan and the College of Nursing, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. Dr. Wang holds a PhD from the Health Promotion and Education Department of the National Taiwan Normal University and a master’s degree in nursing from Boston University School of Nursing. Her research interests include pulmonary, oncology, and critical care nursing. Dr. Wang has published extensively on these topics, with recent studies focusing on dyspnea and frailty in Taiwanese men with COPD, palliative care consultation, and pain relief among cancer inpatients. 

Wenru Wang, PhD, RN, FAAN
Associate Professor, Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Singapore

Dr. Wenru Wang is an Associate Professor with tenure at Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, National University of Singapore (NUS Nursing). She has over 30 years of professional experience in clinical nursing, university teaching, and research. She has supervised over 100 research students at honours, masters, and doctoral levels and has been an internal and external examiner for many PhD students. Dr. Wang’s major research interests include chronic illness and long-term care with a primary focus on cardiovascular health and rehabilitation, diabetes management, and active aging. Her studies mostly involve complex psychosocial interventions that adopt innovative technology in the design and delivery of health promotion and secondary prevention. Over the past years, she has been awarded over 30 external competitive grants in a capacity of Principal Investigator and has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers in medical/nursing refereed journals. She has presented her research, delivered keynote speeches, and conducted seminars/workshops at over 100 national and international nursing conferences and universities. She has been recognized with several national and international awards for her research endeavors and achievements. In 2020, Dr. Wang was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing for her significant contributions to the field of nursing research. Dr. Wang contributes to nursing research and education through her various appointments. She serves as the convener of Chronic Illness and Long-term Care Research Programme and is Chairperson of the Ethics Review Committee at NUS Nursing. She is also an Ambassador of the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses and a member of Heart Wellness Centre Committee in Singapore. She has also been appointed as an Associate Editor of the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, and an editorial board member of several top international nursing journals.

Adelaida Zabalegui, PhD, RN, FEANS
Vice-Director of Nursing, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona (Spain)
Barcelona, Spain

The scientific career of Dr. Zabalegui highlights her contribution to the development of nursing research both in the academic and healthcare in Spain. As well as the drive, it has made to achieve a high professional level, betting on an innovative vision of talent and young nurses. Her professional career is divided into four stages, each lasting approximately 10 years: the first (1978-1988) stage was at CUN where she acquired her theoretical and practical training as a generalist and oncology nurse; the second (1988-1998) was at NYU/NYU Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital, where she completed her master's and PhD education and advanced clinical practice; the third (1999- 2009) stage was at the UIC where she led nursing education with the implementation of the first master’s and doctorate degree in nursing in Spain; and the fourth stage (2010-present) was in nursing management as CNO at the HCB focused on the professionalization of nursing (practice and research) in addition to participating in leading international nursing boards such as Nursing Now, EANS, and CECBE.

Posthumous inductee to the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Researcher Hall of Fame

Chao Hsing Yeh, PhD, MSN, RN, FAAN
Professor and The Jane and Robert Cizik Distinguished Chair, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Cizik School of Nursing
Houston, TX, USA

Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston honors Dr. Yeh and her legacy of advancing the science of non-pharmacological pain treatments using auricular point acupressure.

Dr. Chao Hsing Yeh was a master of auricular medicine. Her research program focused on advancing the science of non-pharmacological pain treatments, with a special focus on the mechanisms, efficacy, and implementation of auricular point acupressure (APA) to manage pain and cancer-related symptoms. Given the high prevalence of chronic pain and the epidemic of opioid addiction disorder in the US, Dr. Yeh’s research with Auricular Point Acupressure (APA) presented a highly promising alternative approach to pain management to address this public health crisis. Her research provided an exciting opportunity to address the specific shortcomings of pain management and prevent opiate dependence. Dr. Yeh developed a systematic and objective APA treatment protocol to manage pain that can be replicated easily by researchers or clinicians and has demonstrated the feasibility of teaching non-physician healthcare providers to implement the APA intervention.