Our nurse scientists leverage existing expertise, build synergy inside the School and beyond, inform who and how we recruit, and influence the national and global landscape of health and healthcare.

  • $3.8M in active research grants (FY ’23)
  • $1.2M in new grants and supplements so far (FY ’24)
  • 35% increase in external funding (2023, over 2022)
  • $30K+ for summer nursing internship program

Meet Our Faculty Scholars

Kimberly D. Acquaviva, PhD, MSW, CSE

  • $50K Alex & Rita Hillman Foundation grant
    A prospective, single-arm pilot study of an LGBTQIA-inclusive intervention to address sexual pleasure among patients with serious illness

Jeanne Alhusen, PhD, CRNP, RN, FAAN

  • $2.1M NIH/NICHD grant and $221K U3 supplement
    Psychosocial stress and its relation to maternal and infant outcomes among women with disabilities
  • $454,000 NIH grant
    Shedding light on the reproductive care experiences of women living with disabilities

Cathy Campbell, PhD, RN

Elizabeth Epstein, PhD, RN. HEC-C, FAAN

  • $170K iTHRIV grant
    Using data to improve health

Jessie Gibson, PhD, RN, AGCNP-BC

  • $457K NIH/NINR K23 grant
    Modification of threat interpretation bias to reduce anxiety in neurodegenerative movement disorders
  • $321K iTHRIV / NIH KL2 grantee
    Decision measurement and modification of threat interpretation bias to reduce anxiety in Huntington's disease
  • $60K 3Cavaliers grantee
    Assessing anxious thinking patterns among patients with neurodegenerative movement disorders

Lee Ann Johnson, PhD, RN

  • $325K iTHRIV grant
    Comorbidity profiles and their influence on treatment and survival among underserved individuals with advanced lung cancer

Randy Jones, PhD, RN, FAAN

  • $2.2M NIH grant (2014-2017)
    A tool to guide prostate cancer patients' understanding and treatment decision-making

Kathryn Laughon, PhD, RN, FAAN

  • $221K U3 supplement and $2.1M NIH/NICHD grant (with PI Jeanne Alhusen)
    Psychosocial stress and its relation to maternal and infant outcomes among women with disabilities

Virginia LeBaron, PhD, APRN, FAANP, FAAN

  • $454K Betty Irene Moore Foundation fellowship grant
    Feasibility and acceptability testing of CommSense: A novel communication technology to enhance health equity in clinician-patient interactions
  • $3.4M NIH/NINR grant
    Characterizing the complexity of advanced cancer pain in the home context by leveraging smart-health technology

Jeongok Logan, PhD, RN

  • $31K 4-VA Collaborative grant
    Does sleep moderate the association between arterial stiffness and cognitive impairment?
  • $132K Engineering in Medicine Seed grant
    Using machine learning to determine the link between sleep disorders and cardiovascular risk

Meghan Mattos, PhD, RN, CNL

  • $1.22M NIH K76 grant
    Internet-based insomnia intervention to prevent cognitive decline in older adults with mild cognitive impairment
  • $89K Engineering in Medicine Seed grant
    Control of light exposure and its effect on sleep efficacy
  • $45K Alzheimer's and Related Diseases Award Fund grant
    Interprofessional home-based medical care and education program serving rural adults living with dementia

Emma Mitchell, PhD, MSN, RN

  • $1.2M NIH Fogarty R21/R33 grant
    Remote resilience: Novel applications of mHealth in Nicaragua's cancer control program
  • $87K Jefferson Trust grant
    Climate change and health: Disaster preparedness in Bluefields, Nicaragua

Dominique Tobbell, PhD

  • $3K American Association for the History of Nursing H21 grant
    Nursing for community health: Nurse-led clinical in historical perspective, 1960-2010

Ishan Williams, PhD, FGSA

  • $5.9M NIH Bridge2AI grant
    Patient-focused collaborative hospital repository uniting standards (CHoRUS) for equitable AI
  • $25K 3Cavaliers Fund and UVA Brain Institute
    Animating Alzheimer's disease short film