Yale University School of Nursing Receives $8.8 Million for New Research
New Haven, CT — October 31, 2009
New Haven, Conn. - Yale University School of Nursing (YSN) has received $8.8 million in new funding for research. The 11 grants come from a variety of government and private sources, and support nursing innovations ranging from treatment of cancer patients to diabetes prevention. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided $3 million of this new funding.
Lois Sadler, PhD, RN, PNP-BC, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor received $3.1 million from National Institutes of Health (NIH) for Minding the Baby, a five-year study of an intensive home visitation program for young first-time mothers living in an urban environment. In a related project, doctoral student Monica Ordway, who is mentored by Dr. Sadler, also received NIH funding for a study of parenting and child behavior.
Three awards were received in the area of diabetes prevention and care. Dean Margaret Grey, DrPH, RN, FAAN, and Associate Professor Robin Whittemore, PhD, APRN, received nearly $1 million in funding from NIH for a two-year study, Reducing Obesity and Diabetes in High Risk Youth. In this study, the investigators will develop and compare the effectiveness of two interactive web-based educational programs aimed at reducing obesity among New Haven high school students. Whittemore also received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study the efficacy of a diabetes prevention program delivered by visiting nurses in subsidized housing units. In a related NIH-funded career development award, Associate Research Scientist Sarah Jaser, PhD, will observe communication between youth with diabetes and their parents and evaluate the impact of parental depression on such communication.
Ruth McCorkle, PhD, FAAN, YSN's Florence Schorske Wald Professor of Nursing, has received $1.4 million from NIH for a three-year project to help patients who have been recently diagnosed with advanced lung, colorectal, or ovarian cancer. Discharge coordinators at Yale-New Haven Hospital will screen patients who are at risk for complications post-surgery and refer them to Advanced Practice Nurses in medical oncology at Yale Cancer Center. Through these study protocols, these nurses will facilitate care after patients have been discharged from the hospital to ensure that treatment continues and to prevent complications, emergency visits, and readmissions resulting from fragmented care. This nursing intervention aims to improve the patient’s quality of life throughout the illness. McCorkle is also mentor to YSN doctoral student Maura Murphy, who received funds from the American Cancer Society to evaluate diaper dermatitis among children with cancer.
Nancy S. Redeker, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, Professor and Associate Dean for Scholarly Affairs, received a grant from NIH for a two-year study of cognitive behavioral therapy to treat insomnia, a common condition among adults with chronic heart failure. The investigators will also examine the extent to which treating insomnia improves fatigue and functioning in these patients. YSN Assistant Professors Jessica Coviello, MSN, and Laura Andrews, PhD, APRN, ACNP-BC, are co-investigators on this study.
Mary Moller, DNP, ARNP, FAAN, Associate Professor and Director of the Psychiatric-Mental Health Specialty, has been funded by Astra Zeneca Pharmaceuticals. She aims to educate psychiatric case managers to view recovery from schizophrenia as a process rather than an outcome, to help with adherence to the treatment plan over time.
Nancy Reynolds, PhD, RN, C-NP, FAAN, Professor and Director of the Doctoral Program, received additional funding from the US Department of Education to recruit and enroll PhD students in order to increase the numbers of nursing scholars who will pursue research and teaching careers.
Professor Lawrence Scahill, MSN, PhD, received supplemental funds from NIH for his ongoing grant studying behavioral therapy for adults with Tourette Syndrome, with the goal of an enhanced ability to determine which patients are most likely to show a positive response to this treatment.
