2023 Research Annual Report
Howdy!
Research and scholarship continue to grow and expand the School of Nursing, driven by creative and innovative nurse scientists; grant and contract support from many federal, state, and private sponsors; and leadership and investment from the school, Texas A&M Health, and The Texas A&M University System. Key metrics in assessing research productivity include the amount of extramural grant funding received annually, yearly research expenditures, and the number of peer-reviewed publications and professional presentations.
During fiscal year 2023, over 60 proposals were submitted with over $10 million in new annual funding received. FY2023 sponsored research, outreach, and education funding expenditures exceeded $6 million, reflecting the rapid upward trajectory in sponsored activities. As shown in Figure 1, sponsored research, service, and outreach have continued to increase significantly over the past seven years. Faculty research scholarship included over 150 journal articles, books, chapters, and professional presentations.
Faculty have successfully developed, implemented, and launched a variety of new programs and initiatives during the calendar year. A full listing is included in the project section of the report. However, among these newly funded projects include the following:
- CHAMPions (Community Hands Advancing Maternal Health Promotion), a five-year, $2.28 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the direction of principal investigator Dr. Robin Page to address maternal health disparities in underserved areas of south Texas.
- NexSTEP (Nurse-led Expanded Substance Use Disorder Training and Education Program), a five-year, $2.58 million award from HRSA under the direction of PI Dr. Nicole Kroll, to expand integrated behavioral health services through interprofessional family nurse practitioner-led primary care clinics.
- POPSS (Partnership & Opportunities for Adolescent Health Preparation, Support, and Services), a five-year, over $7 million award from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the direction of lead PI Dr. Kelly Wilson (nursing) and co-PI Dr. Whitney Garney (Texas A&M School of Public Health).
- SAFE TEaMS (Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner Training Education and Mentoring Support), an award from Indian Health Services, under the direction of PI Dr. Stacey Mitchell, to provide medical forensic training, education, and technical assistance across IHS.
Dr. Muna Bhattarai Each year, the school recognizes outstanding nurse scientists for their contributions to the advancement of nursing research through a number of awards. These include the Dean’s Best Paper Award and the Dean’s Research Excellence Award. The school's Dean’s Best Paper Award recognizes a faculty member for an outstanding peer-reviewed publication on a study or topic that was published in the last year in a highly regarded journal. The selected paper advances knowledge of health, quality of life, nursing science, or nursing education and is aligned with the scholarly agenda of the faculty member. Dr. Muna Bhattarai won the 2023 award for her peer-reviewed article, A Qualitative Study of Coping Strategies in Persons with Spinal Cord Injury During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Rehabilitation Psychology, 28(1), 25-31.
The Dean’s Research Excellence Award recognizes one outstanding faculty member for exemplary accomplishments across their research and scholarship portfolio. Dr. Jane Bolin received the 2023 award, recognizing her portfolio of work spanning more than two decades in rural and health policy research, chronic disease management, and cancer prevention, education, and outreach. Bolin served as the school's associate dean for research from 2018 through 2022, nurturing and cultivating research partnerships, advancing scholarship, and providing research mentorship to faculty, staff, and students. She serves as PI, co-PI, and co-investigator of many multi-million dollar grants from federal, state, and local sponsors.