Andrea Wallace, PhD, RN, FAAN, has been appointed Associate Dean for Research at the College of Nursing (CON)—effective January 1, 2022.
“Dr. Wallace is an excellent health sciences researcher who is well-respected and nationally recognized for her expertise. I welcome her appointment to the important leadership role of Associate Dean for Research at the College of Nursing, as University of Utah Health Sciences continues to seek ways to improve the health outcomes in individuals with chronic diseases and in our underserved communities," says Willard Dere, MD, FACP, Associate Vice President for Research, University of Utah Health Sciences.
Wallace joined the CON in 2016 as an associate professor, and was awarded tenure in 2020. She is also an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Before beginning service as chair of the CON's Health Systems and Community Based Care Division in 2018, she served as vice chair from 2017-2018. Prior to her appointment at the CON, Wallace was an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico in 2009 and an assistant professor at the University of Iowa from 2010-2016.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts dual degree in Psychology and Biology in 1996, and a Behavioral Neuroscience Honors Certificate in 1998, both from the University of Colorado Boulder. Pivoting to the field of nursing, she earned a Nursing Clinical Doctorate degree in 2002 and a PhD in Nursing degree in 2006 from the University of Colorado Denver. From 2006-2008, Wallace completed a T32 post-doctoral fellowship in health care cost, quality, and outcomes at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Wallace has consistently focused her research on understanding, implementing, and evaluating health systems solutions designed to improve clinical outcomes for vulnerable populations living with chronic illness. The National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Department of Veterans Affairs, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and American Nurses Foundation have funded her work. She is currently serving as principal investigator for two R01 studies in which she is 1) determining the benefit of social needs screening, community-based service referrals, and telephonic follow-up as a scalable, sustainable strategy for preventing COVID-19 transmission, and for addressing the secondary health effects of the social, behavioral, and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2) partnering with the 211 referral service to test social needs screening and referral in the University of Utah Health emergency department using tablet computers.
She serves on national, University of Utah Health Sciences, and CON committees—regularly serving on national scientific review panels for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and NIH-National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, is an ad hoc member of AHRQ study sections, is a member of the Dissemination and Implementation Science Methodology NIH Workgroup, and participates in regional and national translational nursing research interest groups. Within University of Utah Health Sciences, she currently serves on the Population Health and Diabetes & Metabolism Research Steering committees, and reviews intramural grant applications for the Diabetes Metabolism Research Center and the University of Utah Center for Clinical & Translational Science. Wallace contributes to the community by serving on the United Way of Salt Lake’s 211 Steering Committee where she works to enhance the reach, impact, and sustainability of 211’s statewide service.
“We have an amazing group of investigators and research staff in the College of Nursing whose work touches stakeholders at all levels—from local clinics to international systems. It’s an honor to be tapped to serve in a role that supports them. I am excited to continue learning with everyone engaged in our research mission, and to grow high-impact work that reaches people and places far beyond the college walls," says Wallace.