Scholarship
Esther Kang was selected to receive the January 2026 NurseThink® - AACN Scholarship. The scholarship supports students enrolled in master's and doctoral nursing programs at American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) member institutions who have a desire to become future nurse faculty, and is awarded twice a year.
Awards
The Office of Undergraduate Research recognized students and faculty at its Undergraduate Research Awards Ceremony.
- Mary Catherine “Cate” Monahan (faculty mentor: Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson) received the 2026 Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award for the College of Nursing.
- Dr. Djin Tay received the 2026 Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award for the College of Nursing.
Academic Summit for Bachelor of Science Program
The College held an Academic Summit to provide a comprehensive overview of proposed changes to its undergraduate prelicensure program. The goal was to establish a shared understanding of the framework, examine how the proposed changes may impact University partners and their spheres of influence, and make constructive and actionable recommendations for the next steps.
University Leaders
- Bob Carter: A. Lorris Betz Executive Vice President, Health Sciences; Chief Executive Officer, University of Utah Health
- Paul Kohn, Senior Vice Provost for Student Success, EVPAA
- Chase Hagood, Vice Provost for Student Success, EVPAA
- Lindsay Coco, University Innovation Alliance
- Liz Leckie, Senior Director, Academic Advising Management
University Program Leaders and Partners
- James Agutter
- Andrea Aguilar
- Brittany Baker-Brousseau
- Camille Becker
- David Blanford
- Kim Clark
- Anne Cook
- Tim Erickson
- Steffany Forrest
- Keenan Gannon
- Keith Garner
- Benjamin Gawle
- Ashley Glenn
- Meghan Grandolfo
- Anthony Jones
- Aaron Lovell
- Erin Mason
- Amanda May
- Blake McBride
- Michael Middleton
- Maddy Montgomery
- Akil Narayan
- Luis Oquendo
- Molly Parker
- Kiley Petersen
- Andrea Roner
- Jessica Schmidt
- Alanna Seely
- Laura Shields
- Sasha Suzuki
- Julia Vincent
College and Undergraduate Program Leaders
- Dean Marla De Jong
- Dr. Julie Gee
- Dr. Melody Krahulec
- Dr. Sharifa Al-Qaaydeh
- Dr. Amanda Keddington
College Faculty and Staff
Western Institute of Nursing Conference
The College was well-represented at the 2026 Western Institute of Nursing Conference in San Francisco. Gabriel Mayberry wrote University of Utah College of Nursing at the 2026 Western Institute of Nursing Conference, a blog that lists faculty, postdoctoral fellows, staff, and students who presented, moderated sessions, served on the planning committee, reviewed abstracts, exhibited, planned the reception, supported faculty and staff, or received a grant.
Community Engagement
Dr. Cheryl Armstrong, Dr. Amanda Keddington, and Master of Science students specializing in Nursing Education volunteered at Proxima CareersNeighborWorks Salt Lake, reviewing curriculum, facilitating workshops, and engaging with the community cohort. Thanh Le, Resource Development Manager, expressed appreciation, writing, “I wanted to extend my sincere thanks for connecting with the MSN students for their community project this semester. Their support was invaluable – they played a key role in evaluating the curriculum and meaningfully engaging with our community-based cohorts. It was a special moment, and many of them have now expressed a strong interest in pursuing nursing, which speaks to the impact of this collaboration.”
Dr. Linda Hofmann and Alyssa Pham led an interprofessional team in delivering an interactive workshop titled The Healing Professions for Davis School District middle and high school students and their parents. The session introduced health-related careers and clarified pathways into the professions through hands-on, rotating learning stations that included brief presentations, posters, and clinical equipment demonstrations. The workshop was well received and generated strong interest among participants, several of whom are now exploring health professions education at the University of Utah.
Professional Appointment
Dr. Tom Rowley was appointed Medical Director of the College of Nursing’s (CON) Juvenile Justice and Youth Services (JJYS) clinical practice. Dr. Rowley is the first nurse practitioner to serve in this role, marking an important milestone for both the College and advanced practice nursing leadership. In this position, Dr. Rowley will oversee 12 CON/JJYS clinics and a team of 75 nurses and nurse practitioners, supporting the delivery of high-quality care to youth across the system.
RedMed Employee Health Clinic Anniversary
This month, the RedMed Employee Health Clinic celebrates 10 years of operation. Faculty and staff who work at the clinic include Tyson Brinkerhoff, Dr. Katie Davis, Brooke Erickson, Matthew Horn, Katie Medel, Dr. Josh Twitchell, and Dr. Lyndsay Wixom.
Presentations
Dr. Cheryl Armstrong, Forden Shiver, Adrienne Bott, Dr. Amanda Keddington, Dr. Jennifer Macali, and Mike Brammer presented a poster titled Implementing an Effective, Timely, and Transparent Communication Plan in the College of Nursing at the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics Poster Fair.
Faculty, a postdoctoral fellow, and a PhD student gave podium presentations at the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics (ASLME) International Conference on Assisted Dying and Other End-of-Life Care in Brisbane.
- Is this a “Slippery Slope”? U.S. Healthcare Professionals’ Perspectives of MAID in Dementia. Dr. Kara Dassel, Timothy Farrell, Tenielle Brown, Todd Becker, Dr. Sharon Bigger, Amber Thompson, Sasha Perez-Greenemeier, Dr. Rebecca Utz.
- “It’s Incredibly Complex”: U.S. Healthcare Professionals’ Perceptions about MAID in Persons with Dementia Policy. Dr. Kara Dassel, Tenielle Brown, Amber Thompson, Dr. Sharon Bigger, Sasha Perez-Greenemeier, Timothy Farrell, Todd Becker, and Dr. Rebecca Utz.
The National Center to Reframe Aging – led by the Gerontological Society of America – will host a webinar titled Beyond the Pledge: Turning Age-Friendly Commitments into Institutional Change on May 5, 2026, which will feature faculty and their work on age-inclusivity at the University of Utah and in the College of Nursing. Co-investigators Dr. Katarina Friberg Felsted, Dr. Kara Dassel, Dr. Rebekah Perkins, and Dr. Sara Hart will discuss their College of Nursing Excellence in Education-funded Lifespan Champion Project. Dr. Jacqueline Eaton will provide an overview of the project, Dr. Perkins will focus on development of the Lifespan Champion protocol, and Dr. Lisa Barry will describe a specific Lifespan Champion Project.
Faculty contributed to presentations at the 2026 American Burn Association Annual Meeting in Orlando.
- Krystle Ferreira and Kristy Gauthier presented a podium presentation titled Integrating Burn Disaster Training with AHA Algorithms to Improve Communication, Education, and Team Dynamics. The published abstract: Ferreira K, Gauthier K. C-955-08. Integrating burn disaster training with AHA algorithms to improve communication, education, and team dynamics. J Burn Care Res. 2026;47(Suppl 1):S143-4. doi: 10.1093/jbcr/irag033.157
- Krystle Ferreira and Kristy Gauthier presented a poster titled Implementing a Structured Debriefing Tool to Improve Communication, Education, and Quality Initiatives. The published abstract: Ferreira K, Gauthier K. 645. Implementing a structured debriefing tool to improve communication, education, and quality initiatives. J Burn Care Res. 2026;47(Suppl 1):S419-20. doi: 10.1093/jbcr/irag033.482
Dr. Ryoko Kausler and Dr. Gwen Latendresse gave a presentation titled System-Wide Implementation of a Perinatal Depression Prevention Program: Maternal Mental Health Access (MaMa) Study at the Idaho Integrative Behavioral Health Network (IIBHN) Conference in Boise. The conference theme was Activating Integration: The Blueprint for Delivering Whole Person Care.
Kelvin Opare, PhD student, and Dr. Schola Matovu presented a poster titled Global Learning: A Catalyst for Transformative Nursing Education and Practice at the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.
Natalia Smirnova and Dr. Lynn Reinke presented Rethinking Dyspnea Management: Moving Beyond Routine Opioid Use at a Center to Advance Palliative Care-sponsored Interprofessional Grand Rounds webinar.
In the Media
The Scope, from University of Utah Health, highlights expert health advice and research that can contribute to a happier and healthier life. The 7 Domains of Women’s Health podcast, which Dr. Kirtly Jones and Dr. Katie Ward host, released new episodes in early 2026.
- The Intellectual Domain of Family Planning, released January 30, examines how we come to "know" what we believe about reproduction, contraception, and choice.
- The Financial Domain of Family Planning, released February 6, includes Shireen Ghorbani and addresses how economic factors influence reproductive choices and outcomes.
- The Environmental Domain of Family Planning, released February 13, includes Kelli Gross, MD, and David Turok, MD, and explores how both biological and geographic environments influence reproductive health.
- The Spiritual Domain of Family Planning, released February 20, includes Dr. Margaret Battin, distinguished professor of philosophy and medical ethicist, and examines where personal belief meets professional responsibility.
- The Physical Domain of Risks, released March 13, explores how human brains and bodies calculate risk in real time.
- The Emotional Domain of Risks, released March 20, includes Dr. Lisa Diamond and explores the vulnerability, uncertainty, and courage it takes to form intimate relationships.
- The Social Domain of Risks, released March 27, includes Harriet Hopf, MD, and unpacks the social dynamics that shape professional spaces, from subtle exclusion and power hierarchies to more overt issues like harassment, boundary crossings, and workplace relationships.
- The Intellectual Domain of Risks, released April 3, explores how statistics, probability, and human psychology intersect in medical decision-making.
- The Financial Domain of Risks, released April 10, explores how women assess and take on financial risk across different stages of life.
- The Environmental Domain of Risks, released April 17, includes Brian Moench, MD, and examines how environmental risks are identified, communicated, and often underestimated.
- The Spiritual Domain of Risks, released April 24, explores how belief systems shape the way people understand and respond to risk, and examines why humans are wired to seek meaning in uncertainty – and what happens when faith is challenged, lost, or transformed.
Professional Achievement
Dr. Mary Killela, Postdoctoral Fellow, completed Carpentries Instructor Training – a 16-hour interactive and virtual program that teaches the basics of educational psychology and evidence-based teaching practices, and provides strategies for effectively teaching data science, coding, and computational workshops. She also completed three “checkout” steps, earning certification as a Certified Carpentries Instructor and authorization to teach the core curriculum of Data Carpentry, Library Carpentry, and Software Carpentry.
Student Recognitions
Maddie Allen, prelicensure student, presented a poster titled Comparison of Characteristics of Central Line-associated Bloodstream Infections Occurring in Children Undergoing Hematopoietic Cell Transplant: A 20-year Perspective at the 2026 Honors College Student Showcase. Dr. Lauri Linder is Maddie’s mentor.
Sandi Alshahwan successfully defended her dissertation titled Parental Healthcare Utilization Before and After Infant Death Following ICU Care: A Population-Based Secondary Data Analysis. Committee members were Dr. Lauri Linder (Chair), Dr. Kathy Sward, Huong Meeks, Dr. Djin Tay, and Dr. Claudia Delgado-Corcoran.
Publications
Alekhina N, Mooney K, Sward K, Wong B, Akerley W. Real-world management and outcomes of immune-mediated diarrhea and colitis: gaps in guideline adherence and opportunities for implementation. Support Care Cancer. 2026;28;34(4):380. DOI: 10.1007/s00520-026-10562-9
DiFazio RL, Miyamoto S, Gilbertson-White S, Clayton-Jones DL, Alexander KA, Liebermann E, Emerson AM, Avorgbedor F, Nelson-Brantley H, Huntington-Moskos L, Litchman ML, Clark-Cutaia MN, Choi KR, Jones LM, Young HM. Empowering nursing excellence: How liberation capital can elevate innovative ideas. Nurs Outlook. 2026;73(6S):102666. DOI: 10.1016/j.outlook.2025.102666
Lei Y, Chen J, Wu Q, Zhou T, Zhang B, Becich MJ, Bisyuk Y, Blecker S, Chrischilles EA, Christakis DA, Cowell LG, Cummins MR, Fernandez SA, Fort D, Gonzalez SL, Herring SJ, Horne BD, Horowitz C, Liu M, Kim S, Mirhaji P, Mosa ASM, Muszynski JA, Paules CI, Sato AI, Schwenk HT, Sengupta S, Suresh S, Taylor BW, Williams DA, Yongqun H, Morris JS, Jhaveri R, Forrest CB, Chen Y on behalf of RECOVER Consortium. Target trial emulation of vaccine effectiveness in 5- to 17-years-olds with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nat Commun. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71820-2
Lim MY, Christensen GB, Rodgers GM, Simonsen SE. Pregnancy outcomes in women with Von Willebrand disease: a statewide cohort study. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2026;10(2):103383. DOI: 10.1016/j.rpth.2026.103383
Randolph SD, Ramos SR, Boch SJ, Choi KR, Litchman ML, Coleman-Minahan K, Clark-Cutaia MN, Epps F. Advancing health equity through strategic communication: A call to action from the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship Nurse Leaders and Innovators. Nurs Outlook. 2026;73(6S):102663. DOI: 10.1016/j.outlook.2025.102663