Awards
The American Thoracic Societypresented the J. Randall Curtis Humanism Award to Dr. Lynn Reinke, whose clinical practice in pulmonary medicine has shaped a research program focused on improving palliative and end-of-life care for patients with serious respiratory illnesses. The award celebrates individuals whose work reflects the ideals espoused by its namesake. It honors mentoring skills, compassionate delivery of patient care, competence in science, respect for patients, and recognizes those who champion diversity, equity, and inclusion in their daily work.
Staff and faculty received College of Nursing 2025-2026 Excellence Awards. These individuals continually go above and beyond, contributing to the College’s reputation for excellence.
- Staff Service Excellence Awards
- Emily Bailey
- Emilee Elkin
- Rachel Gillmor Hamilton
- Gabriel Mayberry
- Forden Shiver
- Nicole Wells
- Faculty Excellence Awards
- Dr. Sue Chase-Cantarini – Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Award
- Dr. Van Gip-Duran – Faculty Excellence in Practice Award
- Dr. Jackie Eaton – Faculty Excellence in Research Award
- Dr. Rebekah Perkins – Faculty Excellence in Scholarship Award
- Dr. Paula Meek – Faculty Excellence in Service Award
- Dr. Katie Ward – Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award
Faculty and recent graduates received awards for posters that they presented at the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics Poster Fair.
- Dr. Hafsa Abdikadir, Josh Jacobs, and Dr. Jennifer Clifton received the Evidence-Based Practice/Improvement Award for their poster titled Implementing a Standardized Blood Pressure Screening Protocol in the Urgent Care Setting: An Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Project.
- Dr. Miriam “Midge” Barno and Dr. Erica Nelson received the Workforce Wellbeing Award for their poster titled Fostering Resilience in Mental Health Nursing Staff Through Structured Peer Support: A Stress First Aid-Based Quality Improvement Initiative.
Instructional Video
Dr. Jessie Leavitt and Doctor of Nursing Practice students created an educational video titled Congenital Heart Defects: Basic Anatomy and Murmurs. Amen Koutowogbe led filming and editing, producing a valuable instructional resource for nursing students.
Community Event
Aaron Enz, Leslie Crandall, and prelicensure students Lily Evans and Cindy Tra participated in Olene Walker Elementary's first annual Family Wellness Night. Leslie, Lily, and Cindy measured blood pressures, provided medication-use education, distributed community resource handouts on healthcare clinics, food, and transportation, and offered health promotion education to visitors.
Professional Affiliation
Based on her research on medical aid in dying for persons living with dementia, the Center for Health Ethics, Arts, and Humanities (CHeEtAH) accepted Dr. Kara Dassel as an affiliate.
Presentations
Faculty, students, and recent graduates presented posters at the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics Poster Fair.
- Implementation of a Constipation Action Plan. Dr. Helle Abildso, Dr. Jennifer Hamilton
- Implementing a Structured Debriefing Tool to Improve Communication, Education, and Quality Initiatives. Krystle Ferreira, Kristy Gauthier, Nikole Williams, Giavonni Lewis, Callie Thompson
- Early Preoperative Discharge Education for Breast Surgery Patients: An Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Project. Dr. Saviz Sassani, Melissa Wenner, Ivy Zawalski, Amanda Staker-Shirts
Dr. Lynn Reinke gave invited presentations at the American Thoracic Society 2026 International Conference in Orlando.
- Nursing Year in Review: Bridging Care and Compassion: Improving Palliative Care and End-of-Life Transitions Across Settings
- Supporting the Whole Patient: Palliative Care as a Core Component of Chronic Lung Disease Care
Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson and members of her research team presented at the 2026 International Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health in Salt Lake City.
- Symposia Presentations
- Revolutionizing Women’s Health Across the Lifespan: Scaling Innovative group Medical Visits and Evaluating Impact through Research Symposium: Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson gave a presentation titled Menopause.
- Revolutionizing Menopause Care Through Whole-Person Health Symposium: Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson gave a presentation titled Designing Integrative Group Medical Visits with and for Specific Menopause Groups.
- Poster Presentations
- The Impact of Treatment Frequency on Therapeutic Alliance and Clinical Outcomes in Acupuncture for Gulf War Illness. Linnette Johnson, Angela Incollingo-Rodriguez, Benjamin Nephew, Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson, Lisa Conboy
- Characteristics of Gulf War Illness Participants in an Acupuncture Study. Kai-Yin Hsu, Joe Chang, Beth-Ann Schmidt, Anthony Beal, Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson, Lisa Conboy
- A Decentralized, Confirmatory Trial of Acupuncture for Gulf War Illness: Protocol and Study Launch. Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson, Dr. Catherine Elmore, Kristen Rauck, Linnette M. Johnson, Dr. Jamie Villanueva, Anthony Beal, Lisa Conboy
- Exploring Pain and Other Clinical Outcomes Associated with Acupuncture: Analysis of Clinical Registry and Case Report Data. Kathleen Lumiere, Dr. Wen Tu, Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson, Lisa Conboy, Nicholas Lowe, Brigitte Linder, Sandro Graca, Belinda Anderson, Rodney Dutton, David Riley, Dr. Xiaoming Sheng
- Scoping Review of the Effect of Traditional Asian Exercise on Menopausal Symptoms. Dr. Wen Tu, Dr. Caroline Howell, Lydia Howes, Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson
College Event
The Gamma Rho Chapter of Sigma welcomed Class of 1959 graduate, Doreen Greaves Okelberry Maxfield, back to the college as a special guest. The visit was a meaningful celebration of nursing across generations. Doreen toured the Simulation Center with Dr. Ann Butt and Gracie, shared stories from her expansive nursing career – through the age of 79 – with faculty and staff, and joined a luncheon where she was inducted as an honorary member of the Gamma Rho Chapter of Sigma. She expressed deep appreciation for the opportunity to return to the College and for the warm hospitality extended by all who made her visit possible. Faculty and staff who participated included Dr. Anna Alder, Dr. Cheryl Armstrong, Dr. Ann Butt, Dr. Sue Chase-Cantarini, Dr. Jesika Chavez-England, Leslie Crandall, Jesse Deiner, Dean Marla De Jong, Mindy Francis, Dr. Julie Gee, Dr. Linda Hofmann, Dr. Amanda Keddington, Miriam Lovin, Dr. John Nerges, Dr. Rebekah Perkins, Paige Potter, Chris Sneddon, Minhvan Thach, Dr. Josh Wall, and Dr. Mykel Winter.
Publications
Tay DL, Dubose K, Young A, Fadlullah MZ, Chipman J, Tan CJ, Stone S, Hardikar S, Guo J-W, Alekhina N, Alnajar M, Campbell T, Sheng X, Tan AC. Associations between two-year immune-related adverse events and psychological distress and subsequent survival outcomes among ICI-treated survivors diagnosed with advanced cancers in the US. Psycho-Oncology. 2026;35(5):e70490. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.70490.
Taylor-Swanson L. Midlife Latinas’ health matters: Addressing cardiovascular task during the menopausal transition [editorial]. Menopause. 2026;33(6):635-636. DOI: 10.1097/GME.0000000000002821.