Over the last decade, the school has emerged as a foremost recipient of grant awards from the (NIH). “Translational science is at the core of our school’s mission,” says Dean Nilda Peragallo. “NIH grants and other funding enable us to sustain research programs that advance nursing knowledge, engage and educate the clinical and scientific workforce of tomorrow, improve patient safety and care, impact health policy, and develop our curriculum.”
Research expertise encompasses the topics of health disparities, HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases prevention and care, LGBT populations’ health, intimate partner and family violence, family and maternal health, patient safety, and community-based health outcomes. Special emphasis is placed on ethnic and sexual minorities, and in keeping with the location of the school in South Florida -- a region referred to as the international gateway to the Americas – with Caribbean and Latin American populations.
Valuable science is conducted at the school by some of the world’s top healthcare researchers. The school is home to the Center of Excellence for Health Disparities Research: El Centro, established in 2007 with a 5-year grant from the NIH/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. El Centro is the first NIH P60 center grant ever funded to a school of nursing and was successfully renewed with a second NIH/NIMHD award for the 2012-2017 funding cycle. It has engaged 2,800 subjects in research studies since its inception. El Centro’s student volunteer program, which matches undergraduates with faculty scientists in their area of interest, is a particularly compelling strategy for replenishing the pipeline of scientific excellence.
Most recently, an NIMHD grant has taken the mentorship of budding scientists international. The Global Health Disparities Research Experience identifies promising minority undergraduate students and funds their 8-week international summer research training experiences at global partner institutions. “We hypothesized that the global summer research program would increase the participating students’ interest in pursuing scientific careers in health care, as well as their chances of getting into graduate schools, says the grant’s Principal Investigator and SONHS Associate Professor Dr. Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda. “Early indications are very promising in terms of both of these aims.” Meanwhile, another grant funds summer undergraduate research experiences at the School of Nursing and Health Studies for nursing students from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in nursing science. “Reaching out to future nurse scientists at the undergraduate level and providing opportunities for them to assist faculty members with their projects, brings to life the material that students learn about in their research courses and allows them to see themselves as future researchers,” explains Dr. Mary Hooshmand, Co-Principal Investigator of this project and SONHS Assistant Professor of Clinical.
Another $3.3 million +grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research has further strengthened the school’s NIH portfolio. Dr. Anne Norris is Principal Investigator of “Mighty Girls”, an innovative program that uses game technology to reduce teen pregnancy among Latina girls.
Bolstering the school’s position as a research powerhouse are additional studies focused on a diverse range of topics, including simulation education research with a focus on patient safety, and supported by the generosity of numerous foundation grants and community partnerships. Please click here for a comprehensive review of the research activities of SONHS faculty members.
