Dr. Jennifer A Mallow named Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Faculty Scholar
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Jennifer A. Mallow, Ph.D., R.N., an assistant professor at the West Virginia University School of Nursing and research scholar with the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute (WVCTSI), is one of just 12 nursing educators from across the country to win a prestigious grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Nurse Faculty Scholars program this year.
The Nurse Faculty Scholar award is given to junior nurse faculty who show strong promise as future leaders in academic nursing. In conjunction with the selection, Dr. Mallow will receive a three-year, $350,000 award to promote her academic career and support her research.
“This award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provides a remarkable opportunity to study a newly developed technology designed to improve access and outcomes for persons with multiple chronic conditions living in rural and underserved areas,” Mallow said. “I am extremely honored to have been selected for this opportunity. I hope that we can start to address some of the health disparities found in my state.”
For her research project, Mallow plans to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and patient outcomes of an empirically developed, HIPAA compliant, web-based system of mHealth sensors and mobile devices. The system, called mI SMART, allows patients living in rural areas to perform self-monitoring, receive feedback in real time, and attend visits from their homes. Additionally, mI SMART displays a record database to providers that has the ability to integrate into electronic medical records.
“We think that mI SMART will decrease the burden rural patients face in obtaining healthcare, increase the availability of intensive interventions, and improve outcomes that patients care about like quality of life,” Mallow said.
“We are very proud of Dr. Mallow’s accomplishments. She is dedicated to serving West Virginians – and making a positive difference in their health,” WVCTSI Director Sally Hodder, M.D., said. “The West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute is honored to have her on our team, and we look forward to contributing to her development as a researcher.”
The RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars program strengthens the academic productivity and overall excellence of nursing schools by developing the next generation of leaders in academic nursing. Mallow is part of the program’s seventh and final cohort. Supporting junior nurse faculty will help curb a shortage of nurse educators that could undermine the health and healthcare of all Americans. The Affordable Care Act is vastly increasing the number of people with health coverage in the United States. As the number of patients grows, the demand for skilled nurses is rising as is the need for nurse faculty to educate them.
The RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars program is helping more junior faculty succeed in, and commit to, academic careers. The program also enhances the stature of the scholars’ academic institutions, which will benefit fellow nurse educators seeking professional development opportunities.
To receive the award, scholars must be registered nurses who have completed a research doctorate in nursing or a related discipline and who have held a tenure-eligible faculty position at an accredited nursing school for at least two years and no more than five years.
The 2014 cohort of RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars includes honorees from institutions throughout the United States, including Duke University, Rutgers University, New York University, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Texas, among others.
The Nurse Faculty Scholars program is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and administered through the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. It is directed by Jacquelyn Campbell, Ph.D., R.N., who is the Anna D. Wolf Chair and professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.
To learn more about the program, visit www.nursefacultyscholars.org.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
For more than 40 years the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve the health and health care of all Americans. They are striving to build a national Culture of Health that will enable all Americans to live longer, healthier lives now and for generations to come. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. Follow the Foundation on Twitter at www.rwjf.org/twitter or on Facebook at www.rwjf.org/facebook.
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