This year's event was moved from its traditional ballroom setting to the new School of Social Work/Smart Hospital Building, to allow donors a first-hand look at the cutting-edge facility. Read more.

Dr. Paul J. Fadel, Professor of Kinesiology, Associate Dean for Research and Director of Clinical Translational Science in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation has been appointed as the Moritz Chair in Geriatrics. Dr. Fadel will hold this appointment for three-years which began January 2024.

“I appreciate the support of the Dean, and CONHI Leadership in this appointment as the Moritz Chair in Geriatrics,” said Dr. Fadel. “I look forward to advancing our research capacity and collaborations focused on investigating neural and vascular mechanisms contributing to cardiovascular disease risk, with an emphasis on ageing as a primary risk factor.”

Joining UTA CONHI in 2015, Dr. Fadel’s extensive research background, particularly his expertise in Neural Cardiovascular Control, positioned him to secure this appointment. 

“Dr. Fadel has been funded on extramural grants from 2004 to present that have resulted in 180+ publications. His expertise in the area of Neural Cardiovascular Control makes important contributions to human health and disease conditions such as heart failure, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and cerebrovascular health,” said Dean Elizabeth Merwin, PhD, RN, FAAN in an email announcement to CONHNI faculty and staff.

The Moritz Chair in Geriatrics is a permanent endowment used for the benefit of the College of Nursing and Health Innovation. Dr. Fadel is excited to use this appointment to identify mechanisms related to the heightened cardiovascular disease risk with age.  This will facilitate the Moritz endowment moving closer to its goal of informing the field of geriatrics, aging, gerontology, while benefiting the CONHI, UT Arlington, and the greater community.  

Join us in congratulating Dr. Fadel on this achievement.

The College of Nursing and Health Innovation honors the life and work of Dr. Kathryn Daniel, beloved colleague and friend, who passed away on April 8, 2024. 

A dedicated nurse and scholar, Dr. Daniel joined CONHI in 2007 and worked in gerontological nursing for more than 35 years. During her career as a nurse practitioner, she practiced in geriatric primary care, long-term care, home-based primary care, and assisted living facilities. Before becoming a nurse practitioner, she practiced as a critical care nurse and administrative supervisor for one of the largest hospitals in the DFW area.

A native of North Texas, Daniel earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Baylor University and went on to receive a Master of Science from Texas Woman’s University and a PhD in Nursing from UTA. Her body of research in gerontology focused on patient safety for older adults, cardiac rehabilitation, palliative care, and an analysis of the present and future needs for nurses. Recognizing the need for more skilled professionals to care for older adults, the Deerbrook Charitable Trust gave UTA a transformational gift that helped Daniel launch a new graduate-level gerontology health care certificate program for health care professionals who work with adults 65 and older.

While her heart belonged to nursing, her reach and influence extended far beyond CONHI. Daniel was well known throughout the community and at UTA and for her professional collaboration with community partners and departments around campus. Since 2015, she led UTA’s SmartCare program, a collaborative project between CONHI and the College of Engineering that develops technology to improve the independence, quality of life and health of the elderly and those with disabilities.

Her devotion to enhancing the quality of health and nursing led to her induction to the American Academy of Nursing’s 2019 Class of Fellows and her selection as Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing, National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence. In 2020, Daniel was recognized by the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association for Excellence in Research. In 2022, she was inducted into the Dallas-Fort Worth Great 100 Nurses.

In addition to her countless accolades and recognitions, Daniel will be remembered as a dedicated researcher and tireless advocate for nursing education.  In a 2022 article profiling her work, Daniel said, “Nursing is a wonderful career for anyone to consider. There are so many opportunities for nurses to be a part of really making a significant difference in the lives of people in our communities. I’ve really been blessed to be able to take advantage of those open doors when they appeared in my path.”

Daniel was a remarkable nurse who will be remembered by her students, colleagues, and patients as someone who always went out of her way to help others and gave generously her time, dedication, and support.

More information about UTA CONHI Spring 2024 Commencement

View the 2022-2023 Annual Report

Listen to the episode

Nomination information

Program details

UTA recognized National Public Health Week April 1st - 5th. Each day of the week, Public Health faculty and students coordinated events to increase awareness for CONHI’s Public Health programs, as well as public health initiatives like HIV prevention and mental health accommodations.

Thanayi Lambert, Clinical Assistant Professor in CONHI, presented on March 21, 2024 at the Academy of Business Research Spring 2024 Conference in New Orleans, LA. She and her research team’s work "The effect of ethical leadership, bullying, & agreeableness on burnout among nurses" was in the Healthcare/management section for the conference. They investigated the influence perceived ethical leadership has on mitigating bullying and burnout of nurses.

Claire Trotter, a CONHI postdoctoral fellow, was awarded the Michael J. Brody Young Investigator Award by the Neural Control and Autonomic Regulation section of the American Physiological Society. The award recognizes “a promising young investigator who has made a significant research contribution to the understanding of neural control and autonomic regulation," and is based on the abstract she submitted to the conference and overall contributions to the field. Trotter's abstract/presentation was about her department's work characterizing sympathetic transduction to blood pressure in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Additionally, there is a $1,000 dollar award included.

Kristine Gigli, Assistant Professor in the UTA Department of Graduate Nursing, received the award for best abstract at the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners Conference in March. Gigli shared a keynote presentation on the topic of pediatric subspecialty workforce and its impact on child health and well-being and a poster presentation on pediatric-focused nurse practitioners.

Liao Yue, Assistant Professor in the UTA Department of Kinesiology, has been selected as a PRIDE Scholar. The Programs for Inclusion and Diversity Among Individuals Engaged in Health-Related Research (PRIDE) is an initiative sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to increase diversity in the biomedical research workforce while enabling early career investigators to become competitive independent scientists in heart, lung, blood, and sleep (HLBS) research. Liao will join the PRIDE-CVD cohort this summer at State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Health Sciences University at Brooklyn, NY to receive training in multidisciplinary approaches to research in cardiovascular health disparities.

The UTA Center for Research on Teaching and Learning Excellence was recently awarded a $5,000 grant to support the goal of developing and implementing an interprofessional module on disability and healthcare. 

Master of Public Health student Jessica Douglas has been awarded the Gerry C. Gunnin, Ph.D. Public Health Memorial Fellowship, which is the most prestigious and competitive public health fellowship in Dallas-Fort Worth.  Kicking off later this month, Douglas will work along C-level executives in the Texas Health Resources system to advance community health improvement efforts.

Douglass will complete her MPH in May 2024. Congratulations Jessica!

Visit the UTA Research and Innovation Expo webpage

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Dream Makers and National Public Health Week highlighted another eventful month.