Center for Clinical and Translational Science

The annual scientific symposium of the Heilbrunn Family Center for Research Nursing was extraordinary this year, marking the 10th anniversary of the Heilbrunn Nurse Scholar Award and being the first in-person event since the COVID-19 pandemic. The celebration commenced on May 15th with a welcome reception in which Helaine Lerner and her sister, Joan Rechnitz, who generously endowed the Center, were honored.
Mrs. Lerner attended the reception where Dr. Barry Coller presented her with the Heilbrunn Nurse Scholar program medal, especially forged for the anniversary. This medal, embossed with the Florence Nightingale Lamp inscription, “Promoting Health, Advancing Nursing Science and Health Equity,” symbolizes the program’s mission.
On May 16, the scientific symposium began with Dr. Coller providing a history of the Center and the separate Heilbrunn Outpatient Research Center, which was supported by Helaine and Joan’s parents Robert and Harriet Heilbrunn. He was followed by Dr. Candy Capili, Director of the Center, who provided an overview of the Heilbrunn Nurse Scholars program.

Reflecting on Ten Years of Impact and Innovation
Since its inception, the program has awarded 45 Heilbrunn Nurse Scholar awards to early-career nurse scientists, Fellows, and assistant professors. These scholars, hailing from the Northeast, Midwest, and South, have garnered numerous accolades, including prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) research awards, including R01s, R21s, K awards, and F99/K00 awards, as well as foundation grants from the Fulbright, Jonas, and Hillman foundations.

Memorable Moments from the Anniversary Celebration
Sixteen Heilbrunn Scholars attended the celebration and Dr. Coller saluted them by noting that many of the Nurse Scholars have gone on to outstanding careers in academia and government, fulfilling the mission of the Center “to promote research nursing locally, nationally, and internationally.” Dr. Coller specifically recognized Dr. Marilyn DeLuca, a national nursing leader and major Center advisor, for her steadfast support and contributions to the Heilbrunn Nurse Scholar program.

Insights from Our Esteemed Alumni
The scientific symposium featured two insightful panels moderated by Heilbrunn alumnae. Karen Jennings Mathis (2019 Cohort), Associate Professor at Brown University, and Krista Knudson (2016 Cohort), Assistant Professor at Marquette University, co-chaired the session and led a stimulating discussion with the Extramural Nursing Research Advisory Committee Panel, which included:

•  Dr. Marilyn DeLuca (Principal, Global Health-Systems-Philanthropy Consulting and New York University School of Medicine)
•  Dr. Margaret Barton-Burke (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)
•  Dr. Wendy Henderson (University of Pennsylvania)
•  Dr. Lisa Lewis (Rutgers University-Camden)
•  Dr. Rita Pickler (The Ohio State University)

The panel addressed critical questions about early-career nurse scientists, covering mentoring, technology, and artificial intelligence. The panelists shared valuable lessons they learned during their careers.
•  The second panel featured Heilbrunn Alumnae:
•  Dr. Susan Malone (2014 Cohort), Assistant Professor, New York University
•  Dr. Christina Marea (2018 Cohort), Assistant Professor, Georgetown University
•  Dr. Jennifer Glayzer (2021 Cohort), Post-Doctoral Research Scientist, Indiana University

They shared how the Heilbrunn program impacted their careers. Christina Marea discussed how the data collection instrument she developed as a Heilbrunn Scholar, which focused on the care of women and girls affected by female genital mutilation/cutting, has now been used in 30 countries. Susan Malone recounted her pioneering research that showed a novel relationship between the length of sleep intervals and metabolic disorders in young adults.

Highlighting Current Researchers
Current Heilbrunn researchers presented their innovative work, including Avery Bechtold, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, who is studying the experiences of patients and families with left ventricular assist devices, and Katie Yang, a Ph.D. student at the University of Rochester, who is studying intuition and memory in clinical nursing practice.
Dr. Capili emphasized that many Scholars focus their research on understudied conditions and hard-to-reach populations. She stated, “By impacting the lives of people in marginalized communities, Nurse Scholar researchers assist in achieving health equity.” Dr. Capili also noted that the program has gained national acclaim for the high quality of the research performed by the Scholars. She noted that “As nursing professionals and researchers nationwide learn about the Heilbrunn Nurse Scholar Award, many see it as an early career success marker.”