The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing has named Bunny Pozehl, Ph.D., of Lincoln, to the second Dorothy Hodges Olson Chair in Nursing, pending final Board of Regents approval.
Dr. Pozehl grew up in Ainsworth, Neb.
The second chair, established by the Olson family earlier this summer, supports a distinguished nurse scholar with research and teaching expertise who enhances the quality of research, teaching and practice efforts in the college.
The first chair was established in 1995, which has been held by Ann Berger, Ph.D., since 2007. She will continue to hold the first chair.
“Dr. Pozehl has built an impressive body of research, teaching, and clinical practice focused on care of adults with cardiovascular disease and continues to grow as a nurse scientist and faculty member,” said Juliann Sebastian, Ph.D., dean of the UNMC College of Nursing. “She began building her program of research with a seed grant in 1992 addressing pain management and from there she built a strong program that focuses on exercise among patients with heart failure.
“We are thankful to the family of Dorothy Hodges Olson for their support of both of the endowed chairs and their dedication to furthering the advancement of academic nursing.”
Dr. Pozehl, a professor in the UNMC College of Nursing Omaha Division, recently completed a major grant that tested her intervention to promote adherence to exercise following a study that provided pilot data on the same topic.
“It is a distinct honor to be named to the chair,” Dr. Pozehl said. “Patient-centered research and leading an interdisciplinary team of researchers to study exercise and exercise adherence in patients with heart failure has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.
“Mentoring students, post-docs, and faculty is a privilege. It’s an opportunity to guide and foster each mentee’s scientific curiosity and to fuel the passion that develops into true dedication toward a life-long research career,” she said.
She has presented her research at regional, national and international scientific meetings. Her research expertise has been recognized through numerous awards.
In 2017 she was granted fellowship in the Heart Failure Society, following her receipt of fellowship in the American Heart Association in 2010. In 2013, she was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. She received the Dr. Anselmo Alonso Research Investigator Award from the Nebraska Affiliate of the American Heart Association in 1999, the Penny Z. Davis Faculty Research Award in 2005, a Distinguished Scientist Award from UNMC in 2013 and was named a Virginia Stone Scholar from the American Nurses Foundation.
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