Cheryl Tatano Beck, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Nursing, has received the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses’ 2009 Distinguished Professional Service Award.

Beck was recognized for her research and expertise in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. She is an internationally recognized expert on postpartum depression and post traumatic stress disorders related to the birth experience.

A Postpartum Depression Screening Scale, which she developed with Robert Gable, a UConn emeritus professor of education, is now used in 14 countries.

The award is the highest honor bestowed by the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, the leading U.S. nursing authority for advancing the health care of women and newborns though advocacy, research, and evidence-based standards of care.