The UConn School of Nursing is proud to announce Dr. Nancy Schmieder Redeker, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, is the 2023 recipient of the Katharine A. Lembright Award. This award is sponsored by the American Heart Association (AHA) Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing (CVSN) and it acknowledges and celebrates the cardiovascular research of established nurse scientists. Kathrine A. Lembright was the AHA assistant director for nursing from 1960-1981, and a nurse scientist who played a vital role in the development and growth of CVSN.
The Lembright Award, is the top award for excellence in research given by the AHA. To be considered you must be an active member of the AHA and in the CVSN and have an established track record in cardiovascular research, which may include national recognition of that research. The Lembright Award has been awarded since 1987, making Dr. Redeker its 37th recipient.
“I am honored to receive this award and pleased to see increased recognition of the importance of sleep health to cardiovascular and other health outcomes.” – Dr. Nancy Redeker
Dr. Redeker is a Professor at the University of Connecticut Schools of Nursing and Medicine, Senior Associate Dean for Research and Interim Director of the PhD Program in Nursing. She has spent over 30 years conducting research on acute and chronic conditions and how they are impacted by sleep and sleep disorders. Dr. Redeker recently completed an NIH-funded clinal trial of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia among people with heart failure. She is Principal Investigator of NIH-funded studies of the effects of sleep apnea treatment on functional outcomes of stroke, the contributions of sleep deficiency to relapse and retention in medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. She is also conducting a study of the contributions of social determinants of health to phenotypes of sleep health among women of childbearing age.
Dr. Redeker is the Editor-in-Chief of Heart & Lung, the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Health and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Behavioral Sleep Medicine and Sleep Medicine Reviews. She serves on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation and previously served on the National Advisory Council for the NIH/National Institute for Nursing Research and Chair of the Council for Advancement of Nursing Research, Prior to her time at the UConn School of Nursing, Dr. Redeker was the Beatrice Renfield Professor of Nursing at Yale and Director of the Yale School of Nursing Center for Biobehavioral Health Research.
In 2017, Dr. Redeker was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researchers Hall of Fame, which recognizes nurse researchers whose work has actively influenced the profession. In 2016, she received the Distinguished Contribution to Nursing Research Award from the Eastern Nursing Research Society. These are just a few of the many honors/awards that Dr. Redeker has received.
Dr. Redeker has published over 185 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 145 peer-reviewed abstracts, a book, 19 book chapters, and has served on many scientific review committees at both the national and international level.
“I am thrilled that the American Heart Association has recognized Dr. Redeker with this very prestigious lifetime achievement award.” Said UConn Nursing Dean Victoria Vaughan Dickson, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN “Her research has led to an improved understanding of sleep health and the health-related consequences of sleep deficiency across the trajectory of acute and chronic conditions. She is a nurse leader who is deeply committed to improving sleep deficiency in individuals and families who are at risk for poor health outcomes.”
Student Writer Nicole Dobrzanski, contributed to this report.
