Two faculty members from the UConn Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing, Eileen Condon, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, and Carrie Eaton, PhD, RNC-OB, C-EFM, CHSE, FAWHONN, have been selected for induction as 2026 Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing.

Induction into the Academy is one of nursing’s most prestigious honors, recognizing individuals for substantial, sustained, and significant contributions to health and health care.

“The induction of Eileen and Carrie into the American Academy of Nursing is a tremendous recognition of their contributions to nursing and the impact of their work,” says Victoria Vaughan Dickson, PhD, RN, FAHA, FHFSA, FAAN, Dean of the UConn Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing.

“Their commitment to advancing nursing science, strengthening education, and improving health outcomes exemplifies the leadership and excellence we value at UConn. We are incredibly proud to see them join this distinguished community of nursing leaders.”

The 2026 Fellows were selected from a competitive pool of candidates and represent 39 states, the District of Columbia, and 17 countries. With this year’s class, the Academy’s Fellowship will grow to more than 3,600 nursing leaders.

 

Eileen Condon, Ph.D., APRN, FNP-BC

Condon is an assistant professor at the UConn Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing whose research focuses on improving the health of socioeconomically marginalized families with young children, particularly families affected by chronic stress and childhood adversity.

Inspired by her background as a family nurse practitioner working with underserved communities, Condon’s program of research seeks to identify new targets for interventions that promote child and family health and reduce health inequities. Her work incorporates biological, behavioral, and genetic approaches to examine how adversity and protective factors can influence health across generations.

Condon has led innovative research demonstrating the long-term benefits of the Minding the Baby™ home visiting intervention for parent and child health, including some of the first evidence that early home visiting can produce lasting improvements in children’s biological health. Her ongoing research examines modifiable mechanisms underlying the intergenerational transmission of stress, including sleep and circadian rhythms, parenting, and mental health, to inform future family-focused interventions.

Condon’s research has been supported by a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute of Nursing Research, part of the National Institutes of Health. Her previous research has also received support from the National Institute of Nursing Research, American Nurses Foundation, NAPNAP Foundation, and other foundations.

Condon earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Villanova University in 2008 and her Master of Science from the Yale School of Nursing in 2012. She earned her Ph.D. in Nursing from Yale University in 2018 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Yale School of Nursing in 2021.

 “I am deeply honored to be selected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. My clinical practice and research have shaped my understanding of both the challenges families face and the strengths they bring to overcoming them. I look forward to working with Academy Fellows to advance research and policies that help families thrive across generations.”

 

Carrie Eaton, Ph.D., RNC-OB, C-EFM, CHSE, FAWHONN

Eaton is an associate clinical professor at the UConn Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing and brings 25 years of clinical experience in labor and delivery nursing, including practice at Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, CT. Her expertise spans obstetric nursing, maternal health, evidence translation, nursing education, and simulation. In 2021, Eaton received the UConn School of Nursing’s John McNulty Award for Excellence in the Scholarship of Clinical Application. The recognition was especially meaningful to Eaton because McNulty was both a mentor and friend whose influence helped shape the professor she is today.

Eaton’s scholarship is dedicated to improving maternal health and safety throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. Her work spans maternal mental health, perinatal anxiety, eating disorders during pregnancy and postpartum, obstetric emergencies, and posttraumatic growth, with a particular emphasis on qualitative and implementation-focused research and translating the experiences of women and healthcare professionals into improvements in clinical care and patient education.

A major focus of Eaton’s national work has been her longstanding collaboration with the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). Through two studies funded by Merck for Mothers, Eaton led nursing research teams examining the implementation and dissemination of AWHONN’s POST-BIRTH Warning Signs (PBWS), a national maternal-safety initiative designed to improve recognition of potentially life-threatening complications after birth. Eaton also collaborated with AWHONN on its Respectful Maternity Care initiative, contributing to the dissemination and publication of research findings that informed subsequent revisions to the program. Eaton has further extended this work into nursing education and simulation, translating evidence from national maternal-safety initiatives into innovative educational approaches that prepare future nurses to recognize and respond to maternal health concerns.

“I am incredibly honored to be inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. My identity as a nurse has been shaped by the women and families I cared for, the colleagues I have worked alongside, and the students who remind me why this work matters. As a clinical faculty member, my scholarship has truly been a labor of love, driven by my passion for nursing and teaching and a commitment to translating evidence into meaningful change in maternal care and education.”

 

The American Academy of Nursing serves the public by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge. Fellows are selected for their extraordinary contributions to improving health locally and globally and represent accomplished leaders across nursing policy, research, administration, practice, and academia.

For Condon and Eaton, induction places them among a distinguished group of UConn Nursing faculty and alumni who have earned the FAAN credential and whose work is helping advance nursing and improve health.

The UConn Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing congratulates them both on this significant achievement.