Dr. Teresa Sakraida named Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar
January 2009
Teresa J. Sakraida, RN, PhD, MS, MSEd, an assistant professor in the University of Colorado Denver (UC-Denver) College of Nursing, Aurora, Colorado, has been named one of 15 early-career faculty nationwide to receive an inaugural Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar award. The three-year, $350,000 grant began on September 1, 2008. The award will support Dr. Sakraida’s research to test whether patients with type 2 diabetes and stage 3 chronic kidney disease who self-manage their conditions by following a tailored behavioral education and counseling intervention have improved health outcomes, quality of life, and glycemic control compared with similar patients who do not follow this behavioral education and counseling intervention. The award also will support her participation in a training program that will help prepare her for academic leadership and translating evidence into policy and practice initiatives.
Dr. Sakraida’s faculty mentors for this research are Paula Meek, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor and senior scholar, UC-Denver College of Nursing, and Tomas Berl, MD, professor of medicine and head, Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, UC-Denver School of Medicine.
Sakraida was the recipient of the 2007 Chancellor’s Teaching Recognition award. She received a Sigma Theta Tau International Small Grant and the Western Institute of Nursing Best Poster in 2006. While at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Nursing, she received the Provost’s Diversity fellow recognition and the Nursing’s Excellence in Planning and Technology in the University Network Environment award.
The goal of the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars program is to develop the next generation of national leaders in academic nursing through career development awards for outstanding junior nursing faculty. The program aims to strengthen the academic productivity and overall excellence of nursing schools by providing mentorship, leadership training, salary and research support to young faculty. For more information, visit the RWJ Foundation website at www.rwjf.org.
