Council Member Profiles

Patricia A. Grady, PhD, RN, FAAN
Council Chair

Dr. Patricia A. Grady was appointed Director, NINR, on April 3, 1995. She earned her undergraduate degree in nursing from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. She pursued her graduate education at the University of Maryland, receiving a master's degree from the School of Nursing and a doctorate in physiology from the School of Medicine. ...more information.

Mary E. Kerr, PhD, RN, FAAN
Executive Secretary

Dr. Kerr is the Deputy Director of the NINR. She comes to NINR from the University of Pittsburgh, where she has served most recently as UPMC Health System chair in nursing science in the School of Nursing. Her research has focused on preventing cerebral ischemia and maximizing cerebral perfusion in the critically ill patient with a neurologic condition. She is particularly interested in identifying early biomarkers or parameters that help identify individuals at risk for cerebral ischemia. Dr. Kerr has received numerous honors and awards throughout her career. In 2004, she received the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing Outstanding Alumni Award and has received the Excellence in Nursing, Nightingale Award of Pennsylvania for Nursing Research in 2002, and in 2001 the Distinguished Research Lectureship Award from the Eastern Nursing Research Society.

Marion E. Broome, PhD, RN

Dr. Marion E. Broome is the dean of the Indiana University School of Nursing, as well as a Distinguished Professor in the school’s Department of Family Health Nursing. She is a widely published expert in pediatric nursing research and practice. In June 2004, she was appointed as a charter member of the NIH Nursing Science Study Section: Children and Families. Dr. Broome is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), and editor-in-chief of Nursing Outlook, the official journal of the AAN.

Michael A. Counte, PhD (2009)

Dr. Counte is a Professor and Co-Director of the Int'l. Center for Advances in Health Systems Management in the Dept. of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, Saint Louis University. Dr. Counte serves as a research and health care management development consultant to numerous organizations and agencies including the National Institute on Aging, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Agency for International Development, Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Cancer Institute.

J. Randall Curtis, MD, MPH (2010)

Dr. Curtis is currently a Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington and an attending physician in Pulmonary and Critical Care at Harborview Medical Center. Dr. Curtis completed a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Washington, where he also received his research training as a Clinical Scholar in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. Dr. Curtis's research interests focus on measuring and improving the quality of end-of-life care for persons with chronic diseases or critical illness.

David F. Dinges, PhD (2009)

Dr. Dinges is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania.

Stanley Finkelstein, PhD (2012)

Dr. Finkelstein is a professor of laboratory medicine and pathology in the Medical School at the University of Minnesota. He is also the director of the Schmitt Center for Home Telehealth, established within the Division of Health Informatics at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Finkelstein is an electrical and biomedical engineer whose research utilizes engineering principles to develop monitoring systems for chronic illnesses. Dr. Finkelstein's particular area of research is in the design and evaluation of home telehealth systems for patient monitoring in chronic diseases, home telehealth, medical informatics, and vascular compliance.

Kevin Frick, PhD (2011)

Dr. Frick is a health economist and Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Department of Health Policy and Management. Dr. Frick has been involved in a wide variety of projects addressing public health concerns including US community-based public health interventions, international eye diseases, and pharmaco-economic analyses. He is actively involved in interdisciplinary collaborations where he combines his knowledge of economic analysis with the expertise of his clinical and epidemiological colleagues to conduct cost-effectiveness analyses that clarify economic decision making and inform health policy makers. Examples of his work include community-based interventions such as the Baltimore City Healthy Start program, the Experience Corps volunteer program for older adults, and an intervention to increase breastfeeding duration among low income women. His current main focus is cost- effectiveness studies associated with sensory impairments.

Felicia Schanche Hodge, DrPH (2009)

Dr. Hodge is a Professor in the Univ. of Minnesota School of Nursing and Director of the Center for American Indian Research and Education (CAIRE), which she created at the University of California at Berkeley. A Wailaki Indian from Northern California, Dr. Hodge is an alumna of the School of Public Health, UC Berkeley, where she later taught in the School of Social Welfare and Native American Studies. She has over 25 years' experience working in health delivery systems on reservations and in urban settings.

Diana E. Lake, MD (2012)

Dr. Lake is a medical oncologist at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She received her medical degree from the Chicago Medical School. Her practice is devoted to the care of breast cancer patients and her research interests involve all areas of breast cancer with a focus on the development of new therapies, prevention of cancer recurrence following surgery, and treatment of recurrent disease. Dr. Lake has served on the NIH Cooperative Group Review and its Cancer Education committees.

Joan Lancaster (2010)

Ms. Joan Lancaster, Director of Government Relations at the Mountain States Health Alliance, is the liaison between community health providers and vulnerable people in need of health care. She focuses on issues affecting underserved and low-income rural Americans, the elderly, and families coping with severe chronic illness. She has been involved in the planning and development of the Regional Med-Tech Center, a project that will link the development of health care delivery systems and related research with high technology businesses that serve the health industry and other related businesses. A graduate of East Tennessee State University, Ms. Lancaster has served as a public housing commissioner for the past 17 years. She has also served as a board member of the Children’s Advocacy Center, and she currently serves as a member of the Steering Committee for the annual Family Re-Union Conference.

James W. Linn, JD (2009)

Mr. Linn is an attorney at Lewis, Longman & Walker, P.A.

Jean McSweeney, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN (2011)

Dr. McSweeney is a Professor in the Department of Nursing Science at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Dr. McSweeney applies her extensive experience in cardiovascular nursing to the study of acute symptoms of coronary heart disease. Her program of research includes the study of myocardial infarctions in women, cardiovascular disease, prodromal symptoms of coronary heart disease, health promotion, and cardiac rehabilitation. Dr. McSweeney is an active member of multiple organizations including the American Heart Association, Southern Nursing Research Society (SNRS), and the American Academy of Nursing (AAN).

Capt. Maggie Richard (2012)

Captain Maggie L. Richard, Ph.D., is the director of the Human Research Protection Program in the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, the Department of the Navy. She has served over 20 years in the Navy Nurse Corps, and is the former head of the Nursing Research Service at the Bethesda National Naval Medical Center. Last November, she was chosen to speak on behalf of military nurses at the 10-year anniversary ceremony of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, at Arlington National Cemetery.

Marla E. Salmon, ScD, RN, FAAN (2012)

Dr. Salmon is the current dean of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University, and will be taking over as the Dean of the University of Washington School of Nursing effective October 1, 2008. She was awarded a doctor of science from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1977, and received a master of science from the University of Portland School of Nursing in 1999. Dr. Salmon is a past chair of the World Health Organization's Global Advisory Group on Nursing and Midwifery. Dr. Salmon's scholarship has focused on national and international workforce policy and development.

Sharon L. Tennstedt, PhD (2009)

Dr. Tennstedt is the Vice President and Director of the Institute of Studies on Aging at the New England Research Institutes (NERI). She is NERI’s Research Integrity Officer. Since the early 1980s, Dr Tennstedt has conducted many types of surveys and observational studies, both cross-sectional and longitudinal, behavioral intervention trials, and randomized clinical trials. She also has extensive experience with mixed-mode approaches to data collection and is recognized for her expertise in accessing difficult or hard-to-reach populations. Dr. Tennstedt holds adjunct faculty appointments at the Boston University School of Public Health and at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. She is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and serves on the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals.

King S. Udall, MD (2011)

King S. Udall, MD, practices Family Practice and Preventive Medicine in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr. Udall, graduated from the University Of Utah School Of Medicine in Salt Lake City and has been in the profession for 31 years. His is a member of Intermountain Healthcare.

Clarann Weinert, SC, PhD, RN, FAAN (2010)

Clarann Weinert, SC, PhD, RN, FAAN is an established nurse scientist. Sister Clarann received a BSN from the College of Mount St. Joseph on the Ohio, a MS in nursing from The Ohio State University, and a MA and PhD in sociology from the University of Washington. Dr. Weinert is the Director of the Center for Research on Chronic Health Conditions in Rural Dwellers. Dr. Weinert currently serves on the Board of Directors of Sigma Theta Tau International and is a Distinguished Writer, and Media Expert. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and in the Western Academy of Nurses.

Anna C. Alt-White, PhD, RN
Ex Officio

Dr. Alt-White is the Program Director at Research Office of Nursing Services, Department of Veterans Affairs.