The UCLA School of Nursing has appointed its first faculty research chairs endowed by the Audrienne H. Moseley estate. The two scholars will focus on women’s and community health.
Deborah Koniak-Griffin (Culver City) was named the first Audrienne H. Moseley Chair in Women’s Health Research in recognition of her outstanding research in promoting healthy lifestyles, parenting skills and sexual risk-reduction among low-income Latino teen parents.
Adeline (Adey) Nyamathi (Bell Canyon) was named the first Audrienne H. Moseley Chair in Community Health Research in recognition of her exceptional efforts in disease prevention and intervention among homeless and impoverished adults.
“Dr. Koniak-Griffin and Dr. Nyamathi are two of the most stellar nursing scientists in the nation,� Dean Marie J. Cowan said. “Their research achievements have brought them international and national recognition. The UCLA School of Nursing is fortunate to have them both on faculty.�
When Audrienne Moseley (Beverly Hills) died in 1980, she willed part of her estate to the UCLA School of Nursing. Moseley had trained as a nurse in California and held the UCLA nursing school’s reputation in high regard. Funds from the Audrienne H. Moseley Endowment have matured to provide a significant scholarship fund and four endowed chairs.
Deborah Koniak-Griffin is the director and principal investigator of the school’s Center for Vulnerable Populations Research, designated a Center for Excellence by the National Institutes of Health. One of only 11 scientists awarded three or more top-level grants from the National Institute of Nursing Research, she has received more than $10 million in National Institutes of Health research funding.
She joined the School of Nursing as an assistant professor in 1981, after completing her doctorate in education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned a master’s in nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and a baccalaureate degree in nursing from Columbia University. She also is a certified women’s health nurse practitioner. For the past seven years she has provided care to medically underserved women at the Venice Family Clinic.
Koniak-Griffin has testified to Congress; been invited as a visiting professor to nursing schools in Japan, Australia and Canada; and received certificates of merit from the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research.
Nationally, she was elected chair of the American Academy of Nursing experts panel on adolescents and young adults; served as a task force member of the American Nurses Association, Partners in Adolescent Health; was a Sigma Theta Tau distinguished lecturer; and a Philip Y. Hahn Lecturer at the University of San Diego.
Koniak-Griffin’s honors and awards include the Sigma Theta Tau International/Gamma Tau Chapter Excellence in Research Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award from Columbia University’s School of Nursing and the NCAST Award for Excellence in Research.
Adey Nyamathi is associate dean for academic affairs and co?director of the school’s Center for Vulnerable Populations Research. Her research focuses on providing culturally sensitive intervention programs to homeless and drug?addicted populations at risk for HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis infections. Collaborating with investigators from medicine, public health, psychology and psychiatry, she leads six top-level research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Nyamathi is a scientific leader in the Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Program at UCLA, where she mentors scholars from India and Africa. She heads three studies based in India and co-leads a bioterrorism training investigation with the Naval Medical Center in San Diego.
She joined the School of Nursing as assistant professor in 1984, after completing her doctorate in nursing at Case Western Reserve University. She earned a master’s in nursing and adult nurse practitioner training at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Nyamathi has published more than 100 articles in research journals around the world. She was named a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, a Sigma Theta Tau distinguished lecturer and a Philip Y. Hahn Lecturer at the University of San Diego.
Nyamathi was the first University of California nursing faculty member to be invited to join the Universitywide AIDS Research Program task force. She also has received the Sigma Theta Tau/Gamma Tau Excellence in Research Award and a Distinguished UCLA Wellness Lecturer Award.