Appointments and awards

Adelita Cantu, Ph.D., RN

Adelita Cantu, Ph.D., RN, assistant professor of family and community health systems, has been honored as Nurse of the Year by the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN). She was selected because of her leadership in developing the Healthy Choices for Kids program and Healthy Choices for Seniors as part of her community service learning work, and for her leadership in the NAHN and its local chapter.

Lily T. Garcia, D.D.S., M.S., FACP

Lily T. Garcia, D.D.S., M.S., FACP, professor and director of the Division of Advanced Education and External Affairs in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry, is the recipient of the 2012 Hispanic Dental Association Women’s Leadership Award. “To receive recognition from my colleagues, who represent my cultural heritage and have experienced similar challenges to achieve excellence in our profession, is so special to me,” she said. Dr. Garcia is the immediate past president of the American College of Prosthodontists and was the first Hispanic female to serve in the presidency.

M. Danet Lapiz-Bluhm, Ph.D., RN

M. Danet Lapiz-Bluhm, Ph.D., RN, assistant professor of family and community health systems, received the Nurse Research Excellence Award from the Philippine Nurses Association of America. Previously engaged in preclinical research on the effects of stress, Dr. Lapiz-Bluhm currently conducts translational research on the neurobiological biomarkers of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Jan Evans Patterson, M.D., M.S.

Jan Evans Patterson, M.D., M.S., associate dean for quality and lifelong learning in the Long School of Medicine, professor of medicine and pathology, and director of the Center for Patient Safety and Health Policy, was appointed to the Subspecialty Board on Infectious Disease of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). ABIM’s subspecialty boards and test committees are composed of experts in both academic medicine and practice, all of whom must be ABIM certified in their particular subspecialty.

Kathleen Stevens, RN, Ed.D., ANEF, FAAN

Kathleen Stevens, RN, Ed.D., ANEF, FAAN, professor of health restoration and care systems management and director of the Academic Center for Evidence-Based Practice, was inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame at the 23rd International Nursing Research Congress in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Dr. Stevens is known internationally for her work in improving patient safety and the quality of patient care through evidence-based practice.