Gaining speed

February 20, 2023

Author: Caitlin Hanbury

VCU School of Nursing receives largest gift in school's history to fund student scholarships

student researchers work at a laboratory bench in the biohavioral research laboratory
Student researchers work in the Biobehavioral Research Laboratory

The VCU School of Nursing has made great strides in research funding in the last several years. In 2017, the school was not ranked by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research (BRIMR), an independent organization that reports and ranks schools funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In the last available rankings report, BRIMR lists VCU School of Nursing 32nd in the country in NIH funding of 85 nursing schools included in the report.

Behind all of this momentum is the VCU SON Office of Research, Scholarship and Innovation–a team of administrative leaders and staff that coordinate resources to facilitate productive research and scholarship; provide support, host workshops and offer mentoring opportunities to researchers; and manage a full range of biostatistics/data services and biobehavioral research laboratory services.

The growing success of the research and scholarship within the VCU School of Nursing is the cumulative result of the school’s investments in scholarship, the faculty’s passion for improving health equity in our communities, and a strategic plan to synthesize and integrate knowledge and skills with the school and across the university. The scope of research and scholarship has grown substantially through a team science approach that will foster rapid discovery and innovative solutions that promote health, prevent disease, and eradicate health disparities. The new programs and innovations will also be used to grow educational opportunities for students and sustain nursing education and workforce development.

Amy Salisbury, Ph.D., RN
Professor and Associate Dean for Research, Scholarship and Innovation

Major grants funded

$5.4 million over four years [National Institutes of Health/RECOVER]
Life-course examination of genomics, affect, and neurocognitive changes following COVID-19 Infection: the LEGACI cohort

$3.9 million over four years [Health Resources and Services Administration]
Mobile Health and Wellness Program

$1.46 million over three years [Health Resources and Services Administration]
Strength in Caring 

$166,000 [Health Resources and Services Administration]
Nurse Faculty Loan Program