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College of Nursing Research


Research in the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Nursing aligns with the overall UT Health Science Center Research Mission and Vision

Mission: To cultivate and support discovery, innovations, commercialization, and economic growth within the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and the State of Tennessee with the dedication to improve the health of Tennesseans, the nation, and the global community.
Vision: To become a world-class, interdisciplinary, and research-intensive health science center.

The UT Health Science Center College of Nursing promotes nursing-led, collaborative, and interdisciplinary research focused on measuring and improving biomedical and behavioral outcomes for patients. Throughout our research, we seek to foster collaborations with clinically and educationally focused faculty in nursing and our clinical colleagues from other disciplines. This collaboration aids in implementing evidence-based research in the clinical setting. Our nationally and internationally recognized faculty have received funding through federal agencies, foundations, professional organizations, and industry sponsors.

Nurse scientists work in the overlap between innovation and community context and contribute their unique lens to this research. Because of this nursing lens, the community context (i.e., our Mid-South region) drives many of the health conditions our faculty members study while we work with the community – not on the community – to find solutions that improve human health. The needs of our community in turn promote innovative solutions for how we intervene and collaborate with other disciplines to improve the health and wellness of the people we serve locally, in our state, in our nation, and globally.

Faculty research interests fall into the following four categories: prevention, health disparities, health systems, and patient biomedical and behavioral outcomes. The college’s Areas of Excellence include Stroke, Sickle Cell Disease, and Rural and Underserved Health Care. 

Areas of Excellence

A Message from the Dean 

Blonde woman in black jacket

“Nurse-led research places the patient at the center. Our research seeks to measure and improve health for patients where they live, whether that is an urban environment or a rural setting. We promote collaborative and interdisciplinary research with a commitment to community partnerships. The hallmarks of nurse-led research are innovation, service, and creativity. In this way, we support the university’s vision: Health Tennesseans. Thriving Communities."

Dean Wendy Likes, PhD, DNSc, APRN-BC, FAAN, FAANP

Funding Highlights

$4 million for Midwifery education
$3.98 million for to increase health care access in rural counties with a mobile health unit.
$2.6 million to support Doctor of Nursing Practice students
$3.6 million for a second rural mobile health unit
$1.5 million to increase simulation in education
$1.5 million to support nursing graduates in their transition to work in rural or underserved hospitals
$500,000 to send vans to 3 rural regions for health care education
$364,000 grant to provide specialized sickle cell education for rural providers

 

Last Published: Aug 8, 2025