Phoebe D. Williams, RN, PhD, FAAN, professor at the University of Kansas School of Nursing, was named the 2007 Distinguished Alumna at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing.

Heart failure patients at The University of Kansas Hospital will soon have access to additional self-management strategies, thanks to a $3.3 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Carol Smith, RN, PhD, professor at the University of Kansas School of Nursing, is the principal investigator who will study preventive measures for reducing heart failure hospitalizations.

Joan Hunt, PhD, has been awarded more than $4.8 million in funding from the NIH to lead a collaborative effort to explore improved communication between mothers and their fetuses in utero. Ongoing research in this field is designed to reduce the number of miscarriages and other fertility problems, which affect nearly one in 10 couples.

The University of Kansas School of Medicine was recently presented with the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Achievement Award as one of the nation’s leading educators of family physicians. For a three-year period ending in October 2006, 21.7 percent of KU School of Medicine graduates entered family medicine residency programs. This makes KU the No. 1 medical school in the country for producing family medicine physicians.

The General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) has been awarded more than $7 million in funding from the NIH to support efforts to move the latest medical discoveries more efficiently from the research laboratory to treatments for patients. This three-year grant will fund clinical and translational research among a number of disciplines at KU Medical Center.

Dr. Angelia M. Paschal was awarded the University of Kansas Medical Center’s fifth annual diversity award. Paschal, assistant professor of preventive medicine and public health at the KU School of Medicine in Wichita, was presented with the award on behalf of Executive Vice Chancellor Barbara Atkinson, MD, in support of the Medical Center’s commitment to providing a rich and varied environment for work and study.

Sandra Johnston, MSEd, RHIA, CPC, clinical assistant professor and clinical coordinator in the Health Information Management (HIM) program at the University of Kansas School of Allied Health, was the recipient of the 2006 Motivator Award by the Kansas Health Information Management Association (KHIMA). The award honors individuals who have worked with students and/or colleagues to prepare the next generation of professionals for their careers in health information management.

Sandy Keener, MA, audiologist and clinical instructor with the University of Kansas School of Allied Health, was named the 2006 Audiologist of the Year by the Kansas Speech-Language- Hearing Association. Keener was the first clinician in Kansas to incorporate the otoacoustic emission test in her pediatric diagnostic protocol.