Newly appointed inaugural Linda Koch Lorimer Professor of Nursing, Ann Kurth, is the dean of the Yale School of Nursing and an expert on global health. Kurth is a clinically trained epidemiologist whose research focuses on how to improve prevention, detection, and care of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Her work to promote reproductive health and strengthen global health systems through information and communication technologies has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNAIDS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the US Health and Resources Administration.

Kurth’s educational background comes from an undergraduate degree at Princeton, an MPH in population and family health from Columbia, a master’s in nursing with a specialization in midwifery from Yale, and a PhD in epidemiology from the University of Washington. Her academic career began as the Paulette Goddard Professor of Global Health Nursing at New York University (NYU). She also founded and served as executive director of NYUCN Global in the NYU College of Nursing, a research and implementation program for improving health and well-being for individuals, families, and communities nationally as well as globally. Kurth now serves as adjunct professor of nursing and public health at NYU, and adjunct professor and dean of the Yale School of Public Health and the Yale School of Nursing, respectively.

The Yale professor also has an impressive academic literary background with over 160 published peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and scholarly monographs. She is also a regular reviewer for public health, medical, and nursing journals. One of Kurth’s highest achievements was editing one of the first books published on women and HIV, “Until the Cure.” Kurth has also consulted for the NIH, the Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization, and the CDC, as well as served as a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and National Academy of Science Committee on PEPFAR Evaluation where she led a Health System Strengthening workgroup.

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Kurth has been honored on multiple occasions for her leadership and contributions to science. Most notably, she was awarded the International Nurse Research Hall of Fame award from Sigma Theta Tau International, a global nursing honor society. She is vice chair for the Consortium of Universities in Global Health, and a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the New York Academy of Medicine. Currently, Kurth is a member of the 2014-2018 US Preventive Services Task Force, a program to set screening guidelines for primary care in the US.

Yale created the Linda Koch Lorimer Professorship to honor a distinguished faculty member in any field, “who is an exemplary citizen of the university, and who embodies the attributes and character demonstrated by Linda Koch Lorimer, including her commitment to a legacy of women at Yale.” Lorimer served Yale for over 30 years as a vice president and secretary, overseeing numerous transformative initiatives, including the creation of the Office of International Affairs, the Office of New Haven and State Affairs, and the Office of Digital Dissemination and Online Education.

Congratulations to Ann Kurth, our Nurse of the Week.

Christina Morgan
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