Nurses Week is a time to recognize the dedication, innovation, and compassion that nurses bring to their work every day. At the UW School of Nursing, that spirit extends far beyond the bedside. Our faculty are researchers, clinicians, educators, and leaders who are shaping the future of health care — advancing science, driving policy, and improving lives across communities locally, nationally, and around the world.
This Nurses Week, we are proud to shine a light on just a few of the extraordinary faculty members who represent the best of what nursing has to offer — below is a selection of our incredible UW School of Nursing faculty and the accomplishments and recognitions they have recently received. Their achievements remind us that nursing is not a single path, but a profession of boundless possibility.
Suha Ballout, PhD
Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
Dr. Ballout has been appointed to the American Academy of Nursing’s Policy Standing Committee on Global and Public Health, effective June 1, 2026. A fellow of both the American Academy of Nursing and the Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing, she was selected by the Academy’s Board of Directors to advance strategic, collaborative, and proactive policy work in support of healthy lives for all people.
Betty Bekemeier, PhD
Professor and Director, Northwest Center for Public Health Practice, Child, Family and Population Health Nursing
Dr. Bekemeier is the recipient of the Welch/Woerne Path Paver Award from the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR), presented at the organization’s annual gala in Washington D.C. The award recognizes a nurse researcher who has made significant scientific contributions in a field that advances our understanding of human health and health care. This honor reflects Dr. Bekemeier’s decades of transformative impact on public health nursing research and leadership.
Autumn Dennistoun
Clinical Instructor, Child, Family and Population Health Nursing | DNP Alumna
Dennistoun developed hands-on naloxone training tailored to commercial fishers and is now expanding the program across Washington, Idaho, Alaska, and Oregon to reduce overdose fatalities in one of the region’s most dispersed and underserved workforces.
Maya Elias, PhD
Assistant Professor, Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Informatics
Dr. Elias has been selected as a 2026 IMPACT Faculty Scholar through the National Institute on Aging’s IMPACT Collaboratory. The one-year program supports investigators developing expertise in embedded pragmatic clinical trials focused on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, providing mentorship, scholarly projects, and career development opportunities.
Jennifer T. Sonney, PhD, APRN, PPCNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN
Faculty, UW School of Nursing
Dr. Sonney has been named a recipient of both the 2026 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners President’s Award and the Loretta C. Ford Distinguished Nurse Practitioner Award — the organization’s highest honor. This dual recognition reflects her exceptional leadership, scholarship, and dedication to improving health outcomes for children and families at the state, national, and international level.
Megan Streur, PhD, RN, ARNP
Associate Professor, Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Informatics
Dr. Streur has been elected as a Fellow of the American Heart Association and inducted into the American Academy of Nursing. Her research focuses on the biological and behavioral mechanisms of symptoms and patient-centered outcomes in adults with cardiovascular disease, with a particular focus on atrial fibrillation. She also maintains an active clinical practice as a cardiac electrophysiology nurse practitioner at UW Medicine.
Brenda Kaye Zierler, PhD, RN, RVT, FAAN
Chair and Professor, Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Informatics
Dr. Zierler has been named the 2026 recipient of the Carlos De La Pena Award for Excellence in Clinical and Translational Science. Recognized for a decade of transformative leadership as director of the Institute of Translational Health Sciences Team Science Core, her work developing leadership training programs, team-based communication tools, and team writing toolkits has reached thousands of researchers. The award will be presented at ITHS EXPO 26 on May 12, 2026.
Oleg Zaslavsky, PhD
Faculty, UW School of Nursing
Dr. Zaslavsky has received a five-year, approximately $2.5 million NIH R01 award to develop and evaluate VOCALE Frailty — a scalable digital program designed to help older adults living independently manage frailty and maintain quality of life. The web-based intervention offers peer support, self-care resources, and guided problem-solving tools tailored for older adults with limited digital literacy, and will be tested across 10 continuing care retirement communities.