Four faculty receive 2025 top college awards
Meet the 2025 award winners
Four UIC Nursing faculty members were celebrated for their contributions to scholarly practice, diversity, research and mentorship at an awards ceremony on Sept. 25 at the 3rd Floor Event Center of the Chicago campus.
Meet the 2025 award winners
Meet the 2025 award winners
Judith Lloyd Storfjell Distinguished Practice Award
The college’s highest award for excellence in nursing practice, it was permanently endowed in 2022 with a gift from Storfjell.
Rebecca Singer, DNP ’18, RN, FAAN, is a clinical associate professor of population health. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rebecca has co-led an outbreak response program that focuses on providing services to people most vulnerable to poor outcomes in collaboration with the City of Chicago Department of Public Health. The Outbreak Response Team has provided testing, vaccination and infection control expertise in response to COVID-19, mpox, Ebola Virus Disease, and multi-drug resistant organisms.
She has two decades of experience in global health and community partnerships, work that has taken her around the world to conflict zones, post-conflict zones and other unstable regions.
Julie & Mark Zerwic Diversity Award
Established to recognize a faculty member, student or staff member who has made a significant contribution to support diversity and foster equity and inclusion.
Rohan Jeremiah, PhD, MPH, is a professor of human development nursing science and associate dean of global health. Guided by a vision of inclusive, just, and people-centered health systems, his studies have covered critical topics such as intimate partner violence, trauma, HIV/AIDS, cancer disparities, minority men, LGBT, and refugee health. His global health experience includes serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon and South Africa and developing and managing health programs in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Latin America, the Eastern Caribbean, and the United States. His work has impacted communities in at least 20 countries.
Distinguished Researcher Award
Established to recognize a faculty member or alumnus who has made an outstanding contribution to nursing science and research.
Pamela Martyn-Nemeth, PhD, RN, FAHA, FPCNA, FAAN, is a professor of biobehavioral nursing science. Inducted into the Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in 2025, Martyn-Nemeth’s area of scholarship is focused on cardiovascular disease risk reduction and improvement of quality of life in people with type 1 diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes experience two to four times the risk of cardiovascular disease. Over the course of her career, she has received 14 grants supporting her work in diabetes self-management.
In a current NIH-funded study, she’s examining the mechanisms by which improving sleep may reduce cardiovascular risk and improve glycemic control.
Distinguished Mentor of Faculty Award
The award recognizes a faculty member who has made an outstanding contribution to faculty mentorship.
Ardith Doorenbos, PhD, RN, FAAN, is a professor of biobehavioral nursing science and the Harriet H. Werley Endowed Chair for Nursing Research. Doorenbos’ research is centered on pain and symptom management. Her grant portfolio is funded by the National Institutes of Health and other professional sources. She has a sustained record of more than 300 peer-reviewed, data-based publications in nursing and multidisciplinary journals. She was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in 2018.
Doorenbos has successfully mentored multiple early-career researchers who have been awarded competitive grants, resulting in scholarly publications and presentations.