Pia Pauline Lenon
BSN, RN
About
Cohort Year: 2021
Faculty Advisor: Kylea Liese, PhD, RN
Email: plenon2@uic.edu
Pia Pauline Lenon received her BSN from the UIC College of Nursing in 2019. During that time, she worked as an undergraduate research assistant for a group of researchers working on community-based interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. This work ignited her passion for health equity and interventions aimed at improving health in underserved communities. It was her experience as a bedside nurse that solidified her desire to pursue a PhD in nursing and to work toward building sustainable, community-driven interventions to improve health outcomes. Since beginning the PhD program, she has had the opportunity to work on three funded research projects with her advisor: two on maternal health and one on mental health. Through this work, she has furthered her understanding of community-engaged research, and her long-term goal is to work on the development of community-based health interventions to improve health outcomes among marginalized and underserved communities.
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Notable Honors
2025, Dissertation Research Grant, UIC Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy
2025, Seth and Denise Rosen Memorial Research Award, UIC College of Nursing
2024-2025, Founders Circle Dissertation Grant, Midwest Nursing Research Society
2023-2025, DFI Fellowship, Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois
2021-2022, 2023-2024, 2024-2025, Dean Joan L. Shaver Scholarship, UIC College of Nursing
2021-2023, Dean's PhD Student Award, UIC College of Nursing