Grads, Faculty, Present Findings at Prestigious UCSF Research Day

Samuel Merritt University (SMU) alumnae and faculty were well-represented at the UCSF School of Nursing Research Day in April, a prestigious forum for local health researcher-practitioners that aims to “bridge research and practice.” 

Attendees saw podium presentations from two former SMU students, Uzoma Uwakah, DNP, MSN, RN, and Joanne Zou, DNP, FNP-C, RNFA.

Uwakah presented findings in a paper titled, “Providing Neonatal Resuscitation Training in Rural Eastern Nigeria (coauthor Dr. Nancy Smee) and Zou discussed, “A Bone Health Intervention for Chinese Immigrants in Santa Clara County” (multiple coauthors). She also had a poster with the same name.

“I was delighted to see how well Dr. Uzoma Uwakah and Dr. Joanne Zou, recent DNP graduates, represented SMU with their podium presentations,” said Professor Pamela Minarik, PhD, RN, CNS, FAAN, at SMU’s San Francisco Peninsula Campus in San Mateo. “They demonstrated for the Bay Area nursing community the quality of their education and the impact of their own work on population health, newborns in Nigeria and Chinese immigrants in the Bay Area, respectively.”

Associate Professor and Chair of the Accelerated BSN program Dr. Nancy Haugen, PhD, RN, also presented a poster titled, “Evidence of Learning on Diversity, Health Disparities and Social Justice” (with three coauthors). 

"UCSF Research Day is always inspiring for new BSN graduates from SMU but even more so this year with two excellent SMU doctoral presentations," Minarik said. 

Photos: Top, Joanne Zou. To Right, Uzoma Uwakah. Below, Pamela Minarik with Zou.