Dr. Kathleen Insel Appointed Division Chair at UArizona College of Nursing
Dr. Insel supports faculty and students who are conducting biological or behavioral studies to improve health outcomes for individuals and populations and students in the Doctor of Nursing Practice and RN-MS programs.
Kathleen Insel, PhD, RN
TUCSON, Ariz. – Kathleen “Kathie” Insel, PhD, RN, professor of nursing, has been appointed chair of the Biobehavioral Health Science (BHS) Division at the University of Arizona College of Nursing. Dr. Insel has served as interim chair of the division since September 2018.
The BHS Division includes faculty members who conduct research in biological or behavioral science in one of four of the College of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice specialty areas: the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program, Nurse Anesthetist (NA) program, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) program or Executive Health Systems Leadership (EHSL) program. The division also is home to the Registered Nurse to Master of Science in Nursing Clinical Systems Leadership (RN-MSN) program, which provides an innovative education in clinical systems leadership leading to a master’s degree from either an associate degree or Bachelor of Science in nursing. The doctoral program also is within this division.
“As the interim chair, Dr. Insel did a fantastic job leading the Biobehavioral division,” said UArizona Nursing Dean Ida M. “Ki” Moore, PhD, RN, FAAN. “She is an accomplished nurse-scientist and educator who mentors less-experienced faculty members and students. Kathie is a team player who works effectively to move the BHS Division and the missions of the college forward. I am most grateful that she has accepted the permanent division chair position.”
“It is a privilege to work with the creative and resourceful faculty members in the BHS Division and throughout the college,” Dr. Insel said. “Faculty members are conducting research on the biological basis of behavior and using behavioral science, as well as educating new scholars in research, advanced practice and clinical systems leadership. We have a significant opportunity to make meaningful contributions throughout Arizona and around the world.”
The focus of Dr. Insel’s research is cognitive function over a person’s lifespan and its implications, specifically executive function (processes necessary for the cognitive control of behavior) and working memory, on self-management of chronic disease. She and her research team developed a successful intervention based around prospective memory (remembering to do something one intends to do) that has been implemented in an application (app) with the goal of enhancing continued independence among older adults.
Dr. Insel has taught quantitative research methods at the college since 2002. She has an active history of service nationally and was a member of the Advisory Panel on the Assessment, Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment Options for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). She serves regularly on National Institutes of Health review panels, particularly for Small Business Innovation Research: Neuro/Psychopathology, Life Span Development and STEM Education programs.
Dr. Insel earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Wisconsin, Madison; a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Rochester in New York; and a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Arizona, where she also completed a post-doctoral fellowship. She also has received a number of teaching and faculty awards from the UArizona Alumni Foundation.
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About the University of Arizona College of Nursing
Established in 1957, the University of Arizona College of Nursing has been transforming nursing education, research and practice to help people build better futures for more than 60 years. Consistently ranked among the best programs in the nation, the college is strengthening health care’s largest workforce and the public’s most trusted profession through its undergraduate and graduate programs, offered online and on-campus in Tucson and Phoenix. Headquartered in Tucson, Ariz., where integrative health has been pioneered, the UA College of Nursing is home to the world’s only Integrative Nursing Faculty Fellowship. With key focal strengths in integrative health, cancer prevention and survivorship, and nursing informatics, the college has more than 7,000 alumni worldwide promoting health and wellness in their workplaces and communities. For more information: nursing.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn).
About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. UArizona Health Sciences includes the Colleges of Medicine (Tucson and Phoenix), Nursing, Pharmacy, and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona, the greater Southwest and around the world to provide next-generation education, research and outreach. A major economic engine, Health Sciences employs nearly 5,000 people, has approximately 4,000 students and 900 faculty members, and garners $200 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: uahs.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn | Instagram).