Professor Deborah Bruner, RN, PhD, FAAN, will be presented with the 2019 “Outstanding Alumni Award” from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing during their Alumni Weekend in May. This award recognizes Penn Nursing graduates who are leaders and have had an outstanding career that has advanced the profession of nursing.
Since earning her PhD in Nursing Research from Penn Nursing in 1999, Bruner has advanced the profession of nursing through her leadership roles at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and Emory University. She has made a significant impact on nursing through her role as a leading nursing researcher and as an educator who has mentored many students toward success.
An internationally-renowned oncology nurse researcher, Bruner currently serves as Emory University’s senior vice president for research. Bruner is also the Robert W. Woodruff professor and chair in nursing at Emory’s School of Nursing. She also holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Emory’s School of Medicine and the Winship Cancer Institute.
“Dr. Bruner is a nursing leader whose influential research, mentorship and scholarship has shaped the nursing profession we know today,” says Linda McCauley, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAAOHN, Dean of the Emory School of Nursing. “She continues to be a source of pride for our nursing school and Emory University.”
As Emory University’s senior vice president for research, Bruner helps set strategy for research and partners with other research leaders across Emory to identify and facilitate interdisciplinary research, including breaking down institutional and cultural barriers to encourage opportunities for collaboration through academic activities that reach across schools, colleges, centers and institutes. Since Bruner’s arrival at Emory in 2011, she has served on a number of key Emory task forces and committees including serving as vice-chair of the Commission on the Liberal Arts (COLA), the University Senate and Faculty Council and the Task Force on Shared Faculty Governance.
Bruner’s leadership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) sponsored National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) transcends disciplines and has led to changes in clinical practice guidelines, improved health and quality of life and decreased cost outcomes for those treated for cancer. Recognition of her work has led to her appointment by President Obama to one of only two National Institutes of Health (NIH) Presidential appointed committees, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Cancer Advisory Board, on which she still serves. Bruner is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has won numerous awards for research and mentorship. She has mentored nursing, psychology, epidemiology and medical junior faculty as well as pre- and post-doctoral students/fellows and has served as primary mentor for both nurses and physicians on nine career development awards.