Newswise — HOUSTON – (Jan. 27, 2015) – Lorraine Frazier, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., has been named dean of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Nursing, effective Feb. 2.
“We are excited that Dr. Frazier is returning to UTHealth to lead our outstanding and nationally-recognized nursing school,” said Giuseppe N. Colasurdo, M.D., president of UTHealth. “I am confident that Dr. Frazier will further the school’s legacy of service to its students, faculty and community.”
Frazier will succeed Dean Patricia Starck, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., who announced her pending retirement last February following an unprecedented 30-year tenure as dean of the UTHealth School of Nursing. Starck also serves as UTHealth’s senior vice president for Interprofessional Education and will continue in that role after stepping down as dean.
“It is an honor and a privilege to come back to Houston and UTHealth. The school is my alma mater and I am excited to serve with the faculty and move the school forward,” Frazier said. “My objectives are to take the school forward in both education and research. I want to focus on building the research agenda and the interprofessional collaboration. This is a fantastic opportunity to build on the solid foundation left by Dean Starck.”
Frazier received her doctorate at the UTHealth School of Nursing, where she also earned her M.S.N. After her Ph.D. program, Frazier studied genetics and hypertension at the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM) at UTHealth. Frazier received her M.S. in clinical research from the UTHealth Medical School, B.S.N. from the University of Oklahoma and A.D.N. from Southwest Texas State University (Texas State University).
Frazier joined the UTHealth School of Nursing in 1997 as a research assistant. In 2002, she was honored as a distinguished alumna. Frazier was a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Program Fellow from 2009 to 2012. From 2008 to 2011, she served as the Nancy B. Willerson Distinguished Professor in Nursing, assistant dean and Nursing Systems department chair.
Frazier was the project director of the TexGen Research Project, a collaboration among UTHealth, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Baylor College of Medicine, from 2001 to 2011. The project collected and identified genes that contribute to cardiovascular disease and cancer. In 2006, she was selected as the director of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Biobank Consortium. In 2011, Frazier accepted the Linda C. Hodges Dean Chair at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Nursing.
As a principal investigator, Frazier has received more than $4 million in research funding and $2.8 million in program grants. Her published research has focused on biomarkers for depression and the connection between mental health and cardiovascular disease.
RSS