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The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing celebrates Nurses Week by highlighting a few of our alumni who work diligently toward improving health care for all. Every graduate has their own unique motivation for choosing this profession; however, the common theme is always making a difference. Read more about our honorees below and join us in celebrating all Texas Nurse leaders.

Meet Jonathan Hecht, a two-time UT Austin School of Nursing alumnus, BSN 2004 and MSN 2011, and a current part-time PhD student. “I am currently a Nursing Director at Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas at Austin. My responsibilities include oversight of the inpatient abdominal transplant program, the neurosciences service line, and advanced practice.”

Meet Christopher VanFosson, a 2017 PhD graduate who has been in the Army for 22 years. He is married to another nurse, Kelly, and they have four adult children. “I am a critical care nurse by training and have mostly burn and trauma experience. I’ve deployed twice for about a year each time during Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2004) and Operation Enduring Freedom (2010-2011).”

Meet Janiece Taylor, MSN 2009 and PHD 2014, a two-time graduate of the UT Austin School of Nursing. Dr. Taylor is an Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing where she is continuing her work in the areas of pain and women’s health, and aging and disability research.

Since 2018, Associate Professor Kavita Radhakrishnan, PhD, MSEE, RN, FAAN, has been finding successful ways to encourage and monitor patients with heart failure (HF) through sensor-controlled digital games (SCDGs). In the spring of 2022, she launched two new R01 projects funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health, totaling $6.5 million.

Indigenous researchers from 10 countries—Australia, Canada, Guam, Guyana, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Taiwan, Torres Strait Islands, and the U.S.—shared research findings and approaches to address the health and well-being of Indigenous populations worldwide at the 3rd International Indigenous Nursing Research Summit.

The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing Professor Bo Xie, PhD, FGSA, has received a $561,417 grant from the National Institute on Aging in the National Institutes of Health for a high-priority R56 research project titled Tailoring Responses to ADRD Caregivers' Information Wants Through Human-Machine Collaboration (TRACO).

Sharon Horner, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor, Dolores Sands Chair for Nursing Research and John Lowe, PhD, RN, FAAN, Joseph Blades Centennial Memorial Professor in Nursing, were inducted into the 2022 Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame.

After over a decade of dedicated service as the dean of The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, Alexa Stuifbergen will conclude her tenure as dean upon completion of the 2022-23 academic year and will continue as faculty.

Meet Carol Delville, PhD, APRN, ACNS-BC, FCNSI, Clinical Associate Professor at the UT Austin School of Nursing. Dr. Delville “Bleeds Burnt Orange” having obtained her BSN, MSN and PhD degrees from The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing. She is currently the advanced practice Program Director for our Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist program.