Lin Honored as 'Brilliant New Investigator'
University of Rochester Assistant Professor of Nursing Feng (Vankee) Lin, Ph.D., R.N. will be presented with the Brilliant New Investigator Award from the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science (CANS) at the organization’s 2016 State of the Science Congress on Nursing Research, Sept. 15-17 in Washington, D.C.
The award recognizes the contributions of scientists early in their research careers who show extraordinary potential to develop sustained programs of research certain to have significant impact on the science and practice of nursing and health care. Nominees must show a record of building research productivity in an area of major significance to nursing and health care, research dissemination and translation to practice and/or policy, and emerging leadership related to the advancement of nursing science.
“This is well-deserved recognition for Vankee,” said Kathy Rideout, Ed.D., P.P.C.N.P.-B.C., F.N.A.P., dean of the University of Rochester School of Nursing. “She has already accomplished so much in her career, and this competitive national award is a testament to the quality and importance of her ongoing research efforts and the bright future that no doubt lies ahead of her.”
Lin’s research at the UR School of Nursing focuses on cognitive decline in older populations and those at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. She is the principal investigator on a $2 million National Institute of Nursing Research grant examining how computer-based brain fitness activities may help slow cognitive and functional decline in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, and last week was awarded a $421K grant from the National Institute on Aging to study fatigability among aging populations. Earlier this year, Lin was the recipient of the University of Rochester’s Valerie and Frank Furth Fund Award to support her research into examining how “supernormals” – older adults who have maintained their memory capacity substantially better than their peers – preserve their cognitive health as they age.
Lin received bachelor’s degrees in English and medicine at Jilin University in China and an M.S. and Ph.D. in nursing and geriatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She did postdoc training in the UR departments of neurology and psychiatry and joined the UR School of Nursing faculty in 2013. She currently carries joint appointments as an assistant professor in nursing, the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Science. She is also director of the CogT Laboratory, which focuses on preventing cognitive decline and promotes successful cognitive aging.
CANS, an entity of the American Academy of Nursing, was formed in 2000 with the goals of developing, conducting and utilizing nursing science, disseminating research findings in scientific and lay communities and facilitating lifelong learning opportunities for nurse scientists.
