Kathy Sward, associate professor, College of Nursing; and Micah Drummond, associate professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training in the College of Health were two of four University of Utah faculty members named as Presidential Scholars, an award that honors extraordianry research and academic efforts of eary to mid-career faculty. The award provides these talented faculty with financial backing to support their scholarly teaching and/or research initiatives.
KATHY SWARD
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Kathy Sward, an associate professor in the College of Nursing, is a premier educator, scientist and scholar who is nationally renowned in the field of nursing informatics. Her diverse background includes clinical nursing, education and administration. Sward has served in numerous positions in the College of Nursing, including interim specialty track director for nursing informatics. Her current research focus is clinical research informatics, including the unique aspects of managing research information in special populations and multi-center research networks, and use of informatics to support exposure science and sensor monitoring. Sward has served as a principal or co-investigator on multiple NIH extramural awards. She is currently the principal investigator on a national initiative to examine effects of the environment on health. Sward’s service to the College of Nursing includes development of internal databases, such as for the grief and loss program—Caring Connections—still in use today. She has given her time and expertise within the profession, to the department and to students, including mentoring more than 50 faculty and graduate students. |
MICAH DRUMMOND
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Micah Drummond exemplifies interdisciplinary excellence. He is an associate professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training in the College of Health and holds adjunct faculty positions in the Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, Department of Pathology and Department of Internal Medicine. Drummond’s research centers on the mechanisms of skeletal muscle growth and metabolic function in aging muscle and therapeutic treatments to curb muscle and metabolic deficits caused by physical inactivity of older adults. He has successfully attracted funding from the National Institutes of Health and American Diabetes Association. Drummond has nearly 80 publications in the leading journals in his field. He has a research lab in the Eccles Institute for Human Genetics, where he mentors two post-doctoral fellows, three doctoral students and numerous undergraduate students. Students universally remark on Drummond’s passion for his subject and praise his ability to make concepts understandable and applicable. He has also served the university in many other capacities, from time as chair to service on committees and boards. |