More than ten years of dedication to youth experiencing homelessness and HIV prevention have earned Diane Santa Maria, DrPH, MSN, RN, the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Santa Maria is the dean of Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston.
Santa Maria holds The Jane and Robert Cizik Distinguished Chair, Huffington Foundation Endowed Chair in Nursing Education Leadership, and is a professor at the nursing school. She was among 400 scientists and engineers acknowledged by a White House announcement on January 14.
The PECASE was established in 1996 as the highest honor given by the U.S. government to early-career scientists and engineers, recognizing outstanding potential for leadership. Professor Tricia A. Zucker from McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston received this award in 2019.
Santa Maria's research has evolved over the past 12 years from pilot projects on youth homelessness, adolescent sexual health, and substance use to multimillion-dollar R01 awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She currently leads a $2.8 million grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) testing a mobile health intervention aimed at HIV prevention among homeless youth. Last year saw her complete a five-year NINR study valued at $3 million focusing on nurse case management HIV prevention with this group.
Under Santa Maria's guidance, NIH funding to Cizik School of Nursing has quadrupled to over $6.4 million, positioning it as Texas' top nursing school for NIH funding and within the nation's top 20.
“This award recognizes innovative and far-reaching developments in science and speaks to Dean Santa Maria’s exceptional work as a nurse scientist," stated Giuseppe N. Colasurdo, MD, president of UTHealth Houston.
Santa Maria has advanced HIV-related research as a key focus at Cizik School of Nursing. She serves on the NIH Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council and directs various programs related to AIDS research within Texas.
“I am deeply honored to receive this prestigious award," said Santa Maria about her recognition.
She is affiliated with several professional organizations including being a fellow of both the American Academy of Nursing and Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM), as well as serving on boards related to nursing research.
In her career progression at Cizik School of Nursing since joining in 2009 as clinical faculty teaching community health nursing, she became dean in 2020 after serving ad interim for two years following roles that included assistant professor through tenured professor status by 2022.
Her academic credentials include an MSN from Case Western Reserve University School of Nursing in Cleveland, Ohio, alongside a BSN from The Ohio State University School of Nursing.
