2 UK College of Nursing faculty named Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing

The University of Kentucky College of Nursing is pleased to announce that Jean Edward, Ph.D., and Amanda Fallin-Bennett, Ph.D., have been selected to become Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing. Edward is an associate professor and director of the college's Ph.D. Program and Fallin-Bennett is an associate professor and director of the Undergraduate Internship Program. Induction into the Academy is a significant milestone in a nurse leader’s career in which their accomplishments are honored by their colleagues within and outside the profession. Fellows are selected based on their significant contributions and impact to advance the public’s health.

The Academy is a policy organization and an honorific society that recognizes nursing's most accomplished leaders in policy, research, practice, administration and academia. Academy Fellows hold a wide variety of influential roles in health care and collectively they contribute their thought leadership to develop sound policy that help to achieve the Academy’s vision of healthy lives for all people.

Edward’s seminal health systems research impacts patients by ensuring broad access to affordable, life-saving care, especially for communities facing greater barriers. The focus of her research is to alleviate cancer-related financial toxicity by integrating sustainable and scalable, multilevel (individual, systems, provider and policy) financial and legal navigation services with impact that spans patient outcomes to policy reform. Her research is among the top 2% of the world’s most-cited, demonstrating its global impact. As a recognized leader in designing and implementing financial toxicity interventions, her research was featured in national media and by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for its capacity to sustain and scale.

Fallin-Bennett is a nationally recognized researcher with a focus on expanding access to recovery support services and evidence-based treatment and policy interventions to reduce the harms of tobacco and substance use. As principal investigator, multiple principal investigator, or co-investigator, Fallin-Bennett has received over $100 million in grants from many different sources (e.g., multiple NIH R-grants, the Food and Drug Administration and the American Nurses Foundation). Her research inspired her to co-found Voices of Hope, the first Recovery Community Center in Kentucky. Fallin-Bennett's work has been recognized by the Friends of the National Institute for Nursing Research's Protege Award, the Faces and Voices of Recovery's Vernon Johnson Recovery Advocate of the Year, and UK's Sarah Bennett Holmes Faculty Award.

The newest Fellows, selected from a sizable and competitive pool of applicants, represent 42 states, the District of Columbia and 12 countries. Their unique expertise will soon bolster the collective impact of over 3,200 Academy Fellows.

Drs. Edward, Fallin-Bennett and the 2025 inductees will be recognized for their substantial, sustained, and significant contributions to health and health care at the Academy’s annual Health Policy Conference, taking place Oct. 16-18, 2025, in Washington, D.C. during the Induction Ceremony on the evening of October 18. After the ceremony, the new inductees can use their FAAN (Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing) credential, the most prestigious recognition in nursing.

Learn more about the Academy and visit the policy conference website for more details. For individuals interested in attending the Induction Ceremony, tickets can be purchased online.