Associate Professor Ana Maria Linares Selected as Fulbright Scholar
The College of Nursing is excited to announce that Ana Maria Linares, DNS, RN, IBCLC, associate professor, has been selected as a Fulbright Scholar. She is the second faculty member in the College to receive this honor and the first to travel to another country to implement her program of research.
In collaboration with the Peruvian Scientific Association of Pediatric Nurses, the Child Health Nursing Network in PAHO, Peru and the National University of San Luis Gonzaga in Ica, Peru, Dr. Linares will work with doctoral students to integrate a program for “Improving Experiences in Nursing Education and Potential Biological Factors Associated to Iron-Deficiency Anemia in Peruvian Children” starting March 2019.
Studies have shown Peruvian children have one of the highest rates in the world of iron-deficiency anemia. The National Institute of Health in Peru reported that one of every two children below three years of age has iron-deficiency anemia in the country, with endemic areas that can reach as high as Puno 76%, Cusco 51%, and Ica 45% of children. Her study will evaluate a cohort of Peruvian children (3 to 12 months old) and measure biological factors that are associated with decreased hematocrit such as the type of feeding, fecal occult blood, lead concentration, and intestinal parasites and she will collect information about feeding history and feeding practice of the children.
Dr. Linares graduated in 1981 and received her degree in midwifery from the University of Chile. She earned a Doctor of Nursing Science degree in 2006 from the University of Nuevo Leon in Monterrey, Mexico. The focus of her dissertation research was to determine factors associated with prenatal care initiation in Mexican women. In 2009 she obtained her RN license in Kentucky. Dr. Linares previously worked as associate professor at the University of Tarapaca in Arica-Chile, where she served as a dean at the College of Midwifery and as a professor of obstetrics and neonatology. She also served as a breastfeeding consultant and specialist at the Health Service in Chile. Dr. Linares joined the faculty at the UK College of Nursing in 2009 as an assistant professor, teaching obstetric nursing in the undergraduate program. For her trajectory as a researcher, she has been accepted as a faculty associate in the Center for Research on Violence Against Women at UK.
