2025 Global Nursing Research
Virtual Conference

8:00 AM – 8:10 AM
Welcome & Recap of Day 1

Dr. Cheryl R. Dennison Himmelfarb
PhD, MSN, BS, RN, ANP, APRN, FAAN, FAHA, FPCNA
Vice Dean for Research, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

Dr. Cheryl Dennison Himmelfarb is Vice Dean for Research and the Sarah E. Allison Endowed Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, as well as a professor in Medicine and Public Health. An internationally recognized nurse scientist, she is dedicated to advancing cardiovascular health equity and ensuring diverse representation in research. Her leadership is reflected in major national guidelines and scientific statements from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology, where she has elevated the role of nursing in cardiovascular prevention. As Deputy Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical & Translational Research, she leads development of innovative, informatics-based strategies to engage communities and improve recruitment and retention, including one of the first “MyChart Recruitment Service” models in the U.S. She also directs the NIH-funded CEAL DMV consortium, fostering academic–community partnerships to address health disparities. A committed mentor, she is shaping the next generation of nurse scientists.

8:10 AM – 8:30 AM
Keynote Address

“Building Sustainable Global Research Networks”
Dr. Nancy Reynolds
PhD, MS, BSN, RN, C-NP, FAAN

Nancy R. Reynolds, PhD, RN, FAAN, is associate dean for global affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, director of the Center for Global Initiatives, co-director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Information and Knowledge Management, and co-secretary general of the Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centers for Nursing and Midwifery. A former Independence Foundation Professor at Yale University, she is an internationally recognized researcher in chronic illness self-management, particularly HIV, with over 20 years of continuous NIH funding. Her work focuses on low-cost mobile health interventions to improve care access, medication adherence, and mental health outcomes among vulnerable populations in the U.S., Ghana, and India. Dr. Reynolds has led multidisciplinary teams, directed NIH-funded research training programs, and guided global health initiatives supported by USAID, the Clinton Foundation, the World Bank/JHPIEGO, and Fogarty. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a Sigma Theta Tau International Researcher Hall of Fame inductee.

8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Panel Discussion
“Building Sustainable Global Research Networks”

Moderator
Dr. Angela Chang Chiu
DNP, MS, BSN, RN

Jerry John Ouner (né Nutor), PhD, RN, FAAN

Jerry John Ouner, PhD, RN, FAAN, is an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco, and a Sigma Nursing representative to the United Nations. He is the founder and secretary-general of the Africa Interdisciplinary Health Conference, an annual event that promotes evidence-based health practices in Africa. His research focuses on maternal and child health, examining how environmental, social, and economic factors affect women and children, with emphasis on HIV/AIDS in low-resource settings and minority populations in the U.S. He has published extensively and mentors healthcare professionals across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America.

Allison Webel, PhD, RN, FAAN

Dr. Allison Webel is Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and the Aljoya Endowed Professor in Aging at the University of Washington School of Nursing, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care.

She holds bachelor’s degrees in nursing and sociology from Ohio State University, and master’s and PhD degrees from UCSF. Dr. Webel is a globally recognized leader in research on helping people with chronic diseases live and age well, with a focus on non-pharmacological approaches to healthy aging. She has authored nearly 200 manuscripts on HIV, aging, behavioral science, and global health, and has secured over $50M in extramural funding.

Jennifer Dohrn, PhD

Jennifer Dohrn, CNM, DNP, FAAN, is Professor and Assistant Dean for Global Initiatives and Director of the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for Advanced Practice Nursing at Columbia University School of Nursing. A leader in advancing midwifery and nursing worldwide, she founded the first freestanding inner-city maternity center in the Bronx as Director of Midwifery Services. Since 2003, she has worked across Sub-Saharan Africa to expand the role of nurses and midwives in primary and HIV care, including serving as founding Project Director for the PEPFAR-funded ICAP Global Nursing Capacity Building initiative in ten countries. At Columbia, she has broadened global clinical education with programs in 15 countries. Dr. Dohrn has collaborated extensively with the World Health Organization, including as a technical advisor for Transformative Models of Midwifery Care. She has also documented frontline nursing responses to Ebola and COVID-19, and integrates global health equity and humanitarian experience into decades of teaching. Her recent book, Mothers, Midwives and Reimagining Birthing in the Bronx (2023), explores racial inequities in maternal health care..

Mercy Mumi, PhD

Dr. Mercy Ngosa Mumba is an award-winning scientist, Professor, and the Associate Dean for Global Initiatives and Community Partnerships at the Capstone College of Nursing, University of Alabama. Her research is widely funded by various agencies, including the NIH, with over $35 million in grant funding. She serves as the President-Elect on the Southern Nursing Research Society Board of Directors and is a former Sigma Liaison to the United Nations. She is the author of the award-winning book “A nurse’s step-by-step guide to transitioning to an academic role: Strategies to jumpstart your career in education and research”. She is passionate about improving the human condition through evidence-based initiatives and interventions, and is a strong advocate for increasing research productivity, infrastructure, and human capital globally.

9:30 AM – 9:45 AM Break

9:45 AM – 11:00 AM
Keynote Address
Dr. Benjamin Kamala

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Panel Discussion
(Safer Birth Bundle)

Moderator
Noelene Jeffers, PhD, MSN, BS, RN

Panelist
Ivony Kamala, RN, MPH

Ivony Kamala (RN, MPH) is the Implementation Specialist at Laerdal Global Health, leading and the in-service portfolio and the national scale-up of the Safer Births Bundle of Care (SBBC) in Tanzania. She also provides technical support for SBBC implementation in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Nepal. Prior to this role, she served as the National Coordinator for SBBC Phase 1 in Tanzania from 2020 to 2023.

Panelist
Beatrice Githiri, RN, BHSM

The SBBC National Coordinator oversees implementation across 142 facilities in five regions in Tanzania Mainland. A nurse-midwife and healthsystems manager with over 15 years of clinical experience, she has spent more than three years in SBBC leadership. Starting as Regional Coordinator, she now drives national efforts to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes during labour and postpartum.

Panelist
Benjamin Kamala, MD, PhD

A Medical Doctor and a Senior Research Scientist at Haydom Lutheran with over 15 years of program monitoring and evaluation experience. He led phase I of the Safer Births bundle of care in 30 hospitals and is currently the principal investigator across 140+ sites in five regions in Tanzania. He has a PhD in Global Health (maternal and newborn health) from the University of Stavanger, Norway. With over 35 publications in peer-reviewed journals, he serves as an adjunct Senior Lecturer at the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

12:30 PM – 1:00 PM
Poster Presentations & Closing