Message from the Associate Dean for Research

Welcome! The Loewenberg College of Nursing’s (LCON) Office of Research is dedicated to supporting faculty and students by providing an array of funding, technological, consultative, and developmental services to assist with their research endeavors. 

As the Associate Dean for Research and the William A. and Ruth F. Loewenberg Chair of Excellence in Nursing, my role is to provide leadership, training opportunities and support for faculty and student research and scholarship. The Research Office has dedicated staff to support the LCONs talented faculty to produce impactful research to advance nursing science and to promote the health of our local and global community. 

I have many years of experience in nursing science and research. I have developed innovative models of care and conducted a program of research that informs treatment of older adults with cardiovascular disease. I have been fortunate to receive federal and other research funding for my work in reducing cardiovascular risk, improving physical activity, improving self-management of heart failure for older adults, and educating nurses—to name a few. I have also worked with the Robert W. Johnson Foundation, promoting a culture of health in communities. 

I currently serve on the Health Care Industry Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, am a Fellow in the American Heart Association, serving on their Heart Failure System of Care Advisory Board as well as holding a Fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing. I held the endowed Professorship in Women’s Cardiovascular Health and am a former co-leader for the John A. Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. 

I obtained my Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences with a focus on cardiovascular gerontology. I received pre and post-doctoral training from the John A. Hartford Foundation to study perceptions and prevention of heart disease amongst older adults. I obtained my Master of Nursing Science from the University of Central Arkansas with an emphasis on older adult cardiovascular care and remain an ANCC board-certified Adult Clinical Nurse Specialist and Advanced Practice Nurse.  My undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Arkansas Tech University helped to prepare me for this journey. 

Services we offer: 

• Pre-award consultations for the development of research and scholarship ideas
• Consultations for internal and external funding sources
• Research Design and Statistics Consultation
• Research forums to discuss ideas and obtain recommendations from diverse faculty across campus
• Research training
• Technological resources to include research software and tools, in collaboration with the Division of Research and Innovation and the FedEx Institute of Technology
• Team development support to include Team Science Matchmaker

Our office is excited to work with you on your project! GO TIGERS!

Sincerely,


Leanne L. Lefler, PhD, APRN, ACNS-BC, FAHA, FAAN

Office of the Associate Dean of Research