Advocating for Nursing Research
Coghlan appointed FNINR Ambassador
Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston Assistant Professor Robert Coghlan, PhD, MSN, CNS, FNP, has been appointed as an Ambassador of the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR).
Coghlan is among 21 university faculty members and health policy experts chosen for the FNINR’s ambassador cohort that will serve 2025-2027. He is the first Cizik School of Nursing faculty member to serve in this role, through which he will help educate members of Congress about the value of nursing science in developing high-impact, cost-effective interventions that improve quality of life for patients and their families.
FNINR is an independent, nonprofit organization that supports the National Institute of Nursing Research through communication initiatives and development of diverse funding streams.
“FNINR Ambassadors are key players for our organization,” FNINR President Vicky Niederhauser said in a press release. “These nurse leaders share the excellent outcomes resulting from nursing science that is supported by NINR and advocate for continued funding to conduct cutting edge research that improves health care and trains the next generation of nurse scientists.”
Coghlan earned his PhD in political science from the University of Houston and recently completed the Executive Policy Research Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
“As an FNINR board of directors member, I see the impact that advocates can have on securing funding needed to support nursing and nursing research,” said Dean Diane Santa Maria, DrPH, MSN, RNC-NIC. “With his background in both nursing and public policy, Dr. Coghlan is well suited to represent Cizik School of Nursing and to advocate for nursing science.”
Coghlan joined Cizik School of Nursing’s Department of Graduate Studies in 2020. In addition to his PhD, he earned a master’s degree in political science from the University of Houston. He completed his Master of Science in Nursing as well as post-master’s certificate programs in emergency/trauma care and nursing education at Cizik School of Nursing. He received his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, a BS in psychology from Texas A&M University, and a post-master’s certificate on the family nurse practitioner track from Texas Woman’s University. He has served in nursing, nurse practitioner, and executive roles at several Houston-area hospitals and health systems.
