Fellowship inductions for Coviello, Hernandez
Two Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston faculty members became fellows of national health care organizations in March.
Associate Dean for Faculty Development Jessica S. Coviello, DNP, ANP-BC, FAAN, was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Cardiology at its annual convocation in Chicago on March 31. Coviello, the Patricia L. Starck/Partners Endowed Professor in Nursing, joined the school in 2021.
“Upon her arrival at Cizik School of Nursing, Dr. Coviello quickly took on the project of developing a cardiology curriculum that built upon the rich practice environment here in the Texas Medical Center,” said Dean Diane Santa Maria, DrPH, MSN, RN, ACRN, PHNA-BC, FAAN. The first half of the online, self-paced series for nurse practitioners and physician assistants is now available.
Previously, Coviello held a joint appointment as an associate professor at the Yale School of Nursing and as an adult nurse practitioner in cardio-oncology at the Smilow Cancer Hospital in New Haven, Conn. At Smilow Cancer Hospital, she wrote the needs assessment to support funding for the cardio-oncology program and assisted in its development. At Yale-New Haven Hospital, she created the Take Heart Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. She received her Doctor of Nursing Practice from the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute for Health Professionals in Boston.
Associate Professor Daphne Hernandez, PhD, MSEd, FAAHB, was inducted as a fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine at its 46th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions on March 27 in San Francisco.
“Through her scholarship, Dr. Hernandez strives to understand how social determinants of health exacerbate children and families’ vulnerabilities, contributing to health disparities, along with the psychosocial mechanisms, programs, and policies that best reduce health disparities,” wrote nominator Jennette P. Moreno, PhD, MA, FSBM, of Baylor College of Medicine.
Hernandez is the Lee and Joseph Jamail Distinguished Professor and joined Cizik School of Nursing’s Department of Research in 2020. She is widely published on a variety of topics related to health disparities, including food insecurity, housing instability and homelessness, health of Hispanic immigrant families, barriers to physical activity and nutrition, and obesity. Hernandez is currently primary investigator on four federally funded projects totaling more than $3.6 million.
She is currently serving as a senior mentor for the American Academy of Health Behavior's Research Scholars Mentoring Program and has previously served as a senior mentor for the Robert Wood Johnson New Connections Mentoring Program and the American Psychological Association’s Leadership and Education Advancement Program. Hernandez previously held faculty positions at the University of Houston and Pennsylvania State University.
