Van Cleave named Conway Professor
Janet H. Van Cleave, PhD, RN, FAAN, has received the Suzie Conway Endowed Professorship. The appointment is retroactive to Sept. 16, 2023, when she joined Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston.
An associate professor in the Department of Research, Van Cleave focuses on symptom science and digital technology implementation in cancer. She developed the Electronic Patient Visit Assessment (ePVA)© for head and neck cancer, enabling early detection and intervention for debilitating symptoms. Her work has been widely published in scientific journals and textbooks, and her research has been supported by federal and foundation grants.
Since joining Cizik School of Nursing, Van Cleave has received a five-year, $3.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute for her study “Implementing the NYU Electronic Patient Visit Assessment (ePVA) for Head and Neck Cancer in Rural and Urban Populations,” along with a $72,000 supplement for “Assessing and Enhancing Survivorship Care in Rural and Urban Patients with Head and Neck Cancer.”
“I am grateful for support from the Conway family’s endowment, which will help me grow my program of research,” Van Cleave said.
She came to UTHealth Houston from New York University, where she was an assistant professor at the Rory Meyers College of Nursing with an adjunct appointment to the NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Van Cleave holds a PhD in nursing science from Yale University and earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in nursing as a critical care nurse practitioner from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Before embarking on her nursing career, she received a Master of Business Administration in finance from the University of Kansas.
Van Cleave’s professorship was endowed by UTHealth Houston Development Board member Phil D. Conway in honor of his wife, Suzanne (Suzie) W. Conway, BS, ADN, RN. Mrs. Conway is a long-time member and former chair of PARTNERS (Providing Advancement Resources To Nursing Education, Research, and Students), which raises funds for faculty research and student scholarships at Cizik School of Nursing.
