Two faculty members from the Rush College of Nursing were selected for the American Academy of Nursing’s 2022 Class of Fellows. Shannon Halloway, PhD, RN, FAHA, and Masako Mayahara, PhD, RN, achieved the prestigious honor based on their outstanding contributions to the transformation of America’s health system through their research and scholarship.
Halloway and Mayahara will be inducted as fellows at the Academy of Nursing’s annual Health Policy Conference, which takes place October 27 to 29, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
“The induction is a well-deserved honor for two faculty members who have made a significant impact on the College of Nursing and nursing research,” says Christine M. Kennedy, PhD, RN, FAAN, the John L. and Helen Kellogg Dean of Nursing.
“Exceptional scientists like Drs. Halloway and Mayahara are generating knowledge that will help nurses better care for patients,” Kennedy says. “They represent the cutting edge of what nursing scientists can do and inspire others to pursue their passion for scientific discovery.”
Halloway’s focus on heart health
Halloway, an assistant professor in the Community, Systems and Mental Health Nursing Department, is leading a study that tests lifestyle interventions to prevent cognitive decline in older women who have cardiovascular disease. She says that cardiovascular disease is one of the leading risk factors for cognitive impairment, and this population is especially at risk due to heart disease. “It is an honor to be recognized and join this community of AAN Fellows,” Halloway says.
Her journey to becoming a researcher started during her time as a nurse in cardiac critical care. Seeing the need to keep patients from requiring such care, she discovered her passion for preventive health behaviors and has since dedicated her research efforts to identifying new ways to promote heart health through physical activity.
In 2021, Halloway was named a fellow of the American Heart Association (AHA) and is a member of the Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing. She has published and presented widely, reaching local, national and international audiences. In addition, she has received numerous honors, including the Midwest Nursing Research Society New Investigator Award and the American Heart Association Best Nursing Abstract.
Halloway is not only active in the national and international nursing discipline, but is deeply engaged in the Chicago community. In 2021, she was appointed to the Rush AHA Heart Walk Steering Committee and led the Rush University College of Nursing Heart Walk Team. She was elected to the Midwest Nursing Research Society Nominating Committee, having also served on committees for the AHA and the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science. Plus, she serves as a member of the Auxiliary Board of Inspiration Corporation, a Chicago-area non-profit organization that provides job training and other services to people experiencing homelessness.
Mayahara’s pain management expertise
Mayahara, associate chairperson of the Community, Systems and Mental Health Nursing Department, is a clinical expert in pain management for those in hospice and palliative care. Her contributions to hospice and palliative nursing have been nationally recognized. Mayahara is the principal investigator for a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded trial to test the effects of a digital application, e-PainSupport, to reduce the intensity of the pain experienced by home hospice patients. She is also a coinvestigator for NIH “R01” grants (the original kind offered by the NIH), including an intervention using video to help relieve the chronic grief of caregivers for those with dementia.
Mayahara says her journey to becoming a researcher started when she was a young nurse in Japan and witnessed the poorly managed pain experienced by hospitalized patients who were dying from cancer-related illnesses. Since then, she has worked to promote safer and more effective pain management and equitable access to high-quality hospice and palliative care for patients and families affected by serious illnesses.
In 2016, Mayahara was selected as a research scholar by the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA), which has also named her a fellow in palliative care nursing. In 2017, she was a Kellogg Faculty Scholar at the Rush University College of Nursing. Mayahara has published several peer-reviewed papers and has authored two research agendas for the Hospice and Palliative Nurse Association. She has presented her research across the national and international nursing discipline. In addition to the above, she has received numerous honors, including an award for Outstanding Contribution to Palliative Medicine from the Coleman Foundation, as well as the Mid-Career Investigator Award and Abstract of Distinction Award from the Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS).
Mayahara contributes her efforts to promoting her community of researchers. She is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing and serves as the state ambassador, a member of the board of directors and secretary/treasurer of the HPNA and the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation. She also serves as a member of the board of trustees of the Midwest Nursing Research Foundation.
“Becoming a fellow of the Academy is a tremendous honor,” Mayahara says. “I am grateful to my mentors and colleagues and look forward to celebrating my fellow inductees in October.”
