American Academy of Nursing Fellowship
The next call for nominations will open in March 2026.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies) bring together the most eminent researchers, policy experts, and clinicians from across the country to work together to provide nonpartisan, scientific, and evidence-based advice to national, state, and local policymakers; academic leaders; health care administrators; and the public. The National Academies are uniquely qualified to offer an exceptional learning environment to selected early-career health science scholars and future leaders in medicine and public health. With funding from the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), the AAN Fellowship was established under the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Fellowship program.
The overall purpose of the AAN Fellowship is to provide talented, early-career health science scholars in nursing with the opportunity to experience and participate in evidence-based healthcare or public health studies that improve the care and access to care of patients in domestic and global health care systems. The program especially welcomes nominations of historically underrepresented candidates. Current Fellows of the AAN are eligible for the program.
This fellowship is part of the NAM Fellowships for Health Science Scholars program. See all opportunities >>
Current Fellow
Roxana C. Chicas, PhD, RN, FAAN
2024-2026 AAN Fellow
Dr. Chicas is a Latina nurse, climate scientist, and advocate for workers’ rights, who has dedicated her career to advancing health equity and labor policies with/for Latino farmworker communities. Her leadership, teaching, prolific writing, and research have helped to cultivate national awareness of climate-health threats. Dr. Chicas currently serves as an Assistant Professor at Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. In this role, she is leading the field-based testing of a wearable biopatch for outdoor workers to gather physiological data, such as skin temperature, respiratory rate, and heart rate, which will eventually help AI predict when a person is at risk for heat-related illnesses.
Dr. Chicas conducted the first field-based intervention study of methods to reduce core body temperature using real-time biomonitoring among farmworkers in the United States. As the daughter of immigrant farmworkers and someone who grew up in an outdoor working community, Dr. Chicas’ research is informed by lived experience. Her work is continually informed by insights from farmworker communities as well; likewise, she seeks to continually share research findings and solutions with communities. Dr. Chicas has disseminated her findings through various publications, research abstracts and proceedings, invited presentations, and media features, including José Díaz-Balart Reports (MSNBC), the Washington Post, and NPR. In addition, she has contributed to policy-focused collaborations with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environment and the Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health.
Dr. Chicas earned an ASN from Georgia Perimeter College, a BSN from Emory University, and a PhD from Emory University Laney Graduate School. She completed her postdoctoral training in the Renal Division of the School of Medicine at Emory University, which positioned her to advance her pioneering body of work on acute kidney injury secondary to extreme heat exposure.
Past Fellow
Paule Joseph, PhD, MS, FNP-BC, CTN-B, FAAN
2022-2024 AAN Fellow
Fellowship Description
The AAN Fellowship is awarded for a two-year period. During this time, the fellow is expected to continue to work at their primary academic and research posts, while being assigned to a particular board at the National Academies. The boards are:
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- Children, Youth, and Families,
- Food and Nutrition,
- Global Health,
- Health Care Services,
- Health Sciences Policy, and
- Population Health and Public Health Practice.
The fellowship requires a 10- to 20-percent commitment of time for two years, and includes attendance at a one-week orientation session, the NAM Annual Meeting and the meetings of the fellow’s designated board. Domestic travel expenses are covered for participation in approved fellowship activities. Additionally, the fellow will participate actively in the work of an appropriate study committee or roundtable, including contributing to its reports or other products. Studies that would enable the potential for the fellow to contribute to the value of integrating medicine and public health will be identified.
This experience will introduce the AAN Fellow to a variety of experts and perspectives, including legislators, government officials, industry leaders, executives of voluntary health organizations, scientists, and other health professionals. In addition, each fellow will be assigned to an NAM member who will serve as a senior mentor during the two years of the fellowship.
A flexible research grant of $25,000 will be awarded to each AAN Fellow, which will be administered through the appropriate department in the fellow’s home institution to advance the fellow’s professional and academic career. This grant is not intended for use as a salary offset for the fellow, and no indirect costs are allowed.
Eligibility
Nominees for the AAN Fellowship must:
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- Be nominated by a member of the NAM or the AAN Board of Directors*
- Hold a doctoral degree
- Be four-to-ten years out from completion of post-graduate work
- Be a Fellow of the AAN
- Be able to dedicate 10 to 20 percent of time to the fellowship for two years
- Have endorsement by the department chair, institute director, or equivalent
- Hold U.S. citizen or permanent resident status at the time of the nomination
*Candidates who wish to be considered for nomination by the AAN Board of Directors must complete an online form and submit all required nomination packet materials except the nomination letter by 5:00pm ET on April 26, 2024, at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QGTWRH2.
Selection Criteria
Nominees will be evaluated by an NAM-appointed committee based on their professional qualifications, scholarship, and quality of professional accomplishments as evidenced through publications and research grants, and relevance of current field of expertise to the work of the NAM.
Preference will be given to candidates who have a demonstrated interest in policy and scholarship related to health equity.
Nomination Packet
A complete nomination packet must be submitted electronically through the online nomination system at https://namfellows.secure-platform.com/submission and will include the following documents:
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- A nomination letter from a member of the NAM or the AAN Board of Directors
- Three (3) letters of reference
- A supporting letter from the candidate’s department chair, institute director, or equivalent
- An up-to-date curriculum vitae
- A brief one-page bio
- A one-page personal statement that describes the candidate’s reasons for wanting to be a fellow for this particular program at this phase of their career
Timeline
Fellowships will be awarded in even years.
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- March 2026 | Call for nominations opens
- June 2026 | Nomination packets are due at 3:00pm ET
- July 2026 | Awardee is notified
- September 2026 | Fellow orientation week at the NAM is held
- October 2026 | Fellow is introduced to the Membership at the NAM Annual Meeting
Program Administration
Inquiries about the AAN Fellowship should be directed to:
Yumi Phillips
Senior Program Officer, Health Policy Fellowships and Leadership Programs
National Academy of Medicine
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 334-1506 │ Email: yphillips@nas.edu
The American Academy of Nursing Fellowship was established in 2022 with funding from the American Academy of Nursing.