Washington, DC (August 8, 2024) — The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) applauds the selection of Roxana C. Chicas, PhD, RN, FAAN, as the 2024–2026 AAN Fellow at the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Dr. Chicas is the second Fellow to be selected for this prestigious AAN NAM Fellowship program, which was established in 2022. The purpose of the AAN NAM Fellowship program is to provide talented scholars in nursing with the opportunity to experience and participate in evidence-based public health studies that improve the care and access to care of patients in domestic and global health care systems.

The NAM selected Dr. Chicas from a highly competitive pool of nominees based on her professional qualifications, reputation as a scholar, accomplishments, and the relevance of her current field of expertise to the work of the NAM and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. According to NAM, “The fellows will collaborate with eminent researchers, policy experts, and clinicians from across the country during their two-year fellowship. They will also help facilitate initiatives convened by the National Academies to provide nonpartisan, scientific, and evidence-based guidance to national, state, and local policymakers, academic leaders, health care administrators, and the public.”

Dr. Chicas is currently an Assistant Professor, Tenure Track at Emory University Nell Hodgson School of Nursing. Her research focus is on occupational and environmental health disparities, investigating the physiological effects of heat exposures among farmworkers through community-engaged research, particularly their impact on kidney function. In collaboration with the Farmworker Association of Florida, she has led two intervention studies using real-time biomonitoring equipment among farm workers. Dr. Chicas’ work is shaping the future of climate and occupational health science, two pressing fields of scientific inquiry. Her methodologies are unique and effective due to direct partnership with farmworker communities, who are now bearing the brunt of life-threatening and dehumanizing extreme heat health effects which more communities will face as climate change worsens. Dr. Chicas’ research is creating solutions that are sustainable and grounded in the realities of labor. Her intervention studies are providing relief to workers, collecting critical health data, and informing prevention and intervention practices in the U.S. and globally. As a bilingual, bicultural nurse scientist, she is committed to conducting research that informs policy to advance environmental justice. Dr. Chicas earned her FAAN credential in 2023 when she was inducted into AAN and she is a member of the AAN Expert Panel on Environmental & Public Health.

“I am honored to be selected for this unique experience to serve as the AAN Fellow at NAM. This opportunity will allow me to significantly leverage my expertise and partner with interprofessional colleagues to work towards a more equitable future,” said Dr. Chicas. “It is critically important to conduct research on behalf of populations underserved by the health care system, particularly among immigrant populations who may also face language and other serious barriers, to collaborate and find interventions that improve their health.”

“Dr. Chicas is an outstanding nurse scientist whose research is pivotal and greatly needs attention given the extreme impact environmental living and working conditions have on health,” said AAN President Linda D. Scott, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FADLN, FNAP, FAAN. “She is a shining example of the purpose of the AAN NAM Fellowship program, which is to disseminate nursing knowledge to inform and shape policy solutions to solve the nation’s most pressing health care challenges. Dr. Chicas’ work is instrumental in ensuring that communities and populations most at risk will have a healthier and more just future.”

As outlined by NAM, “Fellows will continue in their primary academic or research posts while engaging part time over a two-year period in the National Academies’ health and science policy work. They will also work with an expert study committee or roundtable related to their professional interests, including contributing to reports or other products. A flexible research grant will be awarded to every fellow.”

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About the American Academy of Nursing
The American Academy of Nursing serves the public by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge. Academy Fellows are inducted into the organization for their extraordinary contributions to improve health locally and globally. With more than 3,000 Fellows, the Academy represents nursing’s most accomplished leaders in policy, research, administration, practice, and academia.

AAN Contact: Caroline Kane | 202-777-1173 | ckane@AANnet.org

NAM Contact: Dana Korsen | 202-334-2138| news@nas.edu