Faculty Directory

Susan Gennaro

Professor

Profile

Susan Gennaro, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, is a professor at the Connell School of Nursing, and was the school's Dean from July 1, 2008–June 30, 2021. Dr. Gennaro was previously the Florence and William Downs Professor of Nursing Research at the College of Nursing, New York University, and also served on the faculty of the schools of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Alabama in Birmingham, and Medical University of South Carolina. She is an internationally known perinatal nurse researcher who has helped to change perinatal nursing practice based on her work on the antecedents and consequences of stress in families with preterm infants. This work has been funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research, the Office of Women’s Health Research, and Sigma Theta Tau International.

Dr. Gennaro has conducted research in Malawi, Uganda, and the United States. She served as a grant reviewer for Sigma Theta Tau International and the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), as a member of the permanent study section in nursing at NIH, and on the National Advisory Council for NINR from 2012–2016.

Current Research

Co-Principal investigator of an RO1 grant sponsored by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities at NIH. This grant is a randomized trial investigating interventions to improve mental health and promote healthy lifestyle choices among minority women who have increased anxiety, stress, or depression.

Currently funded grant:

Healthy Lifestyle Intervention for High-Risk Minority Pregnant Women: A RCT

Principal Investigator, Gennaro, S., Melnyk, B

Funded by National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. R01MD012770 $3,407,309

Please see full CV for previously funded grants.

Professional Activities

Editor, Journal of Nursing Scholarship 2007-present

Selected Appointments & Awards

Lenore Williams Award from Penn Women’s Professional Network 2005

McClure Scholar, New York University Medical Center, 2007

Best of Nursing Outlook Award, Excellence in Education, 2009

Visionary Leader Award, University of Alabama, 2010

International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame, Inducted 2013 (Sigma Theta Tau International)