Barks, USF Nursing alum receives VA Career Development Award

University of South Florida Nursing alum Lee Barks, PhD, ARNP, received a $811, 602 Veterans Administration (VA) Career Development Award from the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development program. The award will fund training and research with older adults who use wheelchairs.

Dr. Barks received her PhD from the USF College of Nursing in 2007, and is now a Health Sciences Specialist at the Veterans Administration HSR&D/RR&D of Excellence, an office which focuses its research on veterans with disabilities, service men and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and older adults.

Through this funding, Dr. Barks will study the science of patient positioning to prevent adverse events focusing on adults who require postural support in long-term care.

“As a new investigator, this award is important to me because it allows me to devote all of my time to my program of research, building the science of patient positioning to prevent adverse events in people who need postural support,” Dr. Barks said.

She will conduct the study under the guidance of an expert mentoring team led by Gail Powell-Cope, PhD, ARNP, FAAN, Chief of Nursing Research at James A. Haley Veterans Administration Medical Center.

This study will extend Dr. Barks’ postdoctoral research, which involved developing non-invasive methods to measure posture that results from positioning adults in wheelchair seating. The award will provide salary support for five years and up to $65,000 per year for study costs and training.

VA Career Development grants are given to investigators to support development of new programs of research. The program awarded 18 Career Development Awards nationally to scientists in a variety of disciplines.