By Pareasa Rahimi
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing Assistant Professor Shena Gazaway, PhD, RN, has been named a 2024-2026 Fellow of the American Psychological Association’s Leadership and Education and Advancement Program for Diverse Scholars. LEAP is an evidence-informed mentoring and leadership development program for early career behavioral scientists from underrepresented racial and ethnic populations who perform research related to the mission of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases.
“Being from an underrepresented racial background, I recognize the importance of programs like LEAP in providing mentorship and support to scholars committed to advancing research in areas relevant to diverse populations,” Gazaway said. “I am honored to be selected for the sixth cohort of this prestigious program and to participate in the career development activities with my mentor, Dr. Nick Odom.”
As a fellow, Gazaway will receive one-on-one mentoring on a career development plan, along with the conceptualization, draft and submission of a research application to a federal or private funding agency. Fellows will attend a LEAP Boot Camp and Mock Grant Review during the APA Annual Convention in August 2025. The fellowship also connects trainees with senior researchers and will provide executive coaching focus on leadership and career development.
“My goals revolve around learning ways to sustain community engagement throughout the research trajectory. I am particularly interested in understanding how to keep advisory members engaged with intervention dissemination and transferability when they have been involved with development with their specific community in mind,” Gazaway said. “In addition, participating in LEAP directly aligns with the leadership skills necessary for my K23 award training objectives, specifically my objective to lead multisite clinical trials to improve outcomes among underresourced patients with chronic kidney disease and their families.”
Gazaway received a K23 career development award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in August 2023. She previously received a grant from the Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation as Co-Principal Investigator with Assistant Professor Rachel Wells, PhD, RN, CNL (MSN 2009, PhD 2019), as well as a Palliative Care Research Cooperative pilot program grant.
