NOLAN NAMED NEW ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT
■❚ COMMUNITY OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT
NOLAN NAMED NEW ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT
Associate Director Timiya S . Nolan , Ph . D ., returns to UAB to lead the O ’ Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center ’ s Community Outreach & Engagement efforts .
Timiya S . Nolan , Ph . D ., was welcomed as associate director for Community Outreach & Engagement last July . She is responsible for overseeing the Office of Community Outreach & Engagement , which fosters transdisciplinary cancer research along with bi-directional communication and collaboration with communities statewide .
Nolan is a native of Brewton and is a three-time graduate of the UAB School of Nursing and former instructor of Nursing . She completed postdoctoral training in cancer prevention and health disparities at the Ohio State University and was on faculty at the Ohio State University School of Nursing from 2018 to 2023 . She holds certifications as an adult nurse practitioner and teacher of nursing . From an early age , Nolan knew that health care was her calling . She took every opportunity to advise family members about ways to promote their health , from advocating against smoking to ensuring that others sought regular care . Her educational experiences made her keenly aware of disparities in Alabama and rooted her interest in mitigating these disparities to improve the health and lives of people in medically underserved communities like the one she grew up in . Through her interactions with the late Karen Meneses , Ph . D ., renowned nurse scientist and beloved professor and associate dean for Research in the UAB School of Nursing , Nolan discovered community-based participatory research as an avenue to create and disseminate new knowledge to support disparate populations in their pursuits of health .
“ I am proud to return home to UAB and partner with Alabamians to create avenues to promote better health ,” said Nolan . “ Returning to UAB as the associate director of Community Outreach & Engagement at the O ’ Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center is really a full-circle moment .”
Nolan ’ s leadership in academic-communitygovernment partnerships has been nationally recognized . She was selected for prestigious awards such as the National Minority Quality Forum ’ s 2022 40 Under 40 Leader in Health Award and the Oncology Nursing Society ’ s 2022 Victoria Mock New Investigator Award . Nolan has also been featured by Johnson & Johnson as a nurse leading innovation .
“ I can think of nobody better suited than Dr . Nolan to take on the role of associate director of Community Outreach & Engagement ,” said Director Barry Sleckman , M . D ., Ph . D . “ Her innovative , community-based research program coupled with her strong ties to the underserved communities of our state position her well to make impactful changes in cancer care disparities in Alabama . We look forward to working with her in the coming years to achieve this important goal .”
“ Her innovative , community-based research program coupled with her strong ties to the underserved communities of our state position her well to make impactful changes in cancer care disparities in Alabama .”
20 | O ’ NEAL COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER