Judith Weber, Ph.D., Named Associate Dean for Research in UAMS College of Nursing
| Judith Weber, Ph.D., director of the Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention at Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI) and a professor in the UAMS colleges of Medicine and Public Health, has been named associate dean for research in the College of Nursing effective Nov. 1.
Judith Weber, Ph.D.
She succeeds Jean McSweeney, Ph.D., RN, who retired this year but continues as a professor emerita conducting research within the college.
“I look forward to working with Dean Cowan and the rest of the faculty and students in the College of Nursing to advance the science of nursing in ways that make our students, and all nurses, continue to be exceptional providers of care,” said Weber.
In addition to administrative, research and teaching duties within the college, Weber will continue in her role as director and principal investigator of the COBRE Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention.
“Dr. Weber brings decades of research success and expertise in the acquisition and management of grant funding to the College of Nursing,” said Patricia Cowan, Ph.D., RN, dean of the college. “As UAMS moves towards NCI Cancer Center Designation, and an expansion of research across all colleges and across all UA system campuses, she will be a strong leader and an invaluable resource for us.”
Weber earned her doctoral degree in nutritional sciences at the University of Arizona, where she also completed postdoctoral training in physiology. She has been in Little Rock since 1999, when she took positions in the Center for Applied Research and Evaluation (CARE) in the Department of Pediatrics in the College of Medicine, as well as an appointment in the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center at ACRI. She gained tenure in 2005 and became a full professor in 2013; she became a professor in the College of Public Health in 2014. She will retain secondary appointments in both the College of Medicine and the College of Public Health.
Weber has been awarded more than $25 million in combined grant funding from the NIH, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and other sources. She has published dozens of peer-reviewed articles, tool kits and educational materials, and is a fellow in the North American Society for the Study of Obesity and a member of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. She regularly serves on NIH Center and Special Emphasis Panel study sections and is also a past recipient of the UAMS Phenomenal Woman award (2011) and maintains her certification as a registered dietician (RD).
“As we welcome Dr. Weber to the nursing family, I also want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. McSweeney for her many years of leadership, friendship, and good humor, and for her service — not only to UAMS, but also to the health of women throughout Arkansas and around the world,” said Cowan. “Her expertise and mentorship has been instrumental in junior faculty receiving grant funding to continue our work.”