National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) Director Patricia A. Grady, Ph.D., announced today that Barbara A. Smothers, Ph.D., has joined NINR as the Chief of NINR’s Office of Extramural Programs. NINR is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“I am delighted that Dr. Barbara Smothers is now part of the NINR leadership,” said Dr. Grady. “Dr. Smothers’ experience as a research psychologist, a nurse, and an extramural program official at NIH will be valuable assets to the NINR extramural program that has as a priority the integration of biological and behavioral research.”

In her new position, Dr. Smothers will be responsible for developing and supporting investigator-initiated applications containing innovative ideas and sound methodology in all aspects of nursing research consistent with the Institute’s mission. NINR-supported research focuses on three broad areas: promoting health and preventing disease, managing the symptoms and disability of illness, and improving the environments in which care is delivered.

Dr. Smothers joins NINR from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research. There she served as a program official for extramural program activities, administering and managing a portfolio of alcohol epidemiology and prevention grants, with a focus on methodology. She also conducted research involving analysis of national data, and provided consultation to staff about epidemiological surveys and statistical analysis.

The author or co-author of scholarly articles in journals and other publications, Dr. Smothers and her NIAAA co-investigator, Harold T. Yahr, Ph.D., reported in the April 12, 2004 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, that many people admitted to hospitals in the U.S. have alcohol use disorders that go undetected. An NIAAA press release on this study states that these findings “underscore a need to screen hospital patients for alcohol problems and refer patients for further evaluation, intervention, and treatment as needed.”

Dr. Smothers is the recipient of numerous awards for service and meritorious achievement. She received her Ph.D. in Human Development (major) and Program Evaluation (minor) from the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from University of New York at Plattsburgh.