The College of Nursing Distinguished Alumni award recognizes a graduate who has either demonstrated outstanding leadership and achievement in nursing or related fields of healthcare or has made significant contributions to their community
The 2022-23 Distinguished Alumni award recipient is Dr. Diane Von Ah, PhD, RN, FAAN.
“From my first-hand experience, I can attest to the exceptional contributions that Diane has made to the nursing profession and field of healthcare through her research and scholarship, her generosity and commitment to teaching and mentoring the next generation of clinicians and scientist, as well as her leadership qualities and abilities,” wrote Cindy Anderson, PhD, RN, APRN-CNP, ANEF, FAHA, FNAP, FAAN, professor and senior associate dean for academic affairs and educational innovation at The Ohio University College of Nursing in her nomination statement.
Anderson added that Von Ah has dedicated her research career to improving the lives of cancer survivors; demonstrated continued commitment to developing the next generation of clinicians and scientists; sustained excellence in her research, scholarship, teaching, and mentoring while also being an academic leader; and unequivocally exemplifies the College of Nursing’s seven pillars of diversity.
A 1987 graduate of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, Von Ah returned to the College in 1996 to earn her Master of Science in Nursing: Nursing Administration and went on to receive her PhD from the University of Alabama, Birmingham. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Indiana University School of Nursing and was selected for the inaugural cohort of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar Program in 2008.
Dr. Von Ah joined the faculty at Indiana University in 2008 and became an academic leader within the School of Nursing, serving as chair of the Department of Community and Health Systems for four years before becoming associate dean of academic operations in 2019. In 2021, she transitioned to The Ohio State University College of Nursing where she is leading and mentoring interdisciplinary teams to advance the science in cancer survivorship.
Dr. Von Ah’s program of bio-behavioral research has focused on improving the lives of cancer survivors by addressing late and long-term effects of cancer and cancer treatment. Specifically, she has worked to address cancer and cancer-related treatment on cognitive impairment and its impact on work outcomes, functional limitations, frailty, and quality of life of cancer survivors. Her randomized clinical trials represent some of the first to fully test the effects of cognitive rehabilitation approaches to improve cognitive dysfunction and health outcomes in breast cancer survivors.
Published nationally and internationally, Dr. Von Ah currently serves as an associate editor of the journal Cancer Medicine and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Cancer Survivorship, Research in Nursing and Health and Clinical Nursing Research. She was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in 2014.