Joe C. Wen School of Nursing makes big impact at 2026 Western Institute of Nursing Conference
More than a dozen faculty, students, and researchers from the UCLA Joe C. Wen School of Nursing participated in this year’s Western Institute of Nursing’s (WIN) annual conference, showcasing the tremendous impact Bruin Nurses have on nursing and health care.
WIN is one of four regional nursing research organizations in the country whose members include nurse scientists, clinicians, educators, students, academic institutions, and health care organizations. Its mission is to improve the health of the public through visionary leadership in nursing research, practice, and education. This year’s conference, Navigating the Currents in Healthcare and Academia: Bridging Research, Practice, and Education, took place in San Francisco, CA, and brought together nursing professionals from across the western states.
At the leadership level, Lauren Clark, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor and Shapiro Family Endowed Chair in Developmental Disabilities Studies in school, completed two years as WIN President at the conclusion of the conference. Her tenure as president was marked by a solid post-pandemic recovery of the organization, culminating in record-breaking conference attendance in 2026 and newly established special interest groups for WIN members.
Kristi Westphaln, PhD, RN, CPNP-PC, assistant professor, chaired the newly formed Pediatric Special Interest Group and led a poster walk for attendees. Rosario Jaime-Lara, PhD, FNP, RN, assistant professor, led the longstanding Latine Special Interest Group meetings and participated as a panelist in the session entitled Leadership, Advocacy, and Innovation in Advancing Health Equity Panel Presentation, hosted by WIN’s Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Dante Anthony Tolentino, PhD, RN, NI-BC, FAMIA, assistant professor, offered a well-attended preconference workshop on AI Essentials for Nursing: Practical Strategies for Education & Research in collaboration with faculty from Boise State University. And UCLA Professor Emerita Holli DeVon, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, delivered the State of the Science keynote address, highlighting the critical role science and academia play in improving patient outcomes and human health.
On the conference floor, UCLA students and faculty members presented their research at poster and podium sessions, including PhD student Elizabeth Kohout, MSN, RN, who moderated the symposium session, Navigating Work and Health: Nursing Perspectives on Occupation as a Social Determinant, and Chunyu Wang, RN, MSN, who was a featured speaker during the session, Gender Differences in Diabetes Distress within a Digital Intervention.
Along with the 2026 WIN Conference, UCLA Nursing faculty, students, and researchers have participated in several other high impact conferences recently, including the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s 2026 Student Policy Summit, the 2026 National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Association’s Annual Health Policy Summit, the 2026 National Nursing Ethics Conference, and more. UCLA’s engagement at these events reflects the school of nursing’s continued commitment to advancing nursing science, fostering leadership, and promoting collaborative, impactful research that addresses pressing health challenges locally and globally.
2026 WIN Conference
Peer-Reviewed Presentations and Posters by UCLA Faculty and Students
- Bullying Victimization Experiences of Adolescents in a Psychiatric Unit
Leilanie Ayala - Fragmented Healthcare Among Older Asian Americans Living with HIV
Wei-Ti Chen - HPV Vaccine Access for Youth with Developmental Disabilities and PCCS
Dorothy J. Wiley, Lauren Clark, Mary-Lynn Brecht, Umme Warda, Emily C. Bloom (Awarded Best Poster Prize by the WIN Pediatric Special Interest Group) - Black Mothers’ Journeys to Advocacy in Navigating Health Systems
Cherisse Erika Watts, Lauren Clark, Felesia Bowen, Kristen Choi, MarySue V. Heilemann - Gender Differences in Diabetes Distress within a Digital Intervention
Chunyu Wang, Minal R. Patel, Dante Anthony Tolentino - Weight Loss Interventions to Support Latinas in the United States: A Systematic Review
Rosario B. Jaime-Lara
2026 WIN Conference
Research and Information Exchange Poster Session | UCLA Joe C. Wen School of Nursing
- Aging with Down Syndrome: Inclusive, Cross-cultural, AI-Supported Protocol
Yuri Matsuo, Lauren Clark - Cognitive Impairment Among People Living with HIV Experiencing Homelessness
Yuka Imai, Wei-Ti Chen - Enhancing Labor Management with Evidence Based Care
Pratima Subedee, Wei-Ti Chen, Dana Beck - Implementing Measurement-Based Care in an Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic
Loren Neiswender, Lauren Clark, Stacey Green, Kristi Westphaln - Empowering Adolescents with Stop the Bleed Training: A Rapid Review
Ronald P. Braga, Lorena E. Smith, Kristi Westphaln - Understanding Feeding Challenges in Autistic Children via the Socioecological Model: A Qualitative Synthesis
Sarah Moreau, Kristi Westphaln - Nurse-Led Integration of Cardiac Myosin Inhibitors in Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Evidence from Five Randomized Trials
Hyerim Yun, Kristi Westphaln, Mary Rezk-Hanna - Exploring Motivations and Barriers: A Study of Precepting Among Behavioral Health APRNS
Stacey Green, Lynda Creighton-Wong, Vanndy Loth, Elizabeth Rice - Preliminary Impact of a Mini Mindfulness-based Modules (MMM) Intervention on Depression and Anxiety
Denice Economou, Danielle Paisley, S. Lazaro, B. Demman, Eden Brauer - Rurality and Resource-Limited Hospital Classification in the United States
Charlotte Bryant - Lung Cancer Risk Advocacy
Elsa Cai, Sofia Hilario, Karley Morales, Cristal Moran, David Nam - Mapping the Evidence on Stress, Burnout, and Loneliness Among Advanced Practice Providers: A Scoping Review
Paul Boy, Wendie Robbins, Paul Macey, Felicia Hodge
