UCLA Nursing professor is first pediatric nurse practitioner to serve as American Heart Association council chair

Dr. Nancy Pike, professor and director of research at the UCLA School of Nursing, has been elected to serve as the Chair of the American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing. She is the first pediatric nurse scientist to hold this position. 

Through 16 diverse scientific councils, the American Heart Association works to support and foster health science through the lens of professionals from an array of specialties and classifications. The Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing (CVSN) accelerates the discovery, interpretation, and application of science to enhance cardiovascular health and treat cardiovascular diseases and stroke. According to the AHA website, the council helps develop scientific statements and advisories, guide professional education activities, provide scientific expertise, conduct research, translate findings, and promote evidence-based practices in clinical settings.

Dr. Pike has dedicated her work to the study of congenital heart disease (CHD) among children and young adults. A certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, she has maintained a clinical practice for nearly 30 years. Her biobehavioral and neuroimaging studies have received regular funding from the NIH/NINR and have led to new understandings of structural brain injury, cerebral blood flow and their correlations to cognitive and psychosocial outcomes in adolescents and young adults with CHD. Currently, Pike is using an innovative computer-based cognitive intervention to study potential improvements in working memory and attention in children with complex forms of CHD.

Her role in the CVSN will allow her to represent and advocate for nursing and cardiovascular health equity across the life span as a leader within the organization. Her term begins in June 2023.