NINR is pleased to welcome Ann R. Knebel, PhD, RN, FAAN, as its new deputy director.
“Dr. Knebel brings a wealth of research, administrative, clinical, and public health expertise to NINR,” said NINR Director Dr. Patricia A. Grady. “We’re excited she is re-joining the NIH community.” Prior to joining NINR, she served as the deputy director for the Office of Preparedness Planning, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and as an NINR program director in the Office of Extramural Programs and as a program analyst in the NINR Office of Science Policy and Public Liaison. During her tenure at NINR, she also served as the first chair of the Trans-HHS End-of-Life Research Interest Group. She began her NIH career as a pulmonary clinical nurse specialist at the NIH Clinical Center, where she conducted research on illness severity, quality-of-life, and the influence of oxygen therapy on functional ability in individuals with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
At ASPR Knebel applied her scientific expertise to shape and guide the emerging scientific fields of disaster preparedness and preparedness for mass gatherings. She has been instrumental in U.S. preparedness planning and surge capacity initiatives as well as Federal public health and medical response and recovery planning. During her tenure at ASPR, she helped the Greek Ministry of Health prepare for the 2004 Summer Olympics and served a 9-month detail with the New York City Office of Emergency Management to develop bioterrorism plans. As an expert consultant for international preparedness planning she has worked on the World Health Organization-sponsored advisory group on mass gathering preparedness.
Knebel has received numerous awards and special honors, including Public Health Service Outstanding Service Medals, the Office of the Chief Nurse Faye G. Abdellah Publication Award, the Hasselmeyer Award for Research Initiatives, and the NIH Clinical Center Distinguished Nurse Award. In 2008 she was one of the first recipients of the Hubert H. Humphrey Award for Service to America. The American Thoracic Society has twice awarded her the Marilyn Hansen Meritorious Nursing Research Award.
Knebel has served on the Respiratory Nursing Society Board of Directors, American Association of Critical Care Nurses National Study Group on Weaning from Mechanical Ventilation, and Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee of the National Alpha-1 Foundation. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Knebel received her Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing in 1981 and a Masters of Nursing Science in 1985 from the University of Evansville, Indiana. She earned her PhD in Nursing Science at the University of California, San Francisco.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Knebel to NINR.
