Steven J. Palazzo, Ph.D., M.N., R.N., C.N.E. // Director
Steven J. Palazzo, Ph.D., M.N., R.N., C.N.E., is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Nursing at University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). He was recently the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs at the College of Nursing at Seattle University. Dr. Palazzo earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), a Master in Nursing (MN), and a Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Washington. He has eight years of clinical experience in critical care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and has published research on the utility of biomarkers in diagnosing ventilator-associated pneumonia, Teen Take Heart, innovative pedagogy, and nursing incivility. He is also working with Doctor of Nursing Practice students on research related to high school students’ perceptions of nursing as a professional career choice (Men in Nursing Pipeline).
Dr. Palazzo is interested in Prevention Science Research. His current research and scholarship focus is on developing and implementing a sustainable interdisciplinary program of cardiovascular health promotion and disease prevention aimed at creating a culture of health in adolescents from under-resourced communities.
Teen Take Heart (TTH) confronts a major national healthcare issue by using a health and science-based program to engage students and promote sustained change in attitudes and actions about wellness. TTH utilizes a series of interactive in-class instructional and hands-on, web- and kit-based lessons. Recognizing that no single health promotion strategy will be uniformly effective, a complementary goal is to expand our understanding of how to initiate and sustain behavior change in economically and ethnically diverse populations. An additional feature of the program is that it exposes teens to options for health care careers that rely on science. “Teen Take Heart is an experiment in progress.” He will be measuring results over time to see if there are sustained changes in the cardiovascular knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of high school students both short- and long-term.
Dr. Palazzo is one of just 12 nursing educators from across the United States to win a highly competitive grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Nurse Faculty Scholars program in 2013. He received a three-year, $350,000 award to promote his academic career and support his research. The Nurse Faculty Scholar award is given to junior faculty who show outstanding promise as future leaders in academic nursing.
He is also the recipient of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Strategic Communications Training Fellowship (2015).
Dr. Palazzo is also the recipient of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientist (ARCS) fellowship (2007), the Hope Heart Institute Sauvage Fellow (2012), Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) Nurse Faculty Leadership Academy Fellowship (2012-13), the Hope Heart Endowed Fellowship (2014), and The Academic Service Learning Faculty Fellowship Program, Seattle University, College of Education (2015) and the Emerging Educator Administrator institute (STTI) in 2017.
