Dr. Bernadette Melnyk

Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/PMHNP, FNAP, FAAN, has been appointed by The Ohio State University as dean of the College of Nursing, associate vice president for health promotion, and chief wellness officer of the university, effective Sept. 15, 2011. Her role as Ohio State’s chief wellness officer is believed to be the first such position at a US university. She is spearheading health promotion and wellness programs to enhance the highest level of health, and to prevent physical and mental health disorders among faculty, staff and students.

Dr. Melnyk is a widely recognized expert in evidence-based practice, intervention research, and child and adolescent mental health. Her research areas include interventions to improve coping/mental health outcomes in high-risk children and families, and healthy lifestyle interventions with adolescents and college youth. Her record includes more than 170 publications and more than $11 million in sponsored funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies.

Dr. Melnyk earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing cum laude from West Virginia University, a Master of Science in Nursing with a specialization in nursing care in children as a pediatric nurse practitioner from the University of Pittsburgh, and a PhD in clinical research from the University of Rochester. She also completed post-master’s certification as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.
Most recently as dean and distinguished foundation professor in nursing at Arizona State University's College of Nursing & Health Innovation, Dr. Melnyk led that college to a top 15 ranking in funding from the NIH, the expansion of trans-disciplinary academic programs, and the creation of seven centers of research and evidence-based practice excellence. She created innovative partnerships with the FDA and major corporations and has consulted with many healthcare systems and colleges throughout the nation and world on how to implement and sustain evidence-based practice.

Her work has been widely published in peer-reviewed journals, and she is co-editor of the well-known book, Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice (second edition) published in 2011. In addition, she serves as associate editor of the journal Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing.

Prior to her position at Arizona State University, Dr. Melnyk was a faculty member at the University of Rochester from 1992 to 2004. From 1999 to 2004, she was professor and associate dean for research and director, Center for Research & Evidenced-Based Practice and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program in the School of Nursing, and also served as professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine & Dentistry.

Dr. Melnyk is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the National Academies of Practice. She serves as one of only two nurse practitioners on the 16-member United States Preventive Services Task Force. Among dozens of other prestigious honors, she received the 2011 Distinguished Research Lecturer Award from the Western Institute of Nursing, as well as the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research’s (NINR) first NINR Director's Lectureship Award in 2011. She has twice been recognized as an Edge Runner by the American Academy of Nursing, once for founding the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners' KySS mental health initiative, and the second time for her COPE Program for parents of premature infants.