Three UH Manoa Nursing Faculty Honored at Statewide Nursing Symposium
Three faculty members from the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene were recognized for their research at the 2026 Hawaii State Center for Nursing symposium. The awardees were: Assistant Professor Samia Valeria Ozorio Dutra, who received the Emerging Nurse Scientist Award; Associate Professor and PhD Program Director Molly Altman, who received the Exemplary Nurse Scientist Award; and Associate Professor and Department of Nursing Chair Gary Glauberman, who received the inaugural Hawaii Impact Award.
These awards highlight the ways that nurse professionals in Hawaii advance innovation in health care for our state and the world, through carrying out patient-centered research.
The Emerging Nurse Scientist Award recognizes an individual who is in the early stages of their career as a nurse scientist and demonstrates exceptional promise in advancing nursing practice through their scientific work. Dr. Dutra’s research sits at the intersection of gut microbiome science, mental health, and emerging technologies. Through nationally competitive fellowships, including AIM-AHEAD and LEADS, she has explored how machine learning can identify depression risk within medical records, offering new tools for early detection and intervention. Dr. Dutra’s current work examines how biological, behavioral and psychosocial factors, including the gut microbiome and inflammatory markers, interact to influence mental health and resilience. With a growing body of publications and national presentations, and ongoing community-engaged work such as research related to the Maui wildfires, Dr. Dutra is quickly establishing herself as a leader in innovative, interdisciplinary nursing research.
The Exemplary Nurse Scientist Award highlights a nurse whose enduring scientific work has produced measurable benefits to nursing practice, education, policy or patient care. Dr. Altman’s work has done just that. Her research uses community-based approaches to address health disparities, mainly focused upon decreasing inequities and improving experiences within reproductive health care for communities most impacted by marginalization.. She has led or co-led more than 16 major studies with over $2 million in funding and produced more than 50 peer-reviewed publications. Her work has shaped clinical practice, informed national education standards and influenced policy, while also expanding access to care and reducing bias in patient-provider interactions. Now serving as PhD Program Director, she continues to lead both scientifically and academically.
The inaugural Hawaii Impact Award celebrates a nurse scientist whose work has had significant local impact. Dr. Glauberman has focused on environmental health, population health and disparities, with a particular emphasis on public health emergency preparedness throughout his career and across Hawaii. His research has identified persistent gaps between awareness and action. Some of his most recent work includes the development of an interactive, location-based digital tool that helps families create practical emergency preparedness plans. With more than 26 publications and strong community collaborations, his work reflects science designed to directly serve Hawaii’s communities.