The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has announced the 2012 cohort of scholars in its Nurse Faculty Scholars program, which works to strengthen the academic productivity and overall excellence of nursing schools around the country.

Each of the twelve faculty scholars will receive a three-year, $350,000 grant to pursue research, leadership training, and mentoring from senior faculty at his or her institution. The funding also will enable the scholars to conduct a range of studies, from examining the relationship between sleep and obesity in adolescents, to the representation of minorities in genomic research, to the resiliency and psychological health of emergency department workers.

Among other things, the program aims to increase the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of the nursing workforce by fostering leadership skills among faculty scholars, who will then use those skills to recruit and retain diverse faculties and student bodies at their respective schools of nursing. To that end, the program encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds.

"Every one of our new RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars has tremendous talent and deep dedication to educating professional nurses and improving health and health care in this country," said Jacquelyn Campbell, PhD, RN, FAAN, national program director for the RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars program. "We look forward to working with this new group as they help increase the body of nursing research, strengthen the academy, and advance the nation's health."

For information about the 2012 cohort of nurse faculty scholars and their research projects, visit the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Web site.