Dr. Linda Sarna, Dean and Lulu Wolf Hassenplug Endowed Chair, UCLA School of Nursing, is internationally recognized for her scholarly activities promoting nursing involvement in tobacco control. As the Principal Investigator for the Tobacco Free Nurses, recognized by the American Academy of Nursing as an Edge Runner, she initiated the first national program to help nurses quit smoking in the US and to promote the role of nurses in tobacco control, inaugurating the award-winning Website. She was the lead investigator on an analysis of 27-year smoking trends of participants in the Nurses’ Health Study and led a team of investigators in the examination of national smoking trends among health care professions. She has led translational research projects to increase nursing interventions to treat tobacco dependence among hospitalized patients in the U.S., China, and Eastern Europe using web—based educational programs and resources. Dr. Sarna has collaborated with national and international nursing organizations on policies related to nurses and tobacco control, including the American Academy of Nursing and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and leading the implementation of a tobacco-free policy at UCLA.

Dr. Sarna’s honors and awards include election as a fellow to the American Academy of Nursing, recognition as a Distinguished Research Professor by the Oncology Nursing Society, and induction into the International Nurse Research Hall of Fame, Sigma Theta Tau International.