Joan K. Austin, DNS
- Distinguished Professor, Department of Environments for Health
- Director, Center for Enhancing the Quality of Life in Chronic Illness
Education
- DNS, Indiana University
- MSN, Indiana University
- BSN, Texas Woman's University
External Funding
List of funded research.
Biosketch
Dr. Austin's major research interests focus on family adaptation to childhood epilepsy. She is currently funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH) and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) to study adaptation to childhood epilepsy. She has published in interdisciplinary journals including Nursing Research, Journal of Child & Adolescent Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Epilepsia, Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Journal of Epilepsy, Pediatrics, and the Journal of School Psychology.
Interdisciplinary interest in her research has led to presentations at meetings of the American Psychological Association, the American Epilepsy Society, and the International Epilepsy Congress. Dr. Austin has been a member of the Governing Board of the Midwest Nursing Research Society, the Governing Board of the American Epilepsy Society, and the Professional Advisory Board of the Epilepsy Foundation of America. In 1990, she was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and also received the ANA Council on Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing's Award for Current Impact in Research and Scholarship. In 1993, Dr. Austin received the Distinguished Contribution to Nursing Research in the Midwest award from the Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS). Also in 1993, she was featured in Sigma Theta Tau's CAMEO video series of outstanding nurse researchers and was awarded the American Epilepsy Society/Milken Family Medical Foundation Category Two Clinical Research Award. In 1999, the International Bureau for Epilepsy and the International League Against Epilepsy presented her the Award for Social Accomplishment. In 2000, she was inducted into the Institute of Medicine and also received the Jacob Javits award for research in neurosciences from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. She is currently the president of the American Epilepsy Society; the first nurse to serve as president of that organization.
