Azita Emami, PhD, MSN, RNT, RN, FAAN University of Washington, USA

Dr. Azita Emami is the Robert G. and Jean A. Reid Dean of Nursing and professor in biobehavioral nursing and health systems. She holds a bachelor's degree in nursing from the Karolinska Institutet, a master's degree in international health care from Karolinska and the Red Cross College of Nursing, a nursing education degree with a teaching certification, and a doctorate in medical sciences from Karolinska. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Her academic leadership experience spans two countries and 25 years, including positions as the Dean of the College of Nursing at Seattle University, Head of the Division of Nursing in the Department of Neurobiology Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, and Academic Leader in the Division of Elder Care in the Department of Nursing at the Karolinska Institutet.

In her role as executive dean, Dr. Emami emphasizes the increasingly global nature of nursing and the importance of educating nurses to deliver care in a wide variety of culturally and economically diverse settings. She also focuses on creating a student centered learning environment that engages while it teaches, encouraging the faculty’s professional and scholarly development, enhancing advanced practice nursing program, and expanding opportunities for nurses to assume significant healthcare policymaking roles. She is also a proud recipient of the UW Women’s Center’s Women of Courage award.

Dean Emami’s research has resulted in more than 70 publications in peer-reviewed journals nationally and internationally. This body of work reflects her research interests in cross-cultural care, elder care, the development of cultural competence, and specific diseases and conditions. She maintains an active research schedule and has collaborated in projects around the world including at the University of California, San Francisco; University of Sheffield, U.K.; Universidad de Chile, Chile; and the University of Alberta, Canada.