Dr. Taura Barr is vice chair of American Heart Association committee
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The American Heart Association (AHA) has appointed Taura Barr, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor in the West Virginia University School of Nursing and research scholar in the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute (WVCTSI), as vice chair of its Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing.
The Council’s mission is to accelerate the discovery, translation, and application of knowledge to promote and improve overall cardiovascular health. Its efforts focus on contributing nursing’s biopsychosocial expertise to AHA’s global agenda to promote ideal cardiovascular health, quality of life, and heart-healthy lifestyles and environments.
Dr. Barr also holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Emergency Medicine in the WVU School of Medicine and faculty appointments in the WVU Center for Neuroscience and Center for Basic and Translational Stroke Research.
Her program of research is centered on the use of genomic methodologies to identify biomarkers of cardiovascular disease, understand their relationship with post-stroke inflammation and immunity, and define the contributing environmental factors related to health disparity in underserved populations.
Committee responsibilities include shaping science pertaining to the care of persons with or at risk for stroke care, disseminating information about stroke care, developing scientific statements and other professional education materials, and participating in national efforts to increase research funding directed toward stroke research.
Barr has served for the past two years as a stroke nursing committee member. Her two-year term as vice chair began July 1.