By Stephen Asante
Accra, Nov. 06, GNA – The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing has installed Professor Yvonne Commodore-Mensah, a Ghanaian-American research scientist, as the M. Adelaide Nutting Endowed Chair.
She is the first black woman to occupy the endowed chair named after Mary Adelaide Nutting, a pioneer in nursing education, who became the first nurse to hold a university professorship.
Adelaide Nutting served as superintendent of nurses and principal of the school between 1895 and 1907.
The prestigious honour is in recognition of the Ghanaian research scientist’s contributions to nursing research, an Instagram post announcing Prof. Yvonne Commodore-Mensah’s new role, sighted by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) stated.
It comes in the wake of her recent induction into the Sigma Nursing International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame.
The School authorities said the Chair’s academic work was dedicated to preventing cardiovascular diseases, managing hypertension, and addressing health inequalities affecting people of African descent.
At the Johns Hopkins School, she serves as Director for Local/Global Reciprocal Innovation at the Center for Health Equity.
She also directs the Global Cardiovascular Health Equity Lab and co-directs the Cardiometabolic Health Interest Group.
The Chair is one of the honours given to leading academics at the School.
Records indicated that it was established in 1984 by the Johns Hopkins Nurses’ Alumni Association, the first endowed chair at a nursing school in the United States (US) funded through contributions from an alumni association.
Prof. Commodore-Mensah is a registered nurse and a fellow of several professional organisations, including the American Academy of Nursing and the American Heart Association.
The school’s authorities said, the Chair’s leadership included the ADHINCRA programme in Africa, and the LINKED-BP and LINKED-HEARTS programmes in the United States.
She was credited for contributing to the American Heart Association’s 2025 guidelines on high blood pressure.
Prof. Commodore-Mensah is an alumna of the Wesley Girls’ Senior High School, a renowned Ghanaian second-cycle institution.
She is the President and co-founder of the Ghanaian-Diaspora Nursing Alliance (G-DNA), an organisation committed to promoting knowledge-sharing and improvements in nursing practice.
She is also an advocate of quality nursing education and building the skills of healthcare professionals in Ghana, connecting international nursing research with efforts to improve healthcare delivery in Ghana.
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo
Reporter: Stephen Asante