Penn Nursing prioritizes the discovery of novel solutions to persistent problems in health and health care. Nurses are often the closest care providers to patients and are called upon to innovate in their everyday work—using science, ingenuity, and compassion—to solve problems, not just for individuals, but for families, communities, and health systems at large.
Recognizing the centrality of innovation to the work of Penn Nursing, on February 1, the School appointed Marion Leary, GNu’13, Gr’14, Gr’23, as the inaugural Director of Innovation in the Office of Nursing Research. In this new role, Leary will create and implement programs that aim to cement Penn Nursing as a campus and worldwide leader in innovation. She will equip faculty and staff with the tools they need to think creatively and strategically about the best ways to solve problems and engage students in cutting-edge design thinking and entrepreneurship.
Leary is no stranger to innovation—for over a decade, she has been spearheading projects at Penn in the fields of resuscitation science, cardiac arrest, and CPR. She introduced the use of virtual and augmented reality technologies that prepare citizens to react and assist in emergency situations and was a winner of the University of Pennsylvania’s AppItUP competition for her efforts in this space. Leary is an international Fellow of the American Heart Association and Geekadelphia’s 2017 Geek of the Year for her accomplishments in the fields of innovation, technology, and activism.
Under the auspices of The Power of Penn Campaign, the Nursing School’s Innovating for Life and Living Campaign includes a focus on increasing support for strategic investment in transformative research to improve outcomes for all populations—especially the most vulnerable. Marion Leary’s appointment is a terrific step forward in assuring the School’s continued global leadership in this area.
Innovating for Life and Living
