UT Health Sciences Nursing Professor to Enter International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame

A professor at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences College of Nursing is among 26 nurse researchers who will be inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame by Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma) this summer. These nurse leaders representing Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Italy, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States have achieved significant, sustained national or international recognition for their research.

Professor Anne Alexandrov, PhD, RN, is considered the leading international nursing expert in acute stroke. She and the other honorees will be inducted into the Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame during the 37th International Nursing Research Congress, which will be held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from July 16-18. Dr. Alexandrov is a recognized clinical expert in the areas of emergency and critical care with concentrations in neuroscience and vascular dynamics.

"I am very honored to be a Sigma Theta Tau International member and to have been selected for induction into their International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame," Dr. Alexandrov said. "This prestigious global group of nurse researchers has done so very much to advance our profession and to make visible the exceptional work of nurse researchers to improve the health and quality of lives of patients. It is truly an honor to be a part of this group."

Advancing Nursing Science

This year marks the 17th presentation of this prestigious honor. The 2026 inductees join more than 300 of the most distinguished nurse researchers globally, whose work has left a lasting mark on the science, practice, and policy of nursing for generations to come. Dr. Alexandrov is the second faculty member from the university's College of Nursing to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in recent years. Professor Sara Day, PhD, RN, was inducted in 2022.

"When you think of nursing science, the work that Anne does is one of the first things that comes to mind," said Dean Wendy Likes, PhD, DNSc. "Her work has demonstrated how low-cost interventions can translate to high-impact outcomes. It epitomizes how nurse scientists can impact and change practice."

Dr. Alexandrov was principal investigator on a $2.3 million National Institutes of Health grant that sought definitive results on the impact of head positioning on patients with large artery acute ischemic stroke prior to thrombectomy. A thrombectomy is a surgery to remove a blood clot from an artery or vein. Known as ZODIAC (Zero-Degree Head Positioning in Acute Large Vessel Ischemic Stroke), the clinical study showed that zero-degree head positioning prior to thrombectomy significantly improved blood flow for those patients. She presented the results of the trial at the International Stroke Conference in Phoenix in February 2024. The findings have dramatically changed patient care worldwide.

Dr. Alexandrov joined UT Health Sciences in 2014. Her research has two primary areas of focus: testing interventions to optimize blood flow to patients with acute stroke and exploring innovative methods to optimize the health systems where stroke patients are managed. She has received many awards, including the Outstanding Nurse Scientist and Mentor Award from the Council on the Advancement of Nursing Science of the American Academy of Nursing in 2024, the 2024 Top Clinical Trial Abstract at the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference, and the Association of Neurovascular Clinicians (ANVC) Lifetime Membership Award in 2023.

Earlier this year, the ANVC announced an award named in her honor, the Anne Alexandrov Leadership & Legacy Award, which will be offered annually to individuals whose contributions to clinical practice and research have significantly improved stroke patient outcomes. Dr. Alexandrov earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. She attained her PhD from Texas Woman's University, and completed her post-graduate acute care nurse practitioner education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.