This year, a Case Western Reserve University nurse researcher will be inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma) Researcher Hall of Fame. Joachim Voss is a professor at CWRU’s Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and director of the Sarah Cole Hirsh Institute for Evidence-Based Practice. In addition to his position as an educator and administrator, he is also committed to research and education at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Sigma is an international nonprofit organization and the second largest nursing organization in the world. It was founded in 1922 and has over 135,000 members worldwide in over 90 countries. Sigma’s members are organized into more than 530 chapters at over 700 institutions. It has the stated mission of “advancing world health and celebrating nursing excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service.” One of the ways through which Sigma pursues its mission is to recognize noteworthy nurse researchers who have made significant contributions to the field and the treatment of patients by way of a Hall of Fame. This year’s Hall of Fame awards will be the 10th such event.

Voss has an impressive academic record and career. He is a Fulbright Scholar and earned his Ph.D. in 2003 from the University of California, San Francisco. He did a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health and conducted research on fatigue and mitochondrial dysfunction in cancer and HIV patients at the University of Washington. He also serves as a mentor for the Afya Bora Consortium, a partnership between U.S. and African universities to provide practical skills and training for health leaders and involvement with other organizations to improve global health.

Voss is one of only 23 nurse researchers being inducted internationally this year. He will join 176 past inductees in the Hall of Fame. His part in important research and advancement of the nursing field, as well as his emphasis on better training for leaders in health-related fields to better treat patients and improve overall health, led to his induction. Other inductees this year are from Sweden, Canada, Australia and the United States.

According to Marilyn Lotas, Ph.D., a professor at the School of Nursing and president of the Alpha Mu Chapter of Sigma, CWRU has had other researchers inducted, including Drs. May Wykle, Joyce Fitzpatrick and Shirley Moore. Jaclene Zauzniewski, Ph.D., will also be inducted alongside Voss.

The formal induction ceremony will take place in July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada at Sigma’s 30th International Nursing Research Congress. Voss will there receive a crystal award for his contributions to research and sit on a discussion panel.