SU’s Leah Cullins to study at renown Genetics Institute
BATON ROUGE - Leah Cullins, Assistant Professor/Family Nurse Practitioner in the Southern University School of Nursing, was recently accepted into the Summer Genetics Institute (SGI) for training in molecular human genetics.
The SGI is a full-time eight-week research training program designed to provide a foundation in molecular human genetics for bio-behavioral research for nursing faculty, graduate students, and advanced practice nurses. The institute, which begins June 8, is sponsored by the National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health.
“The institute will enable me to explore topics in genetics that are important to increasing my nursing knowledge,” Cullins said. “This opportunity will provide me with the ability to identify new genetic information that will be used to treat and prevent disease.”
Participants who successfully complete the program will receive 12 hours of doctoral level graduate credit awarded through Georgetown University.
Her work at the institute will also benefit her own research on breast cancer in African-American women, she said, by providing her information on the influence of genetics in that area of study.
Cullins has published her research on cancer fatalism and breast-screening in African- American women, presented her findings at symposiums, and is currently building a program of research on breast cancer.
Cullins received her B.S. in Nursing in 2001, and her M.S. in Nursing in 2005 from Southern. She received her Family Nurse Practitioner Certification in 2006 from Southern. She is currently working on her Ph. D. in Nursing Science at Louisiana State University’s Health Science Center in New Orleans.
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