University of Virginia School of Nursing professor Karen M. Rose, who researches best practices for supporting family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s and dementia, has been named a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America.

Fellowship status in the Gerontological Society – the nation’s oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education and practice in the field of aging – is based on recommendations and reviews from an internal fellowship committee. Its members include nurses, physicians, researchers, psychologists, social workers and geriatricians.

She will be officially inducted this fall in Washington, D.C.

Rose’s work on Alzheimer’s disease earned her a $428,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the link between nighttime agitation and incontinence. She continues her research to support family caregivers of people with dementia, aiming to provide support and systems to keep loved ones at home for as long as possible.

At U.Va., she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in nursing leadership, research and gerontological nursing. A past director of the Nursing School’s undergraduate programs, Rose mentors students in its Distinguished Majors Program and leads doctoral capstone projects and dissertations.

“That the GSA has recognized the scope and quality of Karen’s scholarship is no surprise to those of us who work with her day-to-day in full view of her passion and expertise,” said Dorrie Fontaine, dean of U.Va. School of Nursing. “Her contributions to Alzheimer’s research have and will continue to make impactful, measurable changes for those living with dementia and those caring for family members who suffer from it. We couldn’t be more proud of her.”

Rose has held a variety of nursing roles in critical care, medical-surgical nursing, staff development and patient and family education. She served as the regional director for the Central and Western Virginia Alzheimer’s Association, where she developed and implemented a volunteer-based respite-care program for family caregivers.

She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Shenandoah University, her M.S.N. from Virginia Commonwealth University and her Ph.D. from U.Va. She completed a Claire M. Fagin Post-Doctoral Fellowship, focused on sleep in patients with dementia, through the John A. Hartford Foundation, and was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in 2013.

Founded in 1945, the Gerontological Society of America comprises 5,500 members hailing from 50 countries and publishes several peer-reviewed journals.