Mattos and Mahanes Named Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing

The American Academy of Nursing has selected two members of the UVA nursing community for its 2026 Class of Fellows, one of the profession's highest honors.

Meghan K. Mattos, PhD, RN, CNL, associate professor at UVA School of Nursing, and Sandra "Dea" Mahanes, DNP, RN, CCNS, CCRN, CNRN, HEC-C, a UVA School of Nursing alumna and clinical nurse specialist at UVA Health, were among the nurse leaders chosen for the prestigious distinction.

Announced June 25, the Academy's 2026 class includes nurse leaders from across the United States and around the world who have made significant contributions to improving health and healthcare through leadership, research, education, practice, and policy. The Fellows will be formally inducted during the Academy's annual Health Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., in October.

For Mattos, the honor affirms a career dedicated to advancing care for older adults.

"Being named a Fellow feels like the work I've built my career on matters at a national level," she said. "So much of my research and advocacy has been about elevating a nursing-led perspective on aging, behavioral health, and digital innovation, and it's an honor to see this valued by the American Academy of Nursing."

A nationally recognized scholar in aging and cognitive health, Mattos said she is particularly proud of her SHUTi MIND study, an internet-delivered intervention designed to improve sleep and cognitive outcomes for older adults with cognitive impairment.

"It's the kind of scalable, accessible science I set out to do, for a population I've been passionate about for a long time," she said.

She also considers helping early-career researchers grow and succeed one of the most rewarding aspects of her own career.

"It's an incredible opportunity to develop and support the next generation of nurse scientists who'll carry this work forward," Mattos said.

Mattos credits much of her success to relationships forged while pursuing her PhD at the University of Pittsburgh. She said Jennifer Lingler, who served as her graduate research supervisor, and behavioral health researcher Lora Burke helped shape a research program that began with an interest in Alzheimer's disease in rural Appalachia and grew into a funded body of work focused on aging, cognition, sleep, and digital health interventions.

As a Fellow, Mattos hopes to help strengthen nursing's voice in emerging areas of health care.

"My goal is to push nursing further into digital health and behavioral medicine spaces where nursing voices are still underrepresented," she said.

My goal is to push nursing further into digital health and behavioral medicine spaces where nursing voices are still underrepresented.

Meghan Mattos, associate professor at UVA School of Nursing

Mahanes' path to Fellowship has been grounded in more than three decades of caring for patients and helping clinicians improve practice.

A two-time UVA School of Nursing graduate who earned a BSN in 1994 and an MSN in 2003, Mahanes currently serves as a clinical nurse specialist and ethicist at UVA Health. She said the recognition reflects years of work translating evidence into practical guidance that clinicians can use to improve patient care.

"Being named a Fellow is gratifying because it acknowledges that those efforts have had an impact beyond my own institution," Mahanes said.

Among her proudest professional accomplishments are her contributions to clinical practice guidelines that support the care of patients with neurological injury or illness, including her work with an international, interprofessional panel that has developed prognostication guidelines for multiple neurological conditions.

Yet she says the most lasting impact of her career may be the nurses and clinicians she has influenced along the way.

"What I'm most proud of is knowing that I've helped nurses and other clinicians provide better care both within and beyond UVA through coaching and mentorship," she said.

Mahanes said two UVA School of Nursing professors were instrumental in her development as a nurse leader. As her MSN advisor, Suzi Burns provided opportunities and connections that helped Mahanes advance as a clinical nurse specialist, while Ann Hamric's leadership and scholarship in advanced practice nursing and ethics influenced her professional growth.

She also points to the patients and families she has cared for as a continual source of inspiration.

"The resilience of neuroscience patients and their families is inspiring," she said. "My goal is to improve the care they receive through consultation, education, and guidelines that support best practices."

As a Fellow, Mahanes hopes to contribute expertise in translating research into real-world practice and to bring perspectives from neurocritical care and health care ethics to the Academy's work.

Many of nursing's most complex challenges, she noted, involve uncertainty, communication, decision-making, and equitable access to high-quality care.

"These are areas where nurses have important insights to offer," she said.

You don't have to choose between being a clinician and contributing more broadly to the profession. The most impactful advances in nursing come from people who remain closely connected to patient care while working to improve systems, education, and practice standards.

Sandra "Dea" Mahanes, Clinical Nurse Specialist in neurocritical care at UVA Health and UVA School of Nursing alumna

Although their careers have taken different paths, both Mattos and Mahanes described success not as an individual achievement, but as something built through collaboration and a commitment to better patient care.

Both also offered advice to future nurses seeking to make a lasting impact.

Mattos encouraged emerging nurse leaders to advocate for nursing perspectives beyond traditional nursing spaces.

"Show up at the table, even when you're the only nurse in the room," she said.

Mahanes emphasized the value of staying connected to patients while helping improve systems and standards of care.

"You don't have to choose between being a clinician and contributing more broadly to the profession," she said. "The most impactful advances in nursing come from people who remain closely connected to patient care while working to improve systems, education, and practice standards."