Beerstecher-Blackwell Distinguished Term Scholar Diane Berry was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing during a ceremony on October 18 at the Academy’s annual meeting in Washington, DC.
Fellows in the Academy (also known as FAANs) “are nursing leaders in education, management, practice, and research” who are dedicated to transforming America’s health care practices. Dr. Berry is one of 168 Fellows inducted into the Academy this year, joining more than 2,200 nurse leaders who currently comprise the Academy.
Dr. Berry, PhD, ANP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, is a prominent researcher who focuses on management and prevention of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes mellitus. Throughout her career, she has either been a principal investigator or co-investigator on nine studies funded by the National Institutes of Health and several studies funded through private sources. She holds appointments in the UNC Interdisciplinary Obesity Center and the UNC Center for Diabetes research. She has authored four book chapters and has been an author on over 50 articles published in refereed journals. In much of her published work, she examines obesity across cultures and explores the effectiveness of community-based interventions for managing weight and conditions related to obesity.
In one of her more recent studies, published in Nutrition & Diabetes, Dr. Berry and her colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine if nutrition and exercise education combined with coping skills and an exercise program could improve the health of overweight children and their parents. The study had mixed results in terms of reducing the participants’ body mass index and increasing their healthy behaviors, yet the outcomes suggested that treating overweight and obese parents alongside their children may be a powerful approach for managing weight. She is currently lead principal investigator on an NIH-funded study to test an intervention for women diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
The American Association of Nurse practitioners inducted Dr. Berry as a Fellow in 2012. She maintains her practice as an adult nurse practitioner in the Emergency Department of UNC Health Care and for many years, served as a volunteer for the Alliance Medical Ministry Grace Clinic in Raleigh, NC. She also serves her community through many leadership roles, including service in The Obesity Society, the Council for Advancement of Nursing Science, the North Carolina Alliance for Health, and the North Carolina Nurses Association.