Linda Aiken, professor and founding director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, has received the 2026 American Nursing Association President’s Award. The honor recognizes leaders whose public influence has advanced the nursing profession in enduring ways.
A pioneering outcomes scientist, Dr. Aiken has reshaped global nursing workforce standards through her decades of research. Her empirical work has demonstrated the critical link between nurse staffing levels, educational preparation, and patient safety, providing the scientific foundation for modern staffing policies worldwide.
“I am honored and gratified to receive this recognition from the American Nurses Association on behalf of practicing nurses,” said Dr. Aiken. “My life’s work has been dedicated to creating the evidence base to enable the nation’s 4.7 million professional nurses to provide safe and effective care and to lead innovations that improve access to and quality of healthcare in our country and globally.”
Dr. Aiken earned her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in nursing from the University of Florida. She received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in medical sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.