A Message from the Senior VP and Dean, School of Nursing, and Chief Integration Officer, UTMB, and the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs
Dear UTMB School of Nursing Community,
We
are delighted to announce that Martina Raquel Gallagher, PhD, MSN, PMHNP-BC,
RN, will join the UTMB School of Nursing as Chair of the Department of
Undergraduate Studies, effective June 16, 2025.
Dr. Gallagher is a dedicated
educator, empathetic psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, and
inquisitive nurse scientist. Her career reflects a deep commitment to
delivering engaging education, providing high-quality, patient-centered care,
and advancing nursing practice through scientific inquiry.
She
joins UTMB from the Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston, where she
taught a wide range of courses including adult health, psychiatric nursing,
community health nursing, and nursing research. Her leadership roles at Cizik
SON included Director of Global Health, Coordinator of the Honors Program and
most recently, she served as Interim Assistant Director of Education and
Research at the UTHealth Houston Behavioral Sciences Campus.
With
over 30 years of experience in nursing, Dr. Gallagher began her career after
earning a diploma in nursing from the Baptist Health System School of Health
Professions in San Antonio in 1990. She was later selected for the Early
Master’s Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio,
earning a BSN and an MSN in Community and Health Care Systems Administration,
with minors in Nursing Education and Informatics. She completed a PhD in
Clinical Nursing Research, funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research
(NINR), followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in women’s health nursing
research at the University of Washington. Clinically, Dr. Gallagher has served
in emergency, interventional radiology, case management, and psychiatric nursing
roles.
An
innovative educator, Dr. Gallagher is known for experiential teaching
strategies. A notable example is Tangology—a creative use of Argentine
tango to teach leadership and followership to interprofessional students in the
Summer Health Professions Education Program, supported by the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation. She received the Southern Nursing Excellence Award for
Teaching in recognition of her innovative pedagogy.
Motivated
by the increasing demand for mental health services, Dr. Gallagher earned a
post-master’s certificate as a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner in
2019 and currently provides care via telehealth. Her experience in this area
led to her appointment to the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA)
Telemental Health Task Force, where she contributed to the development of the
2022 APNA Telemental Health Toolkit.
Dr.
Gallagher’s research initially focused on the health of Latino women and their
preschool children. Her NINR-funded dissertation explored child
health-promoting practices among Latino mothers, and during her postdoctoral
work, she examined the impact of sleep on health using objective tools such as
actigraphy. At Cizik SON, she led Comadres de Salud ("Kindred
Sisters in Health"), a community-based intervention promoting healthy
lifestyle adherence through sleep hygiene. Her scholarly work includes more than
100 publications and presentations. She has also held national leadership
positions, including service on the PCORI Advisory Panel on Addressing
Disparities and as Diversity Section Chair of The Obesity Society. Her current
research centers on the integration of artificial intelligence in nursing
education and strategies to support patients during psychiatric medication
deprescribing. She was recently selected to participate in the prestigious AI
for Good Institute at Stanford University.
Colleagues
and students describe Dr. Gallagher as authentic, approachable, and deeply
committed to excellence. Patients commend her kindness, collaboration, and
attentiveness. Beyond her professional work, she enjoys visiting art
exhibitions, watercolor painting, reading mystery novels, learning new
languages, and walking with her dog, Chloe.
Dr.
Gallagher is excited to join the UTMB School of Nursing and looks forward to
engaging with our students, faculty, and staff. Please join us in extending a
warm and heartfelt welcome to Dr. Gallagher as she begins this new chapter with
our community!
Sincerely,
Deborah J. Jones, PhD, MSN, RN, FAAN
Senior Vice President and Dean, School of Nursing
Chief Integration Officer
Rebecca Sealy Distinguished Centennial Chair
Kristen Starnes-Ott, PhD, BS, CRNA, FAANA, FNAP
Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor
Betty P. Akins Endowed Chair in Nursing