Pioneering Researcher Susan G. Dorsey Recognized as UMB Distinguished Professor

Baltimore, Md. - Susan G. Dorsey, PhD ’01, MS ’98, RN, FAAN, professor, has been named by University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, as one of six 2024 Distinguished University Professors, the highest appointment bestowed on a faculty member at UMB. It recognizes Dorsey’s excellence, impact, and significant contributions to the nursing profession and practice.  

“I am very humbled to have been appointed a Distinguished University Professor President Jarrell to receive the Distinguished University Professor, and it is a great honor to be recognized at the University level by the president and faculty colleagues,” Dorsey said. “I am extremely proud to have spent my entire academic career at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.”

In addition to her appointment at UMSON, Dorsey is a professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and in the Department of Neural and Pain Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry.

She is nationally and internationally recognized for her research and scholarship related to chronic pain and for developing strategies for the use of multiomics (e.g., genomic, transcriptomic, epigenomic, metabolomic) methods to identify the biological mechanisms underlying symptoms and the self-management of symptoms. This work has led to new discoveries regarding genomic factors of neuromuscular weakness in muscular dystrophy and in the transition from acute to chronic pain across numerous conditions. The translational potential of her work — the interface between bench research and clinical care — has led to nearly $30 million in National Institutes of Health research funding as principal investigator or co-investigator and to numerous publications, honors, and awards. Dorsey has a significant record of publication in journals including Pain, PLOS Genetics, Journal of Neuroscience, Nursing Research, and Science Signaling. She is the co-editor of the 2020 book “Genomics of Pain and Co-Morbid Symptoms.”

She has also worked to inspire researchers as they pursue their own multiomics research, innovation, and discovery. 

Dorsey joined UMSON in 2004 and served as founding chair of its Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science from 2014 - 22. She was the founding co-director of the UMB Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research and assisted in securing funding from the National Institute of Nursing Research to create the center.

Dorsey has been recognized by her peers with induction as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (2011) and the prestigious Friends of the NINR Welch/Woerner Path-Paver Award (2019) for mentorship. In 2015, she was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Researcher Hall of Fame.

She earned her PhD and master’s degrees from UMSON and her undergraduate degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College.

“Through her research and scholarship, her teaching and mentoring, and her service, she has brought national and international recognition and true distinction to the University,” wrote Yolanda Ogbolu, PhD ’11, MS ’05, BSN ’04, NNP, FNAP, FAAN, the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean, in her letter of nomination. “She is highly deserving of the honor.”

Dorsey received her Distinguished University Professor medal from Jarrell, a blacksmith who created the medal himself, during UMB’s annual Faculty Convocation on Sept. 12.

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The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools in the nation and is ranked among the top nursing schools nationwide. Enrolling nearly 2,000 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.