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David Eugene Vance

PhD, MGS

David E. Vance, PhD, MGS, MS, University Professor and Director of Grant Regulatory and Review Processes, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Nursing, is an internationally renowned scholar and leader in neuropsychology, neurocognitive aging and remediation who has collaborated with nurses for over two decades. Serving as a mentor and research partner, Dr. Vance has a pristine record of creating lasting interdisciplinary partnerships. Dr. Vance’s unique contributions have advanced the knowledge, science of healthy aging, and treatment of individuals living with the complexities of the HIV disease, as well as other chronic conditions such as cancer and Alzheimer’s.


Dr. Vance, a psychologist, was the founding editor of Nursing: Research and Reviews and has served on several editorial boards including Research in Nursing and Health and the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (JANAC). He was the first professional outside of nursing to serve on JANAC’s Board of Directors. Dr. Vance’s scholarly work has far-reaching global impact and has been widely distributed in nearly 400 publications and through over 750 presentations across 25 countries and territories, a significant number he has written or presented in collaboration with his nursing mentees and colleagues. A strong advocate for nursing science, Dr. Vance has a long history serving as a grant reviewer for influential national and international bodies, helping to ensure that the work of nursing researchers is recognized and funded. Dr. Vance has been awarded several National Institute of Health (NIH) research grants from the National Institute of Nursing Research, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Institute on Mental Health; his grants as Principal Investigator total over $4 million and as Co-Investigator total over $35 million.


Dr. Vance’s pivotal research on aging, cognitive processing, and cognitive training provides empirical and evidence-based recommendations for treatment guidelines used by clinicians caring for aging persons with chronic conditions (HIV/AIDS, cancer, and Alzheimer’s) facing neurocognitive decline to achieve optimal quality of life for these populations. His research impact reaches well beyond health care for chronic conditions to policy for healthy aging in general. Dr. Vance’s work in cognitive training has contributed to developing treatment guidelines for cancer survivors with “chemo brain.” These cognitive training programs are now available for older adults at no cost in all public libraries and are provided through Medicare in over 40 states. Dr. Vance has helped shaped the federal research agenda as an invited attendee to the White House’s first forum on aging with HIV and has participated as an invited member of the NIH Think Tank on HIV and Aging sponsored by the Office of AIDS Research.


Throughout his career at UAB, Dr. Vance has held many roles including as a faculty member, PhD Program Director, and Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship, focusing on building nursing research capacity. Notably, Dr. Vance worked with the UAB 1917 Clinic providers (a Ryan White HRSA grantee) incorporating evidence-based neurocognitive training interventions to improve functional status and quality of life for persons with HIV. His research contributed to the adoption of clinical guidelines for screening and intervention of associated neurocognitive disorders and impairment changing clinical guidelines for neurocognitive screening and leading to the implementation of these guidelines in the Ryan White Program that serves 50% of the nation’s HIV/AIDS population.


Dr. Vance earned a PhD in Social & Behavioral Science, Developmental and Child Psychology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a Master degree in Psychology from the University of New Orleans, a Master’s degree in Gerontology from Miami University Ohio, and Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Virginia Tech.

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