UCSF School of Nursing

The UCSF School of Nursing's Class of 2026 is ready to redefine what's possible in health care and science. 🎓🎉🌟

And we're excited to highlight a few of the talented graduates crossing the stage at commencement tomorrow!

— Kay Burke, DNP, MBA, RN, NE-BC
Chief Nursing Informatics Officer, UCSF Health
Doctor of Nursing Practice

Q: What’s the most important thing you learned in your program?
A: “The importance of leading with both evidence and empathy to create meaningful change. This program taught me that resilience and community are what gets you through the hardest moments.”

Q: What’s your plan for after graduation?
A: “I am excited to keep learning, advocating, and making a difference in nursing. I want to continue growing as a nurse leader and look forward to disseminating my scholarly work so that others can benefit from my quality improvement project.”

— Fernando Fierro, DNP, MPH, RN
Nurse Executive/Director of Patient Care Services, Shriners Children's Southern California
Doctor of Nursing Practice

Q: What’s the most important thing you learned in your program?
A: “The power and relevance of the DNP in Executive Leadership degree to our nursing profession.”

Q: Is there anyone you want to shout out as key to your degree?
A: “My wife, Angel, who helped me reach the finish line.”

Q: What’s your favorite memory from your program?
A: “Getting together in person on campus each time.”

— Sandra Domeracki, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, FAAOHN
Professor of Community Health Systems, UCSF School of Nursing
Doctor of Philosophy, Nursing

Q: What’s your plan for after graduation?
A: “Get some balance, broaden my world, spend more time with the special people in my life, get my dissertation papers published, and finish postdoctoral work with Dr. Hong.”

Q: Do you have any advice for future grads?
A: “Stay close with your PhD cohort. You will need each other during the qualifying exam and dissertation periods… Writing groups really help. Allow time to be reflective.”

— Selam Kidane, PhD, LCSW
Renal Social Worker, DaVita Kidney Care
Doctor of Philosophy, Sociology

Q: What’s the most important thing you learned in your program?
A: “To never lose your voice.”

— Ashley Moore, PhD, RN
Nursing Fellow, Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and Registered Nurse, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Doctor of Philosophy, Nursing

Q: What’s the most important thing you learned in your program?
A: “One lesson that stands out is the profound privilege and responsibility we have as researchers to elevate voices that need to be heard. That responsibility does not end with the interview, but it carries forward into how we shape policy, practice, and action.”

Q: What’s your favorite memory from your program?
A: “I still remember how nervous I felt about posting flyers and recruiting participants for my dissertation research. I did not expect that it would become one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and help me fall in love with the role of the nursing researcher in a whole new way.”

— Rinoj Mathew, PharmD, MS
PGY2 Health System and Pharmacy Administration Leadership Resident,
Master of Science in Healthcare Administration and Interprofessional Leadership

Q: What’s your plan for after graduation?
A: “I plan to continue pursuing pharmacy leadership opportunities at UCSF. I’m excited to apply what I learned through MS-HAIL to support meaningful improvements in pharmacy operations and patient care.”

Q: Is there anyone you want to shout out who was key to your degree?
A: “My MS-HAIL classmates, faculty, and mentors for their support and encouragement throughout the program. I’m also grateful for my UCSF pharmacy leadership team and co-residents who helped me grow along the way.”

Image descriptions: Photos of grads and their Q&As arranged across 11 slides with a colorful chromosome pattern in the background resembling confetti.

In just one week, we'll celebrate the UCSF School of Nursing Class of 2026 at Commencement. It's been a long, hard climb, but our graduates have made it to the end — and we are so proud! 🥲👏 🎉

Image description: The UCSF School of Nursing Class of 2025 seated in their regalia, clapping and cheering. Text reads: 1 week until Commencement.

Home-based care is a lifeline to patients who face obstacles in traveling to medical appointments.

But while clinicians who provide this care may enjoy their independence, it can be a lonely experience.

To help nurse practitioners and other providers of home-based care, UCSF School of Nursing experts recently launched the Home-Based Care Learning Collaborative ECHO, a free virtual learning community.

Read our story about this “all teach, all learn” environment: https://nursing.ucsf.edu/scienceofcaring/news/ucsf-launches-learning-collaborative-strengthen-home-based-care

Image description: Nurse practitioner Courtney Gordon, DNP, NP, on the right, cares for a patient in their home in San Francisco.

The countdown is on! 🎉🎓👏🙌

We're so excited to celebrate the latest cohort of UCSF School of Nursing graduates at our Commencement ceremony on June 9. Only two weeks left!

Image description: The UCSF School of Nursing Class of 2025 seated in their regalia, listening to a graduation speaker. Text reads: 2 weeks until Commencement.

In case you missed it: Research by Cherry Leung, PhD, RN, associate professor of community health systems, explores the gut-brain axis to find new avenues for treatment for teenagers with depression.

These nurses’ research could help save your — or your child’s — life.

From airlifting acutely ill babies to catching diabetes patients before they fall into crisis, UCSF clinical nurses have teamed up with School of Nursing faculty members to advance critical innovations in care based on rigorous scientific research.

Read more about recent Clinical Nursing Research grants from the UCSF news team: https://tiny.ucsf.edu/SON26CNRStory

Image description: Bear Force One, the emergency transport helicopter for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, approaches UCSF Medical Center in Mission Bay for a landing.

| UCSF | UCSF Health

We are extraordinarily proud to announce that Jessica Zègre-Hemsey, PhD ’11, RN, is the recipient of the 2026 Jane Norbeck Distinguished Service Award, one of the School of Nursing’s highest alumni honors.

An associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Zègre-Hemsey leads an interdisciplinary research program focused on emergency cardiac care.

“The ultimate goal is better outcomes,” she says. “Earlier detection. Faster intervention. Preserving quality of life.”

Read more about her research from UCSF Alumni Relations: tiny.ucsf.edu/SON26NorbeckAward

Illustration: John Jay Cabuay

Image description: A colorful illustration of Jessica Zègre-Hemsey from the shoulders up, looking straight at the viewer and smiling, against a simple purple background. At the bottom of the illustration is the following text over a purple and orange angular pattern: National Nurses Week, May 6-12, 2026.

| UCSF | UCSF Alumni

Nurses are caretakers and lifesavers — and also scientists, researchers, teachers, scholars, and leaders. From bedside to boardroom, from laboratory to lectern, nurses are working across disciplines to solve the most complex issues in health care today.

To all nurses, at UCSF and UCSF Health and beyond: We see you, we appreciate you, and we are so proud of you!



Image description: Four photos of UCSF faculty members, learners, and alumni — assistant professor Jim Gatewood, PhD, RN, AGPCNP, and DNP student Damon Thomas, RN, walk through UCSF’s campus at China Basin during a long day of clinical training; alum Rubi Alva de Hickson, DNP ’24, RN, ACNP-BC, examines a patient in the intensive care unit; professor Jyu-Lin Chen, PhD ’02, RN, FAAN, lectures to her PhD in Nursing students; alum Melissa Fesler, DNP ’23, RN, FNP-BC, examines a patient in the clinic. Text at bottom reads: National Nurses Week, May 6-12, 2026.