Mathy Mezey Excellence in Aging Award

Sponsored by the New York University College of Nursing


Applications open in the Council Awards System (ProposalCentral) on April 9, 2025.

To qualify for this award, you must meet the following deadlines:

  • June 1, 2025 – Deadline to have an active AHA professional membership.
  • June 6, 2025, 6 p.m. (CDT) – Deadline to apply for this award in the Council Awards Application System.

The purpose of this award is to recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves in promoting competence in caring for the elderly cardiovascular or stroke patient through teaching, research, and/or practice.

Mathy Mezey, EdD, RN, FAAN was most recently Professor Emerita, Senior Research Scientist and Associate Director, The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, New York University College of Nursing. Dr. Mezey received her undergraduate and graduate education at Columbia University. She worked as a public health nurse in NY City and taught at Lehman College, City University of New York, and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

The Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing (CVSN)’s original award, the CVSN Competence in Aging Award, was established when the Council received a grant to highlight care for older adults; this nation-wide project was led by Dr. Mezey. The CVSN Council has continued to award after funding ended in order to recognized members who were making important contributions to the care of older adults with cardiovascular disease. We sought to re-name this award after this esteemed leader in geriatric nursing who recognized the need for specialty organizations to improve care delivery for older adults.

The award initially was supported by the Nurse Competence in Aging initiative, a 5-year initiative funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies (USA) Inc., awarded to the American Nurses Association (ANA) through the American Nurses Foundation (ANF), that represents a strategic alliance between the ANA, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing, New York University College of Nursing. For the past several years CVSN has been covering the cost of the award, which it will continue to do as additional sponsors are sought.

Award Recipients

  • 2024 Tiny Jaarsma, RN, PhD, FAHA
  • 2023 Niloufar Niakosari Hadidi, PhD, APRN, ACNS-BC, FAHA
  • 2022 Misook Lee Chung, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN
  • 2021 Ruth M. Masterson Creber
  • 2020 Christopher S. Lee
  • 2019 Leanne L. Lefler
  • 2018 Tamilyn Bakas
  • 2017 Harleah Buck

Applicant Eligibility

Current CVSN Mid-Career Awards Committee members are not eligible to apply for or be nominated for the award.

Application Criteria

  • The candidate must be the first author of the submitted article.
  • The article must be scientifically sound, timely, original, and feature a robust research design, clearly aligning with the goals of the American Heart Association and the Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing. It should be a reprint of a published, data-based, peer-reviewed article or, if unavailable, an indexed, peer-reviewed, and publicly available article.
  • Candidates may be self-nominated or nominated by others.
  • An Article of the Year award winner cannot reapply for an article of the year award for at least 2 years.
  • An applicant may submit one paper for one article of the year award each year.

Evaluation Criteria

Evidence of nominee's excellence in promoting competence in caring for the elderly cardiovascular or stroke patient in two of the three following areas: teaching, research, or practice.

Examples of such evidence include (but are not limited to):

  • Receipt of extramural grants or fellowships with peer-reviewed publications disseminating the results.
  • Leadership in professional organizations dedicated to aging or in other organizations where the individual has promoted aging.
  • Publications in peer-reviewed journals.
  • Presentations at the national or international level.
  • Awards and recognitions.

How to Apply or Submit a Nomination

Visit the Council Awards Application System to complete an application.

A username and password previously set up through online registration at Professional Heart Daily (PHD) will be necessary to access the Application System. AHA Professional Members who are creating an online profile for the first time should make sure to register using their AHA membership identification numbers.

An active AHA Professional Membership is required of all applicants for this award. If you are joining the AHA to apply, please wait for your AHA member number to arrive from AHA Member Services via e-mail before creating an online profile and starting your application file. We suggest that new members join the AHA no later than one week prior to the application submission deadline for the member ID number to be processed and delivered in time for the application deadline. The membership number will be required on the award application form.

  1. Click the link for the Council Awards Application System.
  2. Sign in with your Professional Heart Daily username and password.
  3. Follow these instructions to set up your profile in ProposalCentral. Setting up your ProposalCentral profile will only need to be done the first time you login to apply for an American Heart Association Council Awards. Please note that the grant maker named American Heart Association is for AHA Research Awards and is a separate log in.
  4. To apply for award, follow these steps:
    • Create New Proposal: Start by selecting "Create New Proposal."
    • Filter by Grant Maker: Choose "American Heart Association Council Awards."
    • Select Program: From the Programs list, select "Scientific Sessions Cardiovascular Nursing Awards"
    • Apply Now: Click the "Apply Now" button.
    • Choose Award: Within the application, select the award.

For more detailed information on ProposalCentral, also included are additional materials on specific ProposalCentral functionality.

Prize

The winner will receive:

  • Complimentary registration to Scientific Sessions
  • One (1) complimentary ticket, to the CVSN Council Dinner
  • An engraved plaque
  • $1,000 honorarium

Questions

November 7–10, 2025
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center | New Orleans, Louisiana

black male doctor

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