India-origin scientist Kavita Radhakrishnan named UT Austin nursing dean

Highlights:

• Kavita Radhakrishnan became dean on September 1.
• She previously served as interim dean from March 6.
• She has been part of UT Austin’s faculty since 2012.
• Her research combines nursing, technology and chronic disease care.
• She has secured more than $10 million in research funding.

India-origin scientist Kavita Radhakrishnan has been named the fifth dean of the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, marking a new chapter for one of the university’s key academic health programs.

Radhakrishnan, who holds the Laura Lee Blanton Chair in Nursing, officially assumed the position on September 1. She had been serving as interim dean since March 6 and has been a member of the UT Austin faculty since 2012.

Her appointment comes as nursing education, health care and technology undergo rapid changes. Radhakrishnan said the profession is entering a period of significant transformation, with technology creating new opportunities for education, research and patient care.

“We are entering a defining era for nursing,” Radhakrishnan said. “Higher education, health care and technology are transforming at an extraordinary pace, bringing challenges -- but also unprecedented opportunities to reimagine how we educate, discover, care and lead.”

From electronics engineering to nursing

Born and raised in India, Radhakrishnan began her academic journey in engineering. She earned a bachelor's degree in electronics engineering from the University of Mumbai before moving to the United States to pursue higher education.

Her career later took an unexpected turn toward nursing after she volunteered at a hospital in Boston. The experience sparked her interest in nursing’s analytical and problem-solving dimensions, as well as the ways technology could be used to support both patients and nurses.

That combination of technology and health care has remained central to her academic career. Her research focuses on developing and applying technologies that help people manage chronic diseases while enabling older adults to remain healthy, independent and engaged in their homes and communities.

Research focused on technology and patient care

Radhakrishnan’s research has explored several emerging technologies in health care, including telemonitoring, connected sensors, digital gaming and artificial intelligence. Much of her work has focused on cardiovascular disease self-management and improving the ability of patients to participate actively in their own care.

During her research career, she has authored more than 65 research articles and obtained more than $10 million in funding from agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.

William Inboden, executive vice president and provost at UT Austin, said Radhakrishnan is well positioned to lead the nursing school during a period of expansion.

“The School of Nursing is indispensable to UT's growing academic health enterprise, and Dr Radhakrishnan is the right leader for this important moment of growth.”

“Her leadership and vision will build on the School's strengths in education, research and patient care as we expand UT's impact across Texas and beyond,” Inboden added.

As dean, Radhakrishnan will lead the school as it seeks to strengthen nursing education, research and patient care while responding to the evolving needs of the health care system in Texas and beyond.