Ellen Hahn, PhD, RN

Ellen Hahn received her undergraduate degree in nursing from Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University. She earned a Master of Arts in Health Education from The Ohio State University and a Master of Science in community health nursing from Indiana University. In 1992, she completed a doctorate in health policy/health of the community with a minor in substance abuse and the family at Indiana University School of Nursing.

Hahn is a professor in the College of Nursing and College of Public Health at UK, and she directs the Tobacco Policy Research Program. She is co-director of the College of Nursing's NIH-funded Center for Biobehavioral Research in Self-Management of Cardiopulmonary Disease. She also is a faculty associate at the UK Prevention Research Center, an associate at the UK Center for Health Services Management and Research, and a faculty member of the UK Markey Cancer Center.

Hahn was awarded a fellowship from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Developing Leadership in Reducing Substance Abuse Program (2000-2003). The fellowship was used to enhance her tobacco policy research skills. Her current research focuses on promoting smoke-free policy in Kentucky, particularly in rural areas, and radon risk reduction. She directs the Kentucky Center for Smoke-Free Policy, created in 2004 with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Center continues to receive funding from other agencies, including Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and the Kentucky Department for Public Health.

Her research on alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention with young children and families has been reported in a variety of journals including the Journal of Drug Education, Journal of School Health, American Journal of Health Behavior, Education, and Promotion, Public Health Nursing, and Nursing Research.

Hahn has received numerous awards in recognition of her leadership in health education and smoke-free policy research. In 1998, she received the Sara C. Stice Award for outstanding contribution in the field of health education from the Kentucky Public Health Association. In 1999, she received the D. Jean Wood Award for Nursing Scholarship from the Southern Nursing Research Society. In 2000, she was appointed to the Kentucky Governor's Council Expert Panel on Youth Substance Abuse Prevention. She was awarded the 2004 John D. Slade, MD, Memorial Advocacy Award from the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs section of the American Public Health Association. In 2006, the Kentucky Nurses Association Board of Directors named her the Nurse Researcher of the Year, and the University of Kentucky recognized her efforts to promote the health of Kentuckians with the William E. Lyons Award for Outstanding Service. The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department selected her as a 2007 Public Health Hero for her role in developing Lexington's smoke-free ordinance. In 2008 her Clean Indoor Air Partnership was designated a Commonwealth Collaborative. In 2010, she was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Researcher Hall of Fame.