Susan Larsen Beck, PhD, APRN, AOCN, FAAN, professor and Robert S. and Beth M. Carter Endowed Chair in Nursing at the University of Utah College of Nursing, was recently named the Oncology Nursing Society's (ONS) 2012 Distinguished Researcher.

According to ONS, the honor recognizes Beck's outstanding research contributions that have enhanced the science and practice of oncology nursing. She will receive the award at the Distinguished Researcher Session at an ONS conference to be held Nov. 16-18 in Phoenix.

Beck is widely recognized for her research focused on the management of pain symptoms in cancer patients and interventions to improve the quality and outcomes of care. Most recently, her work has focused on testing of tools to improve the measurement of quality of care related to pain management in the individuals with cancer or receiving surgery for a potential cancer.

Still, she notes, "the award would not have been achieved without the sustained contributions of my many research partners, both colleagues and students, to improve the lives of people with cancer by reducing their troubling symptoms that often result from cancer and its treatment."

To be selected ONS Distinguished Researcher candidates must hold doctorate degree in nursing or a related field and demonstrates evidence of:

• contributing significantly to the scientific foundation for practice;
• sustaining a program of substantive research;
• providing a foundation for further research by others;
• advancing quality cancer care delivered by nurses; and
• contributing to ONS and the cancer community-at-large.

Beck is a member of the ONS Advanced Nursing Research and Pain Special Interest Groups; the Intermountain Chapter of ONS; the American Nurses Association; the American Academy of Nursing; and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

She holds a bachelor of science in nursing degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh; a master's of science in nursing degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and a PhD in nursing philosophy from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.